Chess
Hoogeveen Open: Karthikeyan Murali wins gold, Sankalp bags bronze
Karthikeyan scored a brilliant 8.5/9 points to win the Hoogeveen Open while Sankalp Gupta bagged a bronze medal with 6.5 points.
Karthikeyan Murali clinched the Hoogeveen Open 2024 title. (Photo Credits: Chessbase India)
Indian Grandmaster (GM) Karthikeyan Murali won the Hoogeveen Open 2024, scoring a brilliant 8.5 out of a possible 9 points in Hoogeveen, Netherlands on Saturday.
Murali was the highest-rated player in the tournament, and he lived up to the billing by winning the title in a dominating fashion, claiming a big lead of 1.5 points over second-placed Dutch player Nico Zwirs (7/9).
He did not lose a single game in the tournament, claiming eight victories and dropping just a half point as he played out a draw in round 5 against fellow Indian and bronze medal winner Sankalp Gupta (6.5/9).
Murali claimed his title with a win over Ivo Maris of the Netherlands in the final round. Sankalp missed an opportunity to win the silver medal as he played out a draw in the final round against Italian GM Sabino Brunello.
With this performance rating of 2834 at this tournament, Murali has gained a FIDE rating of 15.8 meanwhile with the performance rating of 2570, Sankalp gained a good rating of 6.1.
On the other hand, the third-highest-rated player of the tournament Surya Shekhar Ganguly did not have a good outing at this tournament as he finished in the 12th position with 5.5/9 points.
