FIDE Master Kshitiz Bhandari has won the ‘Himalayan Freestyle Chess Championship’, a newly formatted competition held for the first time in Nepal by Himalayan Chess Academy (HCA). He defeated Candidate Master Milan Lama in the final on Friday to clinch the title.

In the ‘Best of Three’ final, Bhandari won both initial games, ending Lama’s challenge with a 2-0 victory. He had previously defeated Punam Prasain in the semi-finals, while Lama had overcome Sujan Kafle to reach the title match.

The organiser stated that this was the first time a freestyle chess tournament, initiated by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, was held in Nepal. The tournament saw qualifying rounds from March 9 to 12 with the final playoffs on March 14.

As part of their first-anniversary celebration, HCA also organised the ‘Himalayan Blitz Cup, ’ which was won by Rajan Puri. Puri won the title with 7.5 points, remaining undefeated in the nine-round Swiss-system tournament.

Muhan Narshing Shrestha also scored 7.5 points with seven wins, one loss, and one draw, but Puri was declared champion based on tiebreakers. Abheek Shah finished third with 7 points, from seven wins and two losses.

Similarly, Kusum Tamang was the champion in women’s Blitz. In the girls’ category, Rubeshree Chaulagain won in U8, Nihana Shrestha in U12, Nayuma Magar in U14, and Pragya Pant in U16. In the boys' category, Subhang Pradhan won in U8, Abhiyan Rai in U10, Deepan Mainali in U12, Prabir KC in U14, and Anmol Rai in U16.

Also, Sitaram Agrawal excelled in the FIDE rating under 2000 category, Krish Adhikari in the under 1700 category, Dipson Khadka in the unrated category, and Ashirbad Thapa in the HCA category. A total of 50 players participated in the tournament.

The academy also honoured Agrawal, Nepal’s first FIDE-rated player, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. HCA, on Friday, presented eight awards along with the best player of the year, which was won by Saatwik Man Tuladhar as the Player of the Year 2024.

Likewise, Prem Bikram Adhikari bagged two awards–Fair Play and Online Arena. Nayuma Magar won the Congeniality Award, Prabir KC secured the Tactical Titan, Nihana Shrestha bagged the Queens of the Himalayas, and Shubhanga Pradhan won the Rising Star Award.