Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and P V Nandhidhaa won the titles in the Open and women's categories , respectively, in the Asian Continental Chess Championship. The tournament was held in New Delhi and the finals took place on Thursday. Praggnanandhaa drew against fellow countryman B Adhiban in a 63-move game in the ninth and final round to clinch the Open title with a lead of seven points.
The 17-year-old Chennai player entered the final round with a lead of half a point over the rest of the other competitors. Praggnanandhaa held off the more experienced Adhiban and settled for the draw to win the top prize. This victory also helped Praggnanandhaa secure a ticket to the next FIDE World Cup.
In the women's event, WGM Nandhidhaa also drew in the ninth round against Divya Deshmukh to finish with 7.5 points. The 26-year-old from Tamil Nadu didn’t lose a game through the nine rounds and registered six victories.
Behind Nandhidhaa, Priyanka Nutakki, Divya Deshmukh and Thi Kim Phung Vo (Vietnam) had equal 6.5 points. But Nutakki finished second because of a better tie-break performance. Deshmukh was placed third and Vo finished fourth.
Final placings: Open: 1. R Praggnanandhaa 7 points, 2. Harsha Bharathakoti 6.5, 3. B Adhiban 6.5, 4. S L Narayanan 6.5, 5. Shamsiddin Vokhidov 6.5, 6. S P Sethuraman 6.5, 7. Karthik Venkataraman 6.5, 8. M Pranesh 6, 9. Viani Antonio D'cunha, 10. Pranav Anand 6, 11. M Shyam Sundar 6, 12. Abhimanyu Puranik 6, 13. Aravindh Chithambaram 6, 14, N R Vignesh 5.5, 15. Koustav Chatterjee 5.5.
Women: 1. P V Nandhidhaa 7.5 points, 2. Priyanka Nutakki 6.5, 3. Divya Deshmukh 6.5, 4. Thi Kim Phung Vo 6.5, 5. Liya Kurmangaliyeva 6, 6. Thi Mai Hug Nguyen 6, 7. Padmini Rout 6, 8. Aakanksha Hagawane 5.5, 9. Nisha Mohota 5.5, 10. Vantika Agrawal 5.5, 11. Mary Ann Gomes 5.5, 12. Amina Kairbekova 5.5, 13. Eesha Karavade 5.5, 14. D Nomin-Erdenne 5.5, 15. Kiran Manisha Mohanty 5.
