Finland Blitz Team Championship, Akaa 1.–2.8.2026
For the fourth time in this club's history, we made it to the Master's group, after a 3 year gap!
Trip down memory lane
We first accomplished the feat in 2018, then again in 2019, and once more in 2022 (2020 and 2021 had no tournament due to covid).
However, that juggernaut of success took a hit. In 2023 and 2025, we didn't have a full strength team. And in
2024, we narrowly missed out. I blame myself for that, as it was the
first tournament with the 3+2 format and my own performance (<2000)
was simply not where it needed to be.
2026 Tournament Brief
This year, the tournament was played in Akaa. A unique venue that needed 2 separate buildings to host the tournament (and one of those had electricity problems so the lights would regularly go out during the game with players shuffling pieces in the dark, hahaha).
The team trained hard for the tournament, with regular appearances in the practice tournaments in July, and a lot of online 2+1 training to build the speed. That hard work payed off, as we were able to qualify for the Master's group quite comfortably. Congratulations to our team of talented individuals, of starkly different age groups (oldest 71, youngest 26) and cultural backgrounds (Finnish, Indian, Nepalese) - 1. Seppo 2. Ashwin 3. Pekka 4. Sameep
Final result - 27th in Finland.
Day 1The whole team played quite well to consistently score the necessary points to qualify for Master's. Pekka, who played the individual cup before the tournament started, was in really fine form and came 2nd on board 3, displaying exceptional technical conversion skills in the endgames. Seppo as usual came out all gun blazing, fighting like the boxer he is and delivered once again for the team. I had a slightly rocky start but got into my groove in the second half of the day. And Sameep was solid, managing his time fairly well, but allowing the occasional blunder to slip in.
Team results
- JyS 73
- Aatos 72
- LauttSSK 65,5
- EtVaS 2 61,5
- Gambiitti 3 61,5
- PSY 2 61
Player results
- Seppo (16½/21, 2178) – 4th best on board 1, behind Aku Salonen, Tommi Luukkonen, and Yannick Kather
- Ashwin (15½, 2077) – 5th best on board 2, behind Petteri Laihonen, Aarne Saastamoinen, Henri Koskinen, and Kari Pulkkinen
- Pekka (17, 2051) – 2nd best on board 3, behind Antti Virtanen
- Sameep (16½, 1948) – 3rd best on board 4, behind Heikki Salo and Sami Hämäläinen.
Day 2
Though it was a tough day for us, there was no feeling that we did not belong. Even against the top most teams, we were able to compete and ask challenging questions. Even after enduring multiple consecutive losses, we were able to keep our head together and battle on without tilting.
Team results
- TammerSh 91
- PSY 75
- RaahLi 75
- HSC 74½
- TammerSh 2 69
...
27. LauttSSK 35½
28. LprSK 34½
Seppo handled the pressure of Master's group board 1 remarkably well as usual, proving yet again why he is a former Finnish Senior's champion.
Despite a rough start to the day, enduring 10 consecutive rounds without tasting victory, I managed to dig deep and bounce back in the second half and end with a result I can be quite proud of. The 3+2 format has been my weakness, but I have been working hard at it, and am delighted to see that hard work paying off.
Pekka had some exceptional wins against top level Fide Masters, showing that he can take down the very best of players. There was also a notable improvement in time management.
Sameep had his first exposure to the Master's group, and undoubtedly learned a lot from the experience, which will only make him, and our team a lot stronger in the years to come.
Player results
- Seppo (8/27, 2098)
- Ashwin (11½, 2158)
- Pekka (7, 1976)
- Sameep (9, 1955)
Highlights
- Seppo won against Joni Sokolov (2153), Onni Korjus (2092), Mika Laitinen (2204), Rami Kivilahti (2090), Lauri Kangas (2100), Juha Jordan (2164), and drew against Mikko Kivistö (2221), Jarkko Penttinen (2242), IM Mikael Nouro (2287), and Juha Hynninen (2232).
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Ashwin won against Eero Marjusaari (2095), IM Petri Kekki (2205), Tomi Åberg (2097), Jimi Multanen (2317), Kari Heinola (2101), Mikke Vesa (2102), Sameli Kaitaranta (2052), Toni Vainikka (2152), Kimmo Karvinen (2071), and Petteri Laihonen (2250), and drew against Lauri Hagelberg (2160), Jussi Upero (2247), and Arto Satonen (2203).
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Pekka won against Juha Kemppinen (2145), Sami Hallenberg (2187), Riku Haataja (2113), Miska Moisio (1928), Joel Molander (2043), FM Teemu Topi-Hulmi (2282), and FM Risto Nevanlinna (2238).
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Sameep won against Petri Kopsa (2013), Sauli Tiitta (2072), Aarne Ruokokoski (1847), FM Heikki Salo (2087), Ari Pitkänen (2014), Jani Väkevä (2142), Matias Tuominen (2047), and Sami Hämäläinen (2078), and drew against Verneri Salmi (1966) and Jarmo Hautaniemi (2095).
Memorable Moments for me
- Great outdoor lunch with the extended LauttSSK team at Ravintola Oskari
- Seppo, Sameep and I sharing all our blitz secrets with each other in the car ride to the venue.
- Hearing Seppo talk about his younger days as a boxer, sales director, car crasher, and more.
- Learning about the legacy of the late great FM Harri Hurme and his negotiation skills
- Solving the dinner menu with Seppo and Sameep like it was a tactics puzzle.
- Coming a minute late to a game ala Magnus and still managing to win against a strong opponent
- Meeting one of the YouTube influencers that had come here for the tournament - Tushar Anand
- Collaborative puzzle solving with Sameep on chess.com Survival mode on our way back from the venue.
Great playing with you. See you all next time!
