BENASQUE (SPAIN), July 15: International master Krishnan Sasikiran of India drew an exciting game against Grandmaster Alexey Kuzmin of Russia on the top board game in the ninth and final round of the International Chess Championship here today, finishing fifth in the final standings.The draw cost Kuzmin the title, but Sasi picked up the award for the best junior of the event by scoring 7.5 points.Kuzmin adopted Samisch variation against Sasi'S Kings Indian Defence and had a slight advantage in the complex middlegame position. Sasi overlooked a tactical operation by the GM and emerged a pawn down in the end game. But due to the pressure, Kuzmin blundered his pawn and in a rook and bishop versus rook and knight endgame, Sasi was having the initiative by weaving a mating net against the white King with his actively placed rook and bishop. But he missed a promising continuation and allowed the GM to escape with a draw.Roktim Bandyopadhyay played a good defensive game to draw with Grandmaster Saltaev ofUzbekistan to reach 6.5 points, to be joined by IM P Konguvel and Neelotpal Das on the same points by defeating Garza Marco and Baron Rodriguez respectively.Other results: GM Georgadze (7.5) beat GM Movsziszian (6.5); GM Jansa (7) drew GM Baburin (7); GM Forintas (6.5) lost to GM Pavlovic (7.5); GM Komljenovic (6) lost to GM Granda Zuniga (7); V Saravanan (6) beat Sanpedro Lopez (5); Sandipan Chanda (6) beat Reig Pinol (5); R G Shetty (5.5) lost to IM Dominguez (6.5)Placings: 1-2: Cifuentes and Barbero (8); 3-6: Kuzmin, Georgadze, Sasikiran and Pavlovic (7.5); 7-17: Ubilava, Conquest, Granda Zuniga, Baburin, Zhaoqinpeng, Yves Ranola, Apicella, Felix Izeta, Marin Pogorelov and Jansa (7).
