Harshit Raja defends title at Tirol Open in Innsbruck

by Stefan Liebig
9/2/2026 – The Tirol Open 2026 featured eight days of high-level chess in Innsbruck. In the A Open, GM Harshit Raja successfully defended his title from the previous year, albeit only on tiebreaks ahead of FM Tobias Kolb, who finished level on points with the two-time champion. Philipp Schlosser, Timur Kocharin and Cedric Chassard ensured that three more German players finished in the top ten of the 57-player field.
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Harshit Raja victorious again

The third edition of the Tirol Open was held from 22 to 29 August at the Haus der Begegnung in Innsbruck. Over nine rounds played under the Swiss system, participants competed for the top places in three sections. Open A was reserved for players rated above 1800, Open B was for players rated between 1500 and 1999, while Open C was open to players rated up to 1699. The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move.

Once again, the main focus in the A Open was GM Harshit Raja of India. Last year's winner again finished at the top, remaining unbeaten and scoring 7 points from 9 rounds. However, that strong result was not enough for outright first place. FM Tobias Kolb of Germany also scored 7 points and challenged Raja for top spot until the end of the tournament. The tiebreak critera ultimately proved decisive: Raja scored 48 points according to the Buchholz Cut-1 criterion, while Kolb had 47½. The Indian GM therefore successfully defended the title he had won last year.

Raja had a strong tournament throughout. After four rounds, he had three wins and one draw, and he added further wins and draws in the rounds that followed. Particularly notable was his consistency over the entire event: in the final four rounds he dropped only one point by drawing twice and thereby secured first place once again.

Front right: Harshit Raja; centre left: Tobias Kolb | Photo: Official website

Kolb also remained in contention for first place until the end. The German FM began with a win and a draw, then won three games in a row before facing Raja in round six. Kolb lost that game, which gave Raja a clear advantage in the standings. Kolb responded, however, with two more wins and a final-round draw, finishing level on points with the defending champion.

Stanec on the podium, Schlosser fourth

Behind the leading pair, GM Nikolaus Stanec and GM Philipp Schlosser both finished on 6½ points. Stanec, representing Austria, took third place thanks to the better Buchholz score, while Schlosser finished fourth. Both ended just half a point behind the leaders.

Alongside chief arbiter Gerhard Bertagnolli (left): Tobias Kolb, Harshit Raja and Nikolaus Stanec | Photo: Official website

Several players followed on 6 points. The younger participants performed particularly well. FM Timur Kocharin was one of them and finished fifth. Austrian FM Arthur Kruckenhauser took sixth place, followed by Elia Cafasso in seventh. Joachim Beisteiner finished eighth, Julian Jetzl ninth, and FM Cedric Chassard completed the top ten, also on 6 points.

There was, however, a small disappointment for the two strong-performing Germans.
Despite his strong performance rating of 2484, Kolb did not earn a norm because he faced only two GMs. He would have needed a third IM or GM opponent. Kocharin also missed out on an IM norm despite a performance rating of 2413: he would have needed to beat Julian Jetzl in the final round, but the game ended in a draw.

It was certainly an unfortunate outcome for both players.

Final standings after 9 rounds

Rg. Name Pkt. TB!
1 Raja Harshit 7 48
2 Kolb Tobias 7 47,5
3 Stanec Nikolaus 6,5 45
4 Schlosser Philipp 6,5 42,5
5 Kocharin Timur 6 48
6 Kruckenhauser Arthur 6 46
7 Cafasso Elia 6 44
8 Beisteiner Joachim 6 41,5
9 Jetzl Julian 6 40
10 Chassard Cedric 6 38,5
11 Benedikt Noah 5,5 44
12 Kauth Lukas 5,5 43
13 Hengl Philip 5,5 41
14 Tumanyan Gor 5,5 37,5
15 Von Schlippe Nikolai 5,5 37
16 Foksha Mischa 5 42,5
17 Maurer Jochen 5 41,5
18 Guba Viktor 5 40
19 Simenon Jozef 5 39
20 Latzke Boris 5 38,5

57 participants...

Tournament winner Harshit Raja presents the youth prize | Photo: Official website

All available games

Marcel Auer wins Open B

In Open B, the tournament was also won by a player scoring 7 points. Austria's Marcel Auer took first place with 7/9, narrowly finishing ahead of Italy's Stefano Damele, who also scored 7 points. Auer had the better tiebreak score, with 42 Buchholz Cut-1 points compared with Damele's 39½.

