Top-seeded Indian Grandmaster, R Praggnanandhaa and compatriot P V Nandhidhaa won the titles in the Open and women’s sections respectively in the Asian Continental Chess championship, in New Delhi.
Praggnanandhaa drew with compatriot B Adhiban in a 63-move game in the ninth and final round to emerge clear winner with seven points.
The 17-year-old Chennai player had gone into the final round with half a point lead over the rest of the field. He held off the challenge from the experienced Adhiban and shared honours to win the top prize.
SL Narayanan, Harsha Bharatathakoti, Karthik Venkataraman and Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov were all in contention of claiming the title but ended their final round matches in draws.
The win gave Pragg a berth at the next FIDE World Cup as well.
