Chess.com's eagerly awaited weekly "3|0 Thursday" blitz tournaments once again produced thrilling battles in the opening event on February 26. In particular, IM Reza Mahdavi, one of the form players of recent weeks, extended the momentum from his victory in the previous week's final tournament by also winning this week's opener, effectively starting a streak. Although Mahdavi began the tournament like a storm, losses to GM Mahdi Orimi in round four and CM Nika Volkov in round six left him two points behind leader GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda. But the experienced master was far from finished. Producing a remarkable comeback, Mahdavi won his last five games in a row to tie for first place. The highlight of that run was a short and convincing win over GM Hikaru Nakamura, who had been leading the tournament. That victory brought Mahdavi to nine points, and thanks to the tiebreak system he climbed to the top of the podium. One of Mahdavi's notable moments in the event came in his game against FM Semyon Puzyrevsky. Despite Puzyrevsky's choice of the risky and rare Latvian Gambit, Mahdavi played flawlessly and converted his material advantage into a win.

In the day's second tournament, IM Renato Terry took center stage and etched his name even more deeply into chess history. With this victory, Terry earned the seventh "3|0 Thursday" title of his career, taking sole possession of the record. Having previously shared the record with GM Jose Martinez, Terry has now proven beyond doubt that he is one of the most successful players in this format. The day's third and final tournament pointed to the rise of young talent. One of India's brightest stars, GM Arjun Erigaisi, joined the club by winning his first-ever "3|0 Thursday" title in this event. Like Mahdavi, Erigaisi recovered after an early loss and finished with 8.5 points, once again showing his strength in online blitz chess.

The women's category was also full of excitement. WIM Kalyani Sirin continued her consistent run by winning her fifth prize in the last three weeks, collecting awards in the first and third events. In the day's second tournament, IM Karina Ambartsumova recorded her 11th victory in this format, extending her women's record and underlining just how dominant a figure she is. The performance of IM Yoseph Taher, who finished second in Mahdavi's tournament, was also worthy of praise. Like Mahdavi, he produced a tremendous comeback, winning his final seven games in a row to reach nine points. These results once again proved that Chess.com's "3|0 Thursday" tournaments are not only a stage for the biggest names, but also a platform full of surprises and comebacks that players of every level follow with great excitement.