Al Ain: Georgian GM Gaoiz Nigalidze beat compatriot Mikheil Mchedlishvili in the final round of the Al Ain Classic Chess Championship at the Hili Rayhaan by Rotana hotel here to clinch the $11,000 (Dh40,000) top prize.
The 25-year-old won by a tiebreak over three others. Nigalidze finished with seven points together with GM Tigran Petrosian of Armenia, Vladimir Onischuk of Ukraine and Sergei Zhigalko of Belarus.
Petrosian used the Pirc Defence to hold co-leader Onischuk to a draw by stalemate in 60 moves to leave them in second and third places respectively. Zhigalko won a king and pawn endgame in 47 moves over GM Sandipan Chanda of India to place fourth.
Eight players scored 6.5 points each to tie for fifth to 12th places — Yuriy Kryvoruchko and Alexander Areshchenko of Ukraine, Abhijeet Gupta and Vidit Santos Gujrathi of India, Mikhailo Oleksienko of Ukraine, Mircea-Emilian Parligras of Romania and Samuel Ter-Sahakyan and Arman Pashikian of Armenia respectively.
Tied with six points each and landing in the top 20 places for a share of the $50,000 in cash prizes were, in order of finish, were Yuriy Kuzubov of Ukraine, Sahaj Grover of India, Samuel Shankland of the US, Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan, Sandipan, Alexander Kovchan of Ukraine, Sergei Volkov of Russia and Mchedlishvili.
Seven other players tied at six points but lost out in the tiebreak to miss the money prizes — G.N. Gopal and Ankit Rajpara of India, Ulvi Bajarani of Azerbaijan, Viktor Moskalenko of Spain, Mahmoud Lodhi of Pakistan, Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan and Manuel Petrosyan of Armenia.
