Harshit Raja Retains Title at Tirol Open 2026

The Tirol Open 2026 took place from August 22 to 29 at the Haus der Begegnung in Innsbruck, featuring high-level chess over nine rounds. The tournament included three sections: Open A for players rated above 1800, Open B for those rated between 1500 and 1999, and Open C for players rated up to 1699.

In the A Open, GM Harshit Raja from India defended his title, finishing with 7 points from 9 rounds. He remained unbeaten but shared the top score with FM Tobias Kolb of Germany, who also achieved 7 points. The tiebreak criteria favored Raja, who had a Buchholz score of 48 compared to Kolb's 47.5, allowing him to secure first place.

Raja's performance included three wins and one draw in the first four rounds, followed by consistent results in the remaining rounds. Kolb, who also performed well, lost to Raja in round six but managed to finish strong, ultimately tying with Raja on points. Behind them, GM Nikolaus Stanec and GM Philipp Schlosser both scored 6.5 points, with Stanec taking third place based on tiebreaks.