Bournel Antoine clear first at 1st Harda International Rapid Rating 2026
International Master Bournel Antoine from France scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 points to win the 1st Harda International Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2026. He finished half a point ahead of Kartavya Anadkat and Prakhar Bajaj, who scored 8/9 points and secured 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. The total prize money of this one-day rapid-rated event was ₹1,51,000, with the top 3 prizes ₹25,000, ₹20,000, and ₹15,000 respectively. The tournament was organized at Harda Degree College, Harda, Madhya Pradesh, on 24th January. Time control was 15 minutes+5 seconds increment from move one. Photos: IM Akshat Khamparia
Antoine wins his first event played in India in 2026
International Master Bournel Antoine travelled all the way from France to take part in this event, and it was worth it for him as he dominated the field with 8.5/9 points. Antoine was on 8/8 points and drew his last game against Vaibhav Nema, on his way to becoming the champion. He won his games against 2 CMs, 1 FM, and 1 IM.
A total of 321 players took part in this one-day rapid-rated event, which happened in Harda, Madhya Pradesh, including an IM Bournel Antoine from France and a WIM Ranasinghe SD from Sri Lanka
The love for the game
Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | Typ | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | IM | FRA | 2308 | France | 8,5 | 55,5 | 60,5 | 56,75 | |||
2 | 4 | IND | 2147 | Gujarat | 8 | 55 | 60 | 53 | ||||
3 | 10 | CM | IND | 1899 | Mp | 8 | 52 | 55,5 | 47 | |||
4 | 8 | IND | 1984 | Mp | 7,5 | 54 | 58 | 46,75 | ||||
5 | 11 | FM | S60 | IND | 1861 | Mp | 7,5 | 51 | 54,5 | 42,75 | ||
6 | 7 | CM | IND | 1986 | Gujarat | 7,5 | 50,5 | 55,5 | 43,75 | |||
7 | 17 | IND | 1780 | Mp | 7,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 40,75 | ||||
8 | 3 | IM | IND | 2215 | Uttar Pradesh | 7 | 55 | 59 | 42,5 | |||
9 | 6 | FM | IND | 2060 | Rajasthan | 7 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 41,5 | |||
10 | 1 | IM | IND | 2338 | Mp | 7 | 51,5 | 53,5 | 38,75 | |||
11 | 21 | IND | 1739 | Mp | 7 | 49 | 53,5 | 37,5 | ||||
12 | 25 | IND | 1714 | Mp | 7 | 49 | 53 | 37,5 | ||||
13 | 9 | CM | IND | 1965 | Mp | 7 | 48,5 | 53 | 39 | |||
14 | 12 | WIM | SRI | 1843 | Sri Lanka | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 39,5 | |||
15 | 15 | IND | 1799 | Mp | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 37,5 |