Saidakbar Saydaliev clinches Benidorm Open 2022, Ajay Karthikeyan third
IM Saidakbar Saydaliev and IM Bobir Sattarov, both Uzbeks scored 7.5/9 each. Saidakbar won the Benidorm Open A according to tie-breaks, Bobir was placed second. IM Ajay Karthikeyan S defeated IM Ernesto J Fernandez Guillen (CUB) in the final round to finish third 6.5/9, edging past two more players who finished with the same score. The top three prizes in Group A were €5000, €3000 and €1200 along with a trophy each. 14-year-old Derin Goktepe (USA) won the Group B (<2000) with a perfect score 9/9. 17-year-old Simhadri Sai Hrushikesh scored sole 7.5/9 to finish second. He is gaining a whopping 259.2 Elo rating points. Ilamparthi A R finished third in Blitz scoring 7/9. The tournament had a total prize fund of €42000. Photo: Ismael Nieto/Benidorm Chess Open
Simhadri second in Group B, Ilamparthi third in Blitz
Indians claimed a place on the podium in each of the three events. IM Ajay Karthikeyan third in Open A (>2000) 6.5/9, Simhadri Sai Hrushikesh second in Group B (<2000) 7.5/9 and Ilamparthi A R third in Super Blitz 7/9. The top three prizes in Group B were €3000, €1500 and €1200 along with a trophy each. For Blitz it was - €300, €150 and €120 each respectively.
The tournament was organized by Tour Sport Promociones Deportivas and Caballo Blanco from 3rd to 11th December 2022 at Hotel Meliá Benidorm in Benidorm, Spain. A combined total of 177 players including two GMs, nine IMs, two WGMs and two WIMs in Group A and B, took part in the nine-round Swiss league event from 26 countries across the world. The Blitz events took place on 7th and 8th December 2022. The time control for the Classical event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment, for Blitz it was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.