HYDERABAD, JULY 28: Young Indian knight K Sasikiran created a major flutter by defeating top seed Evegeny Vladimirov of Kazakistan in the final round to leap on to the third slot of the Wipro Internationa GM's chess tournament which concluded here on Friday.However, Vladimirov clinched the title with 9 points followed by Alexander Fominyh of Russia with 7.5, Sasikiran (6.5), S Vijayalakshmi (Ind) and P Harikrishna (Ind) 6 points each.The Kazak GM would be given a cash award of US $ 2,500, while Fominyh and Sasikiran would be richer by $ 2,000 and $ 1,500 each for their second and third slots.S Vijayalakshmi and P Harikrishna would split $ 750 while DV Prasad and Abhijit Kunte would share $ 500 and SS Ganguly and Ionov (Rus) split $ 500 for finishing in the subsequent places with equal points. The prizes would be given away at a function to be held on Saturday.On the top board, Sasikiran scored a thumping victory over Vladimirov in the Queen's Gambit Accepted variation in just 27 moves to take the third slot in the tournament.In the other games, Fominyh defeated tailender Aarthie Ramaswamy (Ind) and Vijayalakshmi, after a pitched battle, split points with DV Prasaad. Ionov (Rus) defeated Sandipan Chanda (Ind) and P Harikrishna (Ind) drew with compatriot Ganguly. Vijayalakshmi and DV Prasad played a closed game in the King's-Indian attack opening which resulted in a draw after 26 moves. Both the players missed some vital moves and the post game analysis showed that Viji wasted two moves at the start while Prasad missed `d5'.With the draw Viji was tied with P Harikrishna with 6 points but by applying the ``Koya System'' for resolving ties in round robin event Vijayalakshmi was awarded fourth place. The prize money, however, would be shared equally, chess federation secretary PT Umer Koya said.In a one-sided match, Fominyh shell-shocked Aarthie by placing his knight on the sixth rank. His knight on `d6' had a menacing effect on the opponent. As Aarthie's position went from bad to worse the Russian tightened the web in a smooth and lethal technique to clinch the game.Russian GM Ionov trounced Sandeepan Chanda in the Queen's-Indian defence after 53 moves while Ganguly drew with P Harikrishna in a French open game.Results (Round 13): Vladimirov (9) lost to Sasikiran (6.5); Fominyh (7.5) beat Aarthie (1); Harikrishna (6) drew with Ganguly (5); Vijayalakshmi (6) drew with DV Prasad (5.5); M Sorokin (4.5) rest day; Abhijit Kunte (5.5) rest day; Sandipan Chanda (4.5) lost to Ionov (5)StandingsFinal Standings: 1. Evegeny Vladimirov (Kazhakistan, 9 pts) 2. Aledxander Fominyh (Russia, 7.5) 3. K Sasikiran (India, 6.5); 4. S Vijayalakshmi and P Harikrishna (India, 6) 5. DV Prasad (India, 5.5) 6. Abhijit Kunte (India, 5.5) 8. SS Ganguly (India) and Sergey Ionov (Kirgizstan)
