Noisiel International Open 2021: Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan clinches Classical event to win tournament

Noisiel, France: Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan won the Noisiel International Open 2021 Chess Tournament in Noisiel, France, scoring eight points from nine rounds in the Classical event after securing the top prize in the Blitz section. Iniyan (Elo rating 2506) finished half a point ahead of higher-rated GM Yuri Solodovnichenko of Ukraine (Elo 2561) who secured 7.5 points, while French International Master Kambrath Yannick took third place. Iniyan won seven of the nine games he played, including against two French International Masters. He drew two games and one of those was against Ukraine’s Solodovnichenko. He finished the event with a win over Sebastian Pucher in the ninth round late on Saturday. This was GM Iniyan’s first over-the-board open event since January 2020 and his victory enabled him to gain 13 rating points. The nine-round Swiss system with Classical time control saw 54 players from nine countries participating. Earlier, the Indian GM won the blitz event, scoring 7.5 points from nine rounds. He won seven games, drew one and lost one to Azerbaijan GM Guliyev Namig. Iniyan posted wins against French GM Jonathan Dourerassou, Tunisian GM Slim Belkhodj, French IMs Kambrath Yannick and Benjamin Bujish. He settled for a draw against Solodovnichenko. He had finished equal on 7.5 points with two others but emerged the winner on the basis of a better tie-break score.