IM Dinesh Sharma wins National Blitz Championship 2018

Gujarat: IM Dinesh Sharma of Life Insurance Corporation clinched the National Blitz Championship title on 5th May with a half-point margin at GSC Bank, Ahmedabad. GM Lalith Babu finished second with a score of 9.0/11 points. FM Erigaisi Arjun occupied the third place.

In the last round, Dinesh Sharma and Satyapragyan Swayangsu’s game on board 1 ended up in a draw while Erigaisi Arjun and Harsha Bharatakothi’s clash also resulted in a draw. Lalith, who won the National Rapid title a few days ago, defeated IM K. Ratnakaran on board 3. In the final list, Dinesh led with 9.5 points while Lalith and Arjun followed with nine points each.

In the four-day event (Rapid & Blitz), around 164 players representing all states and affiliated sports departments participated. The event was organized by the Gujarat State Chess Association.

Final Ranking after 11 Rounds