Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran played out a quick draw against Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo of Cuba in the 10th and final round to become the first Indian to win the Elite event in the 52nd Capablanca Memorial Chess tournament in Varadero, Cuba, on Sunday.
The 36-year-old went into the final round of this double round-robin event with half a point advantage over Ukraine’s Vassily Ivanchuk and the Indian didn’t need to push for a result after the Ukrainian Grandmaster suffered a reversal against Samuel Shakland of USA while trying to go for a win.
Sasikiran, seeded third in the tournament, registered three wins and seven draws to finish with 6.5 points from a possible 10.
The Indian Grandmaster, with an ELO rating of 2669, broke away from the pack when he defeated Shakland and Emilio Cordova in the eighth and ninth round respectively and held on to the lead with an easy draw on Sunday.
Ivanchuk, who has won the tournament six times, and Shakland finished second and third respectively with 5.5 points.
Capablanca Memorial is one of the oldest tournament in Cuba named after former world champion Jose Raul Capablanca.