Himangshu Chakraborty Takes Sole Lead in Jamshedpur LIC Chess Tournament

Jamshedpur, June 15: The LIC Divisional Chess Tournament 2026 for men and women commenced on Monday at the LIE Sports Club Hall, Bistupur, Jamshedpur. The two-day tournament is being organized by the LIE Sports Club and features participants from various LIC offices across the division.

The tournament was inaugurated by Chief Guest Sabyasachi Sahu, Guests of Honour included K. Meenakshi, Manager (Personnel), G. Ravishankar, Honorary Secretary of LIE Sports Club, D.P. Balmiki, Treasurer of LIE Sports Club, and Ashish Dey. International Arbiter Chandan Kumar Prasad is serving as the Chief Arbiter for the event.

A total of 10 players are participating in the tournament, including eight players in the men’s category and two players in the women’s category. The matches are being played with a time control of 30 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

In the men’s category, four rounds are scheduled. After the completion of three rounds, Himangshu B Chakraborty of Khalari Branch Office has emerged as the sole leader with three points. In the third round, he defeated Ankit Bhardwaj of Garhwa. Three players—Balwant Kumar (CAB Jamshedpur), Ankit Bhardwaj (Garhwa), and Ashok Das (DO IT)—are jointly placed second with two points each.

Other third-round results saw Balwant Kumar defeat Kartik Chandra Das (STC Jamshedpur), while Ashok Das overcame Y. Loknath (ZTC Jamshedpur). The match between Rajesh Kumar Ravi (Sakchi) and S.D. Sharma (BAC DO Jamshedpur) ended in a draw.

In the women’s category, which is being played in a best-of-three format, Asha Kumari won both her matches against Rashmi Samal and currently leads with two points. The remaining rounds and final matches will be played on Monday, after which the champions in both categories will be decided.