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West Bengal Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda beat overnight joint leader Himanshu Sharma in the 10th and final round to clinch the title in the Elite category of the 8th KIIT International Chess Festival, which concluded at KIIT International School here today.
Last year`s runner-up Chanda thus ended the monopoly of foreign Grandmasters who had been asserting supremacy in this lucrative tournament since its inception in 2009. Chanda, 32, finished with eight points, winning six games and drawing the remaining four. His title triumph fetched him the top prize of Rs 3 lakh.
Russia GM Pavel Smirnov settled with runner-up prize of Rs 2 lakh, while Georgia GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili took home the third prize of Rs 1 lakh. Among Odisha players, IM Swayams Mishra was most successful, finishing 17th with 6.5 points. Debashis Das, the only Grandmaster of the host state, occupied the 37th place with six points.
The Elite category produced one GM, three IM and two WIM norms in the process. Railway IM Himanshu Sharma secured the GM norm, while three IM norms were claimed by Tamil Nadu teenager Vignesh Nr, his brother Visakh Nr and Telengana youngster Harsha Bharathakoti. Tamil Nadu pair of R Vaishali and S Harini picked up the two WIM norms.
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NISHAD TAKES PLATINUM TITLE: Defeat in the 10th and last round notwithstanding, Uttar Pradesh teenager Rishabh Nishad clinched the title in the Platinum category (Rating 1999 & below) which concluded earlier on May 27. Competition ended with a three-way tie as overnight sole leader Nishad, Soham Datar (Maharashtra) and Soram Rahul Singh (Assam) finished with 8.5 each. In the final round, Nishad went down to Datar, while Rahul Singh beat Sankarsha Shelke (Maharashtra).
But on the basis of Buchholz tie-break method, 19-year-old Nishad edged past the other two to claim the title and the top prize of Rs 50,000. Datar received Rs 40,000 as runner-up, while Rahul Singh settled with the third prize of Rs 30,000.
Thirteen-year-old Nilsu Pattnayak was the most successful Odisha players, finishing fourth with eight points. State woman champion Smaraki Mohanty and local boy Sambit Panda were other two Odisha players to garner eight points apiece and finish among top 10. Altogether 257 players participated in the Platinum category.
GROVER GRABS PREMIUM TITLE: Punjab teenager Ashwani Kumar Grover emerged champion in the Premium category (ELO 1699 & below), the lowest of the three-tier tournament. Grover won eight games and drew the remaining two to top the table with nine points. He became richer by Rs 50,000. Tamil Nadu duo Prakash V R and Stephen Raj A finished second and third respectively with 8.5 points each.
A whopping 741 players participated in the eight-day festival, which offered a total cash prize of Rs 19 lakh. As many as 140 players from 12 countries, including 24 GMs and 23 IMs took part in the Elite category, the highest in the three-tier festival.
KIIT founder Dr Achyuta Samanta and All India Chess Federation CEO Bharat Singh Chouhan handed over the prizes in the presence of host All Odisha Chess Association president Sekhar Chandra Sahu and secretary Vivek Kumar Tibarewal.
FINAL STANDINGS IN ELITE CATEGORY (Top 12): 1. GM Sandipan Chanda (8); 2-4. GM Pavel Smirnov, GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (each 7.5); 5-12. GM Alexander Zubov, Levan Pantsulaia, GM Luka Paichadze, GM Enamul Hossain, GM Murali Karthikeyan, IM S L Narayanan, IM Himanshu Sharma, GM Merab Gagunashvili (7 each).
ROLL OF HONOUR: ELITE CATEGORY (Read as year, champion, runner-up):
2015 (8th KIIT Cup): 1. GM Sandipan Chanda (India), 2. GM Pavel Smirnov (Russia)
2014 (7th KIIT Cup): 1. GM Merab Gagunashvili (Georgia), 2. GM Sandipan Chanda (India)
2013 (6th KIIT Cup): 1. GM Farrukh Amonatov (Tajikistan), 2. GM Merab Gagunashvili (Georgia)
2012 (4th KiiT Cup): 1. GM Oliver Barbosa (Philippines), 2. G Nikolai Chadaev (Russia)
2011 (3rd Odisha Open): 1. GMAleksej Aleksandrov (Belarus), 2. GM Tigran Petrosian (Armenia)
2010 (2nd SCS Intl Open): 1. GM Martyn Kravtsiv (Ukraine), 2. GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (Belarus)
2009 (1st SCS Intl Open): 1. GM Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukrine), 2. GM Igor Kurnosov (Russia)
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TOP: Elite champion Sandipan Chanda receives the trophy from KIIT founder Dr Achyuta Samanta at the 8th KIIT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar on May 31, 2015.
RIGHT: Platinum title winner Rishabh Nishad (Centre) with runner-up Soham Datar (Left) and third-place finisher Soram Rahul Singh in Bhubaneswar on May 27, 2015.
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