Sasi rules the roost; Prakash gets second GM norm

One and a half points behind was the Kazakhastan GM and one time second of Evgeny Vladimirov, who occupied the runner-up slot. He became richer by $1,500.

IM GB Prakash, who derived the maximum benefit out of this tournament by gaining his second GM norm after totalling seven points, tied for third place along with GM Dibeyendu Barua. However, Prakash, on a better tie-break via the Koya system, got the coveted third place, relegating Barua to fourth spot. They both received $800 each.

Sasikiran, who had almost won this event with a round to spare, was determined to win the final round also against Yuldashev. This was evident from the fact that he chose an aggressive variation against White’s King’s Gambit. Accepting his opponent’s gambit, Sasikiran built up a strong citadel on white’s king side. He surprised his opponent by a knight sacrifice, which forced white’s Queen to go out of play.

Following this, Sasikiran checked white’s king by his centralised queen and developed a supreme attack on kingside. To escape being checkmated, Saidali had to part with the Queen. His rook and Bishop were fighting a losing battle against his opponent’s queen. Anticipating a comfortable win ending, Sasikiran returned his Queen for rook and bishop, but after making a rich harvest of pawns. This three pawns up was enough for the little master to garner a full point in 36 moves.

The R Prasad and Evgeny Vladimorov match resulted in a draw after 30 moves. In the Ruy Lopez Opening with white, Prasad, known for his attacking style, did not spare the GM from his bold attack. He uncovered black’s king by going for a wonderful bishop sacrifice by killing two pawns, which offered strong protection for the king. Not wasting time, Prasad co-ordinated his queen and connected knights to trap the black king.

Unmindful of the situation, the super GM moved his king to the correct square at the appropriate time. This forced both players to repeat same moves, leading to a draw by three-fold repetition, as governed by FIDE laws.

IM Reefat bin Sattar, who missed his maiden GM norm by a whisker in this tournament, was in great form in the final round against GM norm holder Sandipan Chandan. Opting for a opposite side castling, Reefat just tore black’s King side by rolling his pawns towards black’s King. After getting an open file on the rook side, Reefat tripled his Queen and two rooks on the file. His `g’ pawn on the sixth rank denied Sandipan’s King, escaping from the mating net and so he announced his resignation 32 moves. This win has put Sattar in fifth place.

The game between two Indian GMs Dibyendu Barua and Abhijit Kunte ended in a tame draw after 23 moves. In French Defence, both players did not take any risk in the middlegame, which resulted in an even bishop and pawn endgame.

IM Surya Sekhar Ganguly and IM Ghaem Maghan of Iran also settled for a friendly draw after making formal eight moves.

GM Alex Fominyh, who had to catch his flight early on Sunday, was permitted by the organisers to complete his game on Saturday itself. He was held to a draw by India’s youngest IM P Harikrishna after the game reached a symmetrical position in a Reti Opening.

Arvind reigns supreme
CHENNAI: CJ Arvind of Loyola College, Chennai, captured the ONGC Fide Rated Chess Tournament with 10.5 points after the completion of the 13th and final round at Kelambakkam, here on Sunday reports ENS.

In Sunday’s encounter, Arvind drew with P Rajesh of Thiruvallur. It was a convincing and wonderful performance from the youngster, who finished ahead of much stronger opponents. He took home Rs 8,000 for his efforts.

J Ramakrishna (AP) and KV Shantharam of Indian Bank finished second and third with 9.5 points.

Final Placings: CJ Arvind (Che) 10.5 points, J Ramakrishna (AP) 9.5, KV Shantharam (IB) 9.5, 4. Saheli Dhar Barua (Railways) 9, N Sudhakar Babu (IB) 9, M Saimeera (IB) 9, Ebenezer Joseph (P&T Audit) 8.5, K Gunasekaran (ICF) 8.5, P Rajesh (Tvl) 8.5, G Rohit (AP) 8, R Siddharth (Che) 8, Poobesh Anand (Mdu) 8, 13. Ramakrishnan (Che) 8, R Balasubramaniam (ICF) 8, K Gopalakrishnan (IB) 8.