Austrian junior Christoph Neuhauser finished third with 6½ points, just half a point behind the two leaders. Marco Schranzhofer also scored 6½ points and took fourth place on tiebreaks.

A view of the playing hall | Photo: Official website

Germany's Stefan Sommer and Stefan Greussing followed, both on 6 points. Milana Hyassat also scored 6 points, finishing seventh and as the highest-placed woman in Open B. Walter Pregl took eighth place, while Michael Ampferer finished ninth.

Among the women, Hyassat was followed by Magdalena Wielander and Vanessa Heinrich. The three women's prizes therefore all went to Austrian players. Wielander scored 5 points and finished 16th overall, while Heinrich scored 4 points and placed 32nd.

Final standings after 9 rounds

Rg. Name Pkt. TB1
1 Auer Marcel 7 42
2 Damele Stefano 7 39,5
3 Neuhauser Christoph 6,5 44,5
4 Schranzhofer Marco 6,5 43
5 Sommer Stefan 6 46,5
6 Greussing Stefan 6 46
7 Hyassat Milana 6 45,5
8 Pregl Walter 6 43
9 Ampferer Michael 5,5 44
10 Aeberhard Dennis 5,5 41

56 participants...

Tyrolean youngster wins Open C

In Open C, Tyrolean junior Julian Strasser came out on top. Strasser scored 7 points and finished level with Omer Hogr, but had the better Buchholz score. Hogr also scored 7 points and took second place. Tyrolean squad player Luka Schwarzl finished third with 6½ points.

Strasser produced a notable tournament performance. After an opening-round win, he followed with three draws before taking the lead with three consecutive victories. In the final two rounds, he secured his advantage with a draw and a win. His 7 points were ultimately enough for first place.

Hogr also remained in contention for first place until the final round. After starting with a win and a draw, he won rounds three to five, but then suffered a defeat against Markus Guseck. With two wins and a draw in the final rounds, he caught up with Strasser on points, but fell just short on tiebreaks.

Final standings after 9 rounds

Rg. Name Pkt. TB1
1 Strasser Julian 7 44
2 Omer Hogr 7 42
3 Schwarzl Luka 6,5 44
4 Hoefel Luis 6 39,5
5 Guseck Markus 5,5 45,5
6 Lang Mathias Armin 5,5 40,5
7 Kofler Albin 5,5 39
8 Hyassat Violetta 5,5 38,5
9 Prenner Robert 5 39
10 Mayr Aeneas 5 34,5

33 participants...

Arthur Kruckenhauser is Tyrolean champion

The Tyrolean Individual Championship was held alongside Open A. Here too, the outcome was only decided in the closing stages.

FM Arthur Kruckenhauser (centre) of Schach ohne Grenzen secured the 2026 Tyrolean Championship title with 6 points | Photo: Official website

The Tyrolean Individual Championship was also held as part of the 2026 Tirol Open and remained closely contested until the end. FM Arthur Kruckenhauser (Schach ohne Grenzen) ultimately came out on top with 6 points, ahead of Noah Benedikt (5½ points, SC Absam) and Philip Hengl (5½, SC Absam).

For Kruckenhauser, the success represented a second important tournament victory within the event. The Schach ohne Grenzen player also won the ASKÖ Cup in Open A. Gor Tumanyan of SK Völs & Hak Innsbruck and Nikolai von Schlippe of SK Pradl followed in the standings.

Successful third edition

The Tyrolean Chess Federation gave a positive assessment after the tournament. For eight days, long games and close battles took centre stage at the Haus der Begegnung. In fact, the fight for the leading places in the three sections remained open until the final round.

The team of arbiters led by chief arbiter IA Gerhard Bertagnolli ensured that the tournament ran smoothly. He was supported by FA Florian Kampl, as well as trainee arbiters RS Sabrina Pribozic and RS Stefan Widner. Ina Anker, President of the Tyrolean Chess Federation, served as tournament director.

After three editions, the Tirol Open has established itself as a regular fixture in the Tyrolean tournament calendar. The next edition has already been scheduled: the 2027 Tirol Open is set to take place from 21 to 28 August.

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Topics: Harshit Raja, Tirol
Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
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