Chess: Aravindh Chithambaram wins 2022 Dubai Open; Pragg finishes second

Indian chess Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram, on Sunday, clinched the recently concluded 2022 Dubai Chess Open title. The 22-year-old held fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa to a draw in the final round to win the title with a score of 7.5 out of 9.

Chithambaram was unbeaten through out the tournament and finished with 6 wins and 3 draws in 9 rounds. With only a draw required in his final round match to win the title, the Chennai lad held Praggnanandhaa to a draw with the white pieces.

Enroute to his title, Aravindh Chitambaram had defeated an in form Arjun Erigiasi in the penultimate round. Erigiasi was unbeaten in the tournament until that point and was one of the favourties to win the title.

The 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa, on the other hand, finished joint second with GM Predke Alexandr, scoring 7 out of 9 points. He finished with one loss, two draws and six wins in the tournament.

Among the other Indians in fray at the 2022 Dubai Chess Open, GM Abhijeet Gupta finished 4th, while IM Sammed Shete, GM SP Sethuraman and GM Arjun Erigiasi finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. GM Harsha Bharathakoti also earned a top 10 finish.