Naiditsch eases to title; Nubairshah takes third spot

As anticipated, Arkadij Naiditsch took a quick, 18-move draw with Alberto David and strolled across the finish-line to win the Delhi International Open chess tournament here on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Azerbaijani Grandmaster tallied 8.5 points from 10 rounds to collect the winner’s share Rs. 5,00,077 and a heavyweight trophy.

As anticipated, Arkadij Naiditsch took a quick, 18-move draw with Alberto David and strolled across the finish-line to win the Delhi International Open chess tournament here on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Azerbaijani Grandmaster tallied 8.5 points from 10 rounds to collect the winner’s share Rs. 5,00,077 and a heavyweight trophy.

In fact, after winning seven times out of the first eight rounds, Naiditsch proved that he had no equal in the competition. Thereafter, two friendly draws were enough for the firm favourite to justify the pre-event expectations.

Azerbaijan's Arkadij Naiditsch (centre) with the winner's trophy; he is flanked by runner-up Bangaldesh's Ziaur Rahman (left) and third-placed Indian Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh.

Bangladesh’s Ziaur Rahman, who drew with M. Karthikeyan in 82 moves, topped a three-way tie for the second spot and received Rs. 4,00,077. Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh and Hungary’s Adam Hovarth also tallied eight points and collected Rs. 3,00,077 and Rs. 2,50,077, respectively. Ten players tied at 7.5 points for the fifth place.

Barring the draws on the first and fourth boards, all the leading boards saw close battles. In fact, from the fifth to the 14th board, all games proved decisive. National junior champion Harsha Bharathkoti won his final round game against Ukrainian GM Vitaly Sivuk and matched M. Karthikeyan’s tally of 7.5 points. The day also produced an International Master norm for
Koustav Chatterjee.

Meanwhile in ‘C’ category, Anirudh Jain won the title by tallying 9.5 points from 10 rounds.

The caravan now travels to Chennai for the Chennai Open beginning on January 18.

Leading results (Indians unless stated):

10th round: Arkadij Naiditsch (Aze, 8.5) drew with Alberto David (Ita, 7.5); M. Karthikeyan (7.5) drew with Ziaur Rahman (Ban, 8); Adam Hovarth (Hun, 8) bt Akash Iyer (7); Muhammad Khusenkhojaev (Tjk, 7.5) drew with Andrei Devitkin (Rus, 7.5); N. R. Vignesh (7) lost to Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh (8); Attila Czebe (Hun, 7.5) bt Deep Sengupta (6.5); Sergei Tiviakov (Ned, 7.5) bt Marat Dzhumaev (Uzb, 6.5); Koustav Chatterjee (6.5) lost to Adam Tukhaev (Ukr, 7.5); Vitaly Sivuk (Ukr, 6.5) lost to Harsha Bharathakoti (7.5); Vaibhav Suri (7.5) bt D. Bala Chandra Prasad (6.5); Saptarshi Roy Choudhary (6.5) lost to
Deepan Chakkravarthy (7.5).

Standings (with prize-money, in Rs): 1. Naiditsch (5, 00, 077), 2. Rahman (4,00,077), 3. Nubairshah (3,00,077), 4. Horvath (2,50,077), 5. Karthikeyan (2,00,077), 6. Suri (1,50,077), 7. Tiviakov (1,00,077), 8. Alberto (75,077), 9. Deepan (60,077), 10. Tukhaev (50,077).

Best Lady players: 1. Mary Ann Gomes (6.5 points, Rs. 15,000), 2. V. Varshini (6, Rs. 12,000), 3. Angela Franco Valencia (Columbia) (5.5, Rs. 10,000).

Best performer (below 2399 rating): 1. K. Ratnakaran (6.5 points, Rs. 15,000), 2. D. Bala Chandra Prasad (6.5, Rs. 12,000), 3. Rajesh Nayak (6, Rs. 8,000).