BHUBANESWAR 28-May-2013 256
Tajikistan Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov emerged champion in the Elite Category (rating 2200 & above) of the 5th KIIT International Chess Festival, which concluded here at the KIIT International School on today. He drew his 10th and last-round game with Georgia Grandmaster Merab Gagunashvili and both the players tied for the top spot with eight points each.
However, on the basis of Buchholz tie-break rule, Amonatov lifted the trophy, which fetched him a cash prize of Rs 3 lakhs, while Gagunashvili settled with runner-up prize of Rs 2 lakhs. Armenia Grandmaster Zaven Andriasian finished third with 7.5 points to take home Rs 1 lakh.
Among the Indians, four _ Swapnil S Dhopade, Vaibhav Suri, Abhijit Kunte and Ankit R Rajpara _ secured places among the top 10. But no one from Odisha player could find a place among the top 30 finishers in the Elite category.
IM Swayams Mishra proved to be the best performer, finishing 32nd with six points. He was followed by WGM Kiran Manisha Mohanty (45 th, 5.5), WGM Padmini Rout (45th, 5.5), Sidhant Mohapatra (55 th, 5), Rakesh Kumar Nayak (96th, 4), FM Rakesh Kumar Jena (101st, 3.5), Baivab Mishra (108th, 3.5), Sunyasakta Satpathy (111th, 3), Sekhar Chandra Sahu (119th, 2).
Altogether 123 players from 13 countries vied for honours in the Elite category. There were 63 titled players in the fray, including 22 Grandmasters, 23 International Masters, two Woman Grandmasters and as many Woman International Masters.
Five top Odisha players did not participate in the tournament for different reasons. They were IMs Swayangsu Satyapragyan, Debashis Das, Anwesh Upadhyaya, FM Soumya Ranjan Mishra and Utkal Ranjan Sahoo. As many as five players secured norms in the tournament, which carried a total prize fund of Rs 17 lakhs.
