BHUBANESWAR 14-Jun-2009 2
Ukraine Grandmaster Yuri Drozdovskij was the surprise winner of the 1st SCS International Open GM Chess Tournament which concluded here today. Drozdovskij not only beat compatriot GM Yaroslav Zinchenko in the final round but also overtook overnight sole leader Igor Kurnosov (Russia) and top seed Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands) to script a memorable triumph.
Four foreign GMs - Drozdovskij, Kurnosov, Andrey Rychagov (Russia) and - and India’s MS Thejkumar tied for the top spot with eight points each. But Drozdovskij piped all in Buchholz tie-break method to pocket the title and a cash prize of Rs
WIM Padmini Rout emerged as the most successful Odisha player, finishing 38th with seven points. Altogether 367 players, including 87 titled, from nine countries participated in the 10-round tournament. Titled players included 20 GMs, four WGMs, 33 IMs, four WIMs, 21 FMs, four WFMs and one CM. The week-long tournament was organised by Orissa Chess Association with Vivek Tibarewal as tournament director and Rathinam Anantharam as chief arbiter.
FINAL STANDINGS (Top 20): 1. Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukr, 8), 2. Igor Kurnosov (Rus, 8), 3. Andrey Rychagov (Rus, 8), 4. Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukr, 8), 5. MS Thejkumar (Ind, 8), 6. Enamul Hossain (Ban, 7.5), 7. Georgy Timoshenko (Ukr, 7.5), 8. SP Sethuraman (Ind, 7.5), 9. Ponnuswamy Konguvel (Ind, 7.5), 10. Rahul Sangma (Ind, 7.5), 11. Rustam Khusnutdinov (Kaz, 7.5), 12. Anuar Ismagambetov (Kaz, 7.5), 13. Tejas Bakre (Ind, 7.5), 14. Alexander Zubarev (Ukr, 7), 15. K Rathnakaran (Ind, 7), 16. Roman Ovetchkin (Rus, 7), 17. Sergey Vokarev (Rus, 7), 18. Yaroslav Zinchenko (Ukr, 7), 19. Sergei Tiviakov (Ned, 7), 20. Srinath Narayanan (Ind, 7).
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PHOTO: Champion Yuriy Kuzubov (Right) and runner-up Igor Kurnosov pose with their trophies in Bhubaneswar on June 14, 2009.
