Team Orisports 30-May-2010 121
Ukraine Grand Master Martyn Kravtsiv edged out four other GMs and one IM in tie-breaker to emerge champion in the 2nd SCS International Open GM Chess Tournament, which concluded at Hotel Swosti Premium here today. These five tied for the top spot with 8.5 points each from 11 rounds. But the title eventually went to Kravtsiv as his Buchholz tie-break score (76.5) was better than the other four.
Belarus GM Aleksej Aleksandrov finished runner-up with a tie-break score of 76. In the absence of an outright winner, the top six cash prizes were shared by the top six with each pocketing Rs 87,667 each.
In the 11th and final round, Delhi school boy Vaibhav Suri, who became an IM two days ago, caused the only upset, defeating International Master MR Lalith Babu. The impressive win also fetched Suri his maiden GM norm. National champion B Adhiban lived upto everybody’s expectation by securing his second GM norm with a draw against top seed and Russain GM Alexey Dreev.
IM Debasish Das emerged as the most successful Orissa player, occupying the 22nd position with 7.5 points. Three other Orissa players _ IM Swayangsu Sagyapragyan (25th), Swayams Mishra (48th) and Anwesh Upadhyaya (49th) _ could book places among the top 50 with seven points apiece. Among others, WGMs Padmini Rout (6.5) and Kiran Manisha Mohanty (6.5) finished 57th and 67th respectively.
Altogether, nine players from the state finished among the top 100. Overall, the tournament, offering a total prize fund of Rs 11 lakhs and involving a total of 85 title holders, including 34 GMs, 26 IMs and 3 WGMs, lived upto its image as the strongest of its kind in Asia, producing three titles (two IM, one WGM) and seven norms (two GM, one WGM, four IM) in the process.
Out of 100 prize winners, five from Orissa _ Debasish Das, Swayangsu Satyapragyan, Swayams Mishra, Anwesh Upadhyaya and Padmini Rout _
found places among the top 60. Padmini Rout, however, received the best woman prize of Rs 8,000. Besides, other top 20 Orissa players received Rs 4,000 each.
The eventful ninth round local WIM Padmini Rout stole the show when she stunned Hungarian GM Zoltan Varga to become the second WGM of Orissa after Kiran Manisha Mohanty. Petite Padmini capitalized on a rook-knight exchange to clinch victory and her third WGM norm after 32 moves. It was a major achievement for the teenager, who had obtained her first norm at the Asian Junior Championship in Colombo (July, 2009) and the second at a close GM tournament in Hungary (January, 2010). It was the third encounter between Padmini and Varga with the earlier two ending in draws in Hungary.
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