BHUBANESWAR 15-Apr-2013 179
Odisha International Master Debashis Das secured his second Grandmaster norm in the 15th Dubai Open Chess Championship, which concluded at Dubai Chess & Cultural Club in Dubai today. Das, 19, finished overall 18th in the nine-round tournament, garnering 6.5 points. He won give games, drew three and lost one.
It was a creditable achievement for Das considering the fact that his starting rank was 44th. After posting wins in the first two rounds, he drew the next two against Romania GM Parligras Mircea-Emilian and Ukrine GM Yuriy Kuzubov.
Czech GM Viktor Laznicka halted Das` impressive run by beating him in the fifth round. But the Odisha IM bounced back winning his next three games against FM Amir Kowsarinia (Ireland), Sohan Phadke (India) and
Georgia GM Shanava Konstantine. Das ended his campaign by holding Indian GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly to a draw in the last round. Russia GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov won the title with 7.5 points.
