Sasikiran wins Tan Chin Nam Cup

Indian Grandmaster K Sasikiran added another feather to his cap, winning the inaugural Tan Chin Nam Cup International Open chess tournament, in Qingdao, China.

Sasikiran drew his last round game with GM Alexander Goldin of the United States to win the coveted title.

Seeded second in the tournament, Sasikiran tallied a total of 6.5 points alongwith top seed GMs Xu Jun, N Hua (both China), Goldin and Yasser Seirawan (both USA), but was declared winner by virtue of a better tie-break score.

The tournament boasted a strong field with as many as 22 GMs from seven countries vying for top honours. Sasikiran remained undefeated throughout the event and had four victories to his credit besides five draws.

GM P Harikrishna scored five points and finished 18th in the tournament.

The dye was cast in Sasikiran's favour in the penultimate round itself where he outplayed GM Joel Benjamin (US) to coast to a victory in 61 moves.

Playing white, Sasikiran was up against the Queen's Indian defence and the exchange of pieces at regular intervals did not deter him from pressing for an advantage.

Benjamin gave a tough fight after the exchange of queens on the 18th move and sacrificed a piece for two connected passed pawns on the queenside. However, with excellent deployment of his rook and knight, Sasikiran restricted the advance of black pawns and romped home.