Maghsoodloo, Gukesh clinch titles in Mumbai Chess tourney

Mumbai, Jan 8 (PTI) Iranian Grandmaster Parham Maghsoodloo and Indian Candidate Master Gukesh D emerged as the winners of the open and junior groups respectively at the IIFL Wealth 3rd Mumbai International Chess Tournament here.

Six time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who recently won the World Rapid title, was present on the last day of the tournament yesterday.

In the final round of the open event, Parham drew Italian GM David Alberto on the top-board, while American GM Timur Gareyev scored a convincing win over Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta, a media release issued here said today.

These results meant that the Iranian GM finished with a score of 8/9, half a point clear of his nearest competitors.

Meanwhile, the best result amongst Indians was achieved by GM Deepan Chakkravarthy, who finished 4th with a score of 7/9.

In the junior group, the tournament came to an exciting end as Gukesh, who was trailing the top spot for the better part of the tournament, won his final round game against Rohith Krishna S and tied with then leader Pranav V, who could only draw his game against Aaryan Varshney.

In the end, Gukesh's better tie-break score proved decisive, as the 11-year-old from Chennai finished as the champion, while Pranav had to settle for the runner-up spot.

Parham and Gukesh went home richer by Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively.

Final standings:

Open 1. GM Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) 8/9 2. GM David Alberto (Italy) 7.5/9 3. GM Timur Gareyev (USA) 7.5/9 4. GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (India) 7/9 5. GM Atalik Suat (Turkey) 7/9

Junior (Under-13) 1. CM Gukesh D. (India) 8/9 2. Pranav V (India) 8/9 3. Aaryan Varshney (India) 7.5/9 4. Anuj Shrivatri (India) 7.5/9 5. Zia Tahsin Tajwar (Bangladesh) 7.5/9