Jules Moussard wins rapid and blitz titles at Pall Mall Masters

French grandmaster Jules Moussard won both Masters titles at the Pall Mall Masters, played at the Army and Navy Club in London on 3–4 October 2026. He scored 7.5 points from 10 games in the Super Rapid and seven from 10 in the Super Blitz, according to English Chess Federation results. The double win headed an international field at an event that also gave English players a rare central London contest against strong overseas opposition, as the Guardian described it.

Gawain Maroroa Jones was the leading English finisher in the Masters rapid competition, taking second place with 6.5 points. In the separate Challengers competitions, the Guardian reported that US grandmaster Praveen Balakrishnan shared first place in rapid with Ameet Ghasi on six points from nine games, then won the blitz outright with the same score. Those results put the French and US winners at the centre of the weekend’s two competitions.

How Jules Moussard won both Masters events

The federation’s rapid results put Moussard a full point ahead of Maroroa Jones. Benjamin Bok placed third with six points, followed by Sergei Tiviakov on 5.5. Maxime Lagarde finished fifth with 2.5, while Luke McShane was sixth with two. The six players formed a double round robin: each faced the other five twice across the ten rounds. The standings show a clear lead for Moussard in rapid, with the next four places separated by four points.

Moussard also finished first in the Masters blitz standings, on seven points. Bok was second with six and Lagarde third with 5.5. Tiviakov and McShane each scored four, with Tiviakov listed fourth and McShane fifth; Maroroa Jones was sixth on 3.5. The change in order between the two events was pronounced for the English runner-up in rapid: Maroroa Jones dropped to the bottom of the six-player blitz table, while McShane moved up one place.

Why the Pall Mall Masters format drew attention

The English Chess Federation listed the festival as a combination of rapid and blitz chess rather than a single-format event. Its schedule placed five rapid rounds and the first blitz round on Saturday, 3 October, then rapid rounds six to ten on Sunday, 4 October. The Guardian said the two formats were held over the same weekend, with playing days running from about 10am to 7pm. That schedule gave the Masters players two distinct competitions during one visit to the London venue.

Guardian chess columnist Leonard Barden suggested that such a schedule could help address withdrawals in tournaments where players lose their chance of winning early and leave before the end. That is his assessment of a possible benefit, rather than a measured outcome from Pall Mall. Neither the published results nor the event listing establishes that this festival reduced withdrawals. Barden also argued that speed chess can produce more checkmate finishes because players continue in hopes of a mistake or overlook a threat.

The Guardian characterised master-level chess in central London as rare and called this event a test of UK players against strong foreign opposition. The Masters field, as recorded by the federation, included Moussard, Maroroa Jones, McShane, Bok, Tiviakov and Lagarde. Its mix of English and overseas players helps explain why the results matter beyond the two title wins: the rapid runner-up was English, but Moussard led both final tables and Bok was second in blitz.

English players and the next championships

The Guardian noted that the Pall Mall tournament came only a few days after the Samarkand Olympiad. It described McShane as having been in contention for an individual medal with England in Uzbekistan before his low finish in London. The short interval is relevant context for the schedule, but the reporting does not establish why McShane scored two points in rapid and four in blitz. The federation’s tables record his results without offering an explanation of his form.

The Guardian reported that the next English Championships, covering classical, rapid and blitz chess, were scheduled for Peterborough from 24 October to 1 November, with a prize fund above £20,000. It identified Maroroa Jones and nine-time British champion Michael Adams as likely leading contenders, with Ghasi another principal challenger. Those are pre-event expectations, not championship results. For now, the confirmed Pall Mall outcome is Moussard’s two Masters wins and Balakrishnan’s outright Challengers blitz victory.