Chennai’s Ram S. Krishnan won his maiden Cusat Open all-India FIDE-rated chess title at the Cochin University campus.
The 26-year-old, who has no formal training in the game, was surprised with the victory which fetched him the top prize of Rs. 15,000.
“Till last (Monday) morning, I was not in contention,” said Ram, the only one among the four overnight leaders who won the final round on Tuesday.
Ram, who defeated his State-mate J. Sridhar in the last round, finished with 8.5 points in the 10-round event, while Andhra Pradesh’s M. Srinivasa Rao and Kerala’s Joy Lazar took the second and third positions.
Prof. Godfrey Louis, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Cusat, gave away the prizes.
The results (10th round): J. Sridhar lost to Ram S. Krishnan; C.R.G. Krishna drew with M.A. Joy Lazar; M. Srinivasa Rao bt Binju Oommen, J. Arun lost to O.T. Anilkumar; Hemant Kumar Singh drew with Uttam Sharma; S. Ganesh Babu bt Uttam Sarkar; T.H. Senthil Kumaran bt U.C. Mohanan; Malla Nooka Raju drew with T.U. Navin Kanna; M.B. Muralidharan drew with V.M. Jishore, M.V. Ratheesh lost to P.V. Gireesh.
Final placings: 1. Ram S. Krishnan (TN, 8.5 pts), 2. M. Srinivasa Rao (AP, 8), 3. M.A. Joy Lazar (Ker, 8), 4. C.R.G. Krishna (AP, 8), 5. O.T. Anilkumar (Ker, 8), 6. S. Ganesh Babu (TN, 7.5), 7. J. Sridhar (TN, 7.5), 8. Linda Rangarajan (Pud, 7.5), 9. T.H. Senthil Kumaran (TN, 7.5), 10. Uttam Sharma (TN, 7).
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