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IM Hari Madhavan reigns supreme at Little England Blitz Tournament 2026

by R Anantharam - 27/03/2026

International master NB Hari Madhavan N B of Tamil Nadu won the Little England 1st FIDE-rated blitz tournament, organized by Ananthi Chess Academy, Madurai, and Vijayam Chess Academy, Hosur, at Adhiyaman College of Engineering, Hosur. Of the nine rounds, he conceded only one draw to GM Laxman RR in the seventh round and won all the remaining rounds. Hari Madhavan was unbeaten throughout the event. Eighth-seeded Mihir Shah of Gujarat, Arnav Gupta of Delhi, G Gokul of Tamil Nadu, and Sai Abhinav Kuchibhotla scored eight points each to tie for second to fifth places. Mihir sealed the second place due to a better tiebreak. Photos: Ananthi Chess Academy

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Consistent Performance by IM Hari Madhavan in 2026

IM Hari Madhavan is performing exceptionally well in the recent tournaments. He secured 3rd place in both the National Rapid and National Blitz Championship. Hari also won PlayU - 2nd International FIDE Rapid Rated Open Chess Tournament 2026 and 2nd Yelagiri Hills Open.

Champion: IM Hari Madhavan NB

Mihir Shah was placed second due to a better tiebreak score

Arnav Gupta of Rajasthan did not care about his lower rating to finish third

Fourteen-year-old G Gokul of Tamil Nadu had a good tournament, winning fourth place

Grandmaster RR Laxman of ICF had to be content with sixth place

Four players had the same score of 7.5 points, among whom GM Laxman RR had the highest Buchholz Cut 1 score to be declared sixth.

Hari Madhavan became the undisputed champion by beating Mahindrakar Indrajeet

Mihir Shah was placed second by his victory over Raaghav Kabil M

49th-seeded Arnav Gupta surprised everybody by finishing third

Fourteen-year-old G Gokul defeated Vijay Kumar to be declared fourth

Sai Abhinav of TN shocked grandmaster RR Laxman in the final round

Sai Abhinav defeated K Padmesh of Kerala to score 7.5 points

IM Sai Agni Jeevitesh of Railways had a setback when he lost to Raagav Kabil in the penultimate round

Winner IM Hari Madhavan drew with GM Laxman RR

After five consecutive wins, organising secretary N Lokesh lost to the top seed Hari Madhavan in the sixth round

Tournament Director P. Pragadesh had a 50% score, despite his hectic and strenuous schedule for more than a month

The venue for the blitz tournament was the same as the National Amateur: Adhiyaman College of Engineering, Hosur

A total of 392 players took part in this event. The time control was 3 minutes + 2 second increment from move 1. The top 3 prizes of the tournament were Rs. 20,000, Rs. 15,000, and Rs. 10,000, respectively.

Hari Madhavan scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win the tournament

Prize List

Replay available games

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.

SNo

 

Name

Typ

sex

FED

Rtg

Pts.

 TB1 

 TB2 

 TB3 

 TB4 

 TB5 

 TB6 

1

1

IM

Hari, Madhavan N B

IND

2386

8,5

54,5

59,5

55,75

0

8

4

2

8

Shah, Mihir

IND

2012

8

51

55,5

47,5

0

8

5

3

49

Arnav, Gupta

IND

1738

8

50,5

54

46,5

0

8

4

4

24

CM

Gokul, G

U15

IND

1863

8

49,5

53

46

0

8

4

5

13

Sai, Abhinav Kuchibhotla

U15

IND

1957

8

48

52

47

0

8

4

6

2

GM

Laxman, R.R.

IND

2351

7,5

56

61

48,75

0

7

3

7

27

Shejal, Sahil Sanjay

IND

1839

7,5

51,5

56,5

45

0

7

4

8

9

Abhinav, Anand

U13

IND

2001

7,5

50,5

53,5

43

0

7

2

9

22

Gokul, Krishna S

IND

1870

7,5

47

50,5

41,25

0

7

2

10

138

Yeshas, H

U15

IND

1567

7

54,5

59

44

0

7

3

Details

Ananthi Chess Academy

About the Author

Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of the Titles Commission in the All India Chess Federation, Vice President of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International, and National Championships.

 

Devansh Singh edited the report

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