P Mangesh Chandran of India won the prestigious 95th Hastings International Chess Congress title while being unbeaten in nine rounds at Hastings, England. Grandmaster Chandran won the trophy by scoring 7.5 aq out of a possible nine in the final round, playing a 33 trick draw with compatriot Grandmaster GA Stany.
The 36-year old Grand Master (GM), who has a FIDE rating of 2479, was unbeaten throughout the tournament. Chandran took the top spot in the standing with 7.5 points from nine games courtesy his 33-move draw in the final round against fellow Indian Grand Master G.A. Stany. Chandran had defeated compatriot Grandmaster Deep Sengupta in the eighth round.
Stany finished sixth with 6.5 points while India’s female Grandmaster R Vaishali finished 10th with six points. India’s Deep Sengupta and Swayam Mishra finished 13th and 14th respectively as both accumulated six points each.
Romain Edward of France finished second with seven points. The French were the only player who was very close to the leader Chandran, as he finished just half-point behind the Indian to take the second spot.
Chandran, on the other hand, had had a splendid run at the tournament. The US-Based Indian chess master had six wins and three draws to his name to finish the tournament on a high. Chandran on his way to the top dominated the tournament which had two players with a 2600-plus ELO rating and five in the 2500-plus category.
Chandran, who was delighted after the win, claimed that his win over fellow Indian Deep Sengupta was his best in the competition. Chandran, who is a native of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, said, “It is great (to win the tournament). I haven’t had such a performance in a long time.” The champion further added, “The game against Deep Sengupta won the best game award. I also liked the game I won against David Howell.”
