MARGAO: Goa's International Master Ameya Audi enjoyed a successful European tour, producing a series of impressive performances across three international tournaments in France and Spain against a strong field of Grand Masters, International Masters and other titled players.
Ameya began his campaign with a fifth-place finish at the 400 Blows International Open in Montauban, France, scoring 6 points from nine rounds. He registered notable victories over FM Samandar Shermuhammadov (Uzbekistan), FM Serafimov Dimitar (Bulgaria), FM Contie Lilio (France) and CM Kush Bhagat (India). He also held IM Alain Genzling (France), IM Harshavardhan G.B. and eventual champion IM Shahil Dey (India) to draws. IM Shahil Dey won the tournament with 6.5 points, ahead of GM Harshavardhan G.B. and David Lacan-Rus of France.
The Goan continued his fine form at the 30th Jean-Claude Loubatière Festival in France, where he again finished fifth with 6/9 points. His campaign featured victories over FM Leonardo Vincenti (Italy) and FM Baptiste Lissillour (France), while he shared points with IM Padmini Rout and IM Himal Gusain of India. The tournament title was claimed by GM Sergey A. Fedorchuk (Ukraine), with IM Padmini Rout and GM Jean-Marc Degraeve (France) among the top finishers.
Ameya concluded his European campaign at the Granada Chess Open 2026 in Spain, one of the strongest events on the circuit. The tournament featured 353 players from 48 countries, including 11 Grand Masters, 30 International Masters and 78 other titled players.
Competing against a world-class field, Ameya scored 6½ points from nine rounds to finish 16th overall, earning a podium finish in his rating category. His standout victories came against FM Ozgun Sahin (Turkey), FM Gonzalez Castillo (Spain), FM Cagatay Burcu (Turkey) and FM Michal Koziorowicz (Poland). He also held top seed GM Tomi Nybäck of Finland (2601) and GM Mads Andersen of Denmark to hard-fought draws.
The Granada Chess Open was won by India's GM Bharath Subramaniyam H., with GM Yuriy Solodovnichenko (Ukraine) finishing second and GM Joseph Girel (France) taking third place.
