Indian player Kundu wins Hetauda Cup Asian Open Chess title

By Rammani Dahal,Hetauda, Dec. 4:Indian player Subhayan Kundu won the Hetauda Cup Asian Open Chess Tournament 2023 held in Hetauda on Sunday.

Kundu, who has an International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating of 2,393, was declared the winner after topping the table with 7.5 points from six wins and three ties. 

Kundu would have won the tournament even with a tie against Bangladeshi player Sharif Hossain in the ninth round.

 However, he won the match and secured the title in the six-day tournament jointly organised by the Nepal Sports Federation, Hetauda Chess Club and Makwanpur District Chess Association. He was handed over a cheque of Rs. 125,000 as the tournament winner. 

Likewise, Bangladeshi player Mohammad Minhaz Uddin and Indian player Arvinder Preet Singh, both with seven points, trailed at the second and third positions respectively. They won Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 40,000 in cash.

With 6.5 points each, Bangladeshi players Mohammad Sharif Hossain and Abu Sufian Shakil and Indian players Amardeep Bartakke, Rahul Gurung, Saurabh Choubey and Marium Fatima positioned themselves from the fourth to tenth position in the pecking order. 

Nepali player Sushrut Dahal stood in the twelfth position after Bangaldesh’s Nayem Haque in the eleventh. 

Meanwhile, Jhilke Moktan was adjudged the best local player. Dev Kantilal and Mohan Singh Pradhan were declared first and second in the best veteran category.

In the female category, Sri Lankan player Sachini Ranasinghe came first and Isanavi came second. 

Kushal Belabase and Rohan Kumar topped the category under-1,500 FIDE rating. Akshat Negi and Shivam Chaudhary topped the category with a rating below 1,700, and Mohit Kumar and Soumyajit Das topped the under-1,900 category.