By Sachit Subba • Other Sports • Sep 13, 2026 15:00 PM • 41 views
If you stood in the tournament hall in Kathmandu this weekend, you felt the intense focus radiating from 150 players battling the clock and their opponents alike. FIDE Master Kshitiz Arun navigated that pressure perfectly to win the 2nd Open FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament with a flawless score of [perfect 8 points], inspiring pride in his achievement. Annapurna RCT organised the event to test competitors in a demanding nine-round Swiss League format. Arun emerged from the crowded field as the ultimate victor, securing the championship and a cash prize of 15,000 Nepali Rupees.
To understand the significance of his victory, you must examine his final scorecard. Arun accumulated eight points by securing seven wins and grinding out two draws. Maintaining an undefeated record in rapid chess demonstrates exceptional skill. Rapid time controls force competitors to make complex tactical decisions under tight time pressure. One simple miscalculation usually results in a loss. Arun avoided those fatal errors entirely. He anchored his position at the top of the leaderboard through consistent, error-free play across the two-day schedule.
The path to the championship title ultimately required a mathematical technicality to separate the top two performers. Former Nepal champion CM Purushottam Chaulagain matched Arun stride for stride throughout the weekend. Chaulagain also finished the ninth round with a total of eight points. Because the two leaders ended the regular rounds in a dead heat, tournament officials applied the Buchholz tiebreaker system to determine the outright winner. This system, which calculates the cumulative score of every opponent faced, highlights the depth of competition Arun faced. Arun possessed the higher Buchholz score, meaning he played a statistically harder schedule. Chaulagain accepted second place and a 10,000 Nepali Rupee prize, demonstrating the fairness of the process.
The Swiss League system guarantees that winners face winners as the tournament progresses. By the final rounds, Arun and Chaulagain faced the strongest competitors in the room. Achieving eight points in this format is no easy feat, as each victory makes the next pairing more difficult. Surviving nine rounds without a single defeat under these conditions proves Arun's current peak form and resilience. The tournament also featured a strong international competitor who pushed the local talent. Belgian player Jochik Demolin kept the leaders in his sights all weekend. Demolin finished just half a point behind the leaders, securing third place with seven and a half points. His presence at the top of the standings made it difficult for the domestic players and proved the competitive depth of the 150-player150-player field.
The women's division delivered its own compelling results. Radhika Poudel navigated the massive field to claim first place among the female competitors. Danisha Puri secured second place, and Agrata Acharya finished in third. When you review the final results from the Annapurna RCT event, the tournament achieved exactly what rapid chess promises. It punished mistakes and rewarded precise calculation. Arun proved his mastery of the board, holding off a former national champion and international challengers to earn his hard-fought title.
