Grand Master Abhijit Kunte won the International Open Chess Tournament that concluded at Kolkata on Wednesday.
Kunte, with 7.5 points, tied with five other players -- national champion Surya Sekhar Ganguly, GMs Aleksej Alexandrov of Belarus, China's Ni Hua, Ukrainian Oleg Romanishin and Iran's Ehshan Ghaem Maghami -- but was adjudged champion on the basis of a better progressive score.
In the final round, Kunte drew with Vietnamese GM Dao Thien Hai in 15 moves in the Ninzo Indian defence.
Maghami and Alexandrov decided to play safe and agreed to a quick draw in only seven moves.
Among the other Indians GMs, Dibyendu Barua (7) outwitted compatriot Sandipan Chanda (6) with a kingside attack in Guico Piano opening while Tejas Bakre (7) finished an unproductive game against Bangladesh GM Reefat Bin-Sattar (7).
Local youngster Saptarshi Roy had a successful outing as he collected 6.5 points and earned an IM norm.
Ganguly and Hua opted for the Ruy Lopez, and the former had some advantage during the middle game but he allowed Hua to exchange pieces and the game ended in a draw in 37 moves.
