New Delhi: German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer has emerged champion of the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest after defeating Dutch player Jorden van Foreest in the final round, while Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa concluded his campaign with a draw against Anish Giri.
Praggnanandhaa’s final-round clash against Giri ended peacefully in 31 moves. Playing with the black pieces in a Nimzo-Indian Defence, the Indian Grandmaster equalised comfortably before the game transitioned into a balanced bishop-and-pawn endgame.
Heading into the last round tied for the lead alongside American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana on five points, Keymer needed a victory to secure the title outright and successfully converted the opportunity with a composed performance.
The German finished the tournament with six points, registering four wins, four draws, and one defeat during the competition. His only loss came against Uzbek Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov, according to chess.com.
Caruana ended in second place after drawing his final-round game against French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to close the event with 5.5 points.
American player Wesley So and Sindarov shared third place on five points following a draw in their concluding encounter.
A large group of players finished tied on 4.5 points, including Praggnanandhaa, Giri, Van Foreest, Vachier-Lagrave, and Romanian Grandmaster Bogdan-Daniel Deac.
