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Anilkumar keeps crown

By Our Sports Reporter

O.T. Anilkumar of Kerala, who retained the Cusat Open all-India FIDE-rated chess title in Kochi on Wednesday.

KOCHI JUNE 18. After all the early action, the 15th Cusat Open all-India FIDE-rated chess tournament had a quiet end with the top three contenders settling for a draw at the Cochin University's SMS Auditorium here on Wednesday.

Defending champion, Kerala's O.T. Anilkumar retained the title after signing the peace treaty with State-mate M.B. Muraleedharan after 25 moves.

``I had a clear plus in the middle game, but since I was assured of the title after K. Haridas and M. Vinoth Kumar opted for a draw (after just 10 moves) on the second board, I settled for a draw,'' said Anilkumar, after winning his third all-India FIDE-rated tourney. The champion took a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 and the `4 Knights Chess Products Trophy.'

The top four players finished level with eight points in the 10-round event but Anilkumar, who had a superior progressive score, took the title while Chennai's M. Vinoth Kumar and Kerala's Alex Thomas took the next two positions. The top-seeded Muraleedharan finished fourth.

The Cochin University Vice-Chancellor, Dr N. Unnikrishnan Nair, gave away the prizes.

The results (final round): O.T. Anilkumar (Ker, 8 points) drew with M.B. Muraleedharan (Ker, 8), K. Haridas (TNSTC, 8) drew with M. Vinoth Kumar (TN, 8), Alex Thomas (Ker, 8) bt Sardar Amitpal Singh (AP, 7), P.D.S. Girinath (Ker, 7) drew with Soumya Ranjan Mishra (Ori, 7.5), Binju Oommen (Ker, 7) drew with Ram S. Krishnan (TN, 7), P. Sreekumar (Ker, 6.5) lost to T.R. Shanmugananthan (TN, 7), Joy Lazar (Ker, 6.5) lost to K. Priyadarshan (TN, 7.5), U.S. Satheesdan (Ker, 7) drew with Konakanchi Ninad (Mah, 7), U.C. Mohanan (Ker, 7.5) bt M. Rahul Manohar (Ker, 6.5), K.M. Nisam (Ker, 7) drew with Nikhilesh Kumar (AP, 7), P.V. Girish (Ker, 7) bt T. Chinnadurai (TN, 6), K.V. Devadasan (Ker, 6) lost to Sukhpal Singh Khalsi (MP, 7), D. Prabhaharan (TN, 6.5) drew with P. Stanley Samson (TN, 6.5), K.X. Augustus (Ker, 7) bt P. Ramakrishna (AP, 6), S. Jayaprakash (TN, 6) lost to J. Rajpathak Tanmay (Mah 7), Santanu Borpatra (Asm, 6) lost to S.V.C. Chakravarthy (AP, 7), M. Suba Chandran (TN, 6) lost to Kumardip Chakraborty (WB, 6.5), K.R. Madhusoodanan (Ker, 6.5) bt T.L. Shaji (Ker, 5.5), P. Srikanth (AP, 6) drew with R. Praveen Kumar (6), N. Santosh Kumar (Ker, 6) drew with T.H. Bipin Singha (Asm, 6), Merryston David (TN, 6.5) bt B. Sivasankar (TN, 5.5), M.V.G. Kannan (TN, 6) drew with Saket Kumar (Bih, 6), N. Sandhya (Ker, 6) drew with P. Shyam Nikhil (TN, 6), Abhijit Pran (Kar, 5.5) lost to J. Sridhar (TN, 6.5), P.S. Ameer (Ker, 6) drew with R. Sreeram (Ker, 6), Mrinal Kakati (Asm, 6) drew with Pranjal Phukan (Asm, 6), H. Azeezuddin (TN, 5.5) lost to Tejdeep (AP, 6), P.V.V. Sheshu (AP, 6) bt R. Vishnu Menon (Ker, 5), Abhijit Chutia (Asm, 6) bt R. Ganesh Bhat (Ker, 5), C.R. Arun Hariharan (TN, 5) lost to K. Prasanna (TN, 6).

Final placings (top 20): 1. O.T. Anilkumar (Ker, 8 pts from 10 rounds), 2. M. Vinoth Kumar (TN, 8), 3. Alex Thomas (Ker, 8), 4. M.B. Muraleedharan (Ker, 8), 5. Soumya Ranjan Mishra (Ori, 7.5), 6. U.C. Mohanan (HIL, 7.5), 7. K. Haridas (TNSTC-Nagercoil, 7.5), 8. K. Priyadarshan (TN, 7.5), 9. Konakanchi Ninad (Mah, 7), 10. Ram S. Krishnan (TN, 7), 11. T.R. Shanmugananthan (TN, 7), 12. P.D.S. Girinath (AP, 7), 13. Sukhpal Singh Khalsi (MP, 7), 14. P. Sreekumar (Ker, 7), 15. Nikhilesh Kumar (AP, 7), 16. K.M. Nisam (Ker, 7), 17. Sardar Amitpal Singh (AP, 7), 18. U.S. Satheesan (Ker, 7), 19. P.V. Girish (Ker, 7), 20. Binju Oommen (Ker, 7).

Best player prizes: Amit Sukhpal (Guj, under-8), G.A. Stany (Kar, under-10), P. Shyam Nikhil (TN, under-12), Suba Chandran (TN, under-14), Kumardip Chakravarty (WB, under-16), Rajpathak Tanmay (Mah, under-18), Stanley Samson (TN, under-20), Joseph C. Paul (Ker, senior citizen), S. Jayaprakash (TN, veteran), K.X. Augustus (Ker, local player), K.R. Madhusoodanan (Ker, best Kerala player), R.K. Biju (Ker, Cusat player).

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