GM Kirill Alekseenko shows dominance at Chessable Sunway Sitges Chess 2022

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Russian grandmaster Kirill Alekseenko emerged as the sole Winner of the 9th Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival.

GM Kirill Alekseenko showed complete dominance at the event maintaining the lead from the very beginning. The 25-year-old was scoring 7/7 points, having whopping chances to win the event with only three rounds to go. Nonetheless, the last round happened to be decisive for the first as Alekseenko faced GM Hans Niemann who trailed by half a point. The Russian needed half a point to clinch the event and the game finished in a draw after the thrilling fight and slight edge for Niemann. With 8.5/10 points, Alekseenko pocketed the Winner prize of 5.000 euros.

GM Hans Niemann and GM Amin Tabatabaei tied for second place scoring 8 points each. It is interesting that Tabatabaei cruised back to the top after withdrawing from the first game against Israeli IM Netanel Levi as Iran’s Government does not recognize the legitimacy of Israel as a state.

The playoffs played under the Sitges’ sky determined 2nd-8th positions. GM Hans Niemann came second, GM Amin Tabatabei third. As many as 11 players tied for third but after the playoffs, GM Manuel Petrosyan came fourth, GM Vasif Durarbayli fifth, GM Yu Yangyi sixth, GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy seventh and GM Murali Karthikeyan finished in the 8th place.

Fighting for 2nd and 3rd! GM @HansMokeNiemann 🇺🇸 and GM Amin Tabatabaei 🇮🇷. pic.twitter.com/zrN8RtSmlI

— Sunway Chess Festival (@SunwayChessOpen) December 22, 2022

IM Irina Bulmaga was the best-ranked female player despite a slow start. A strong finish brought her to the top bringing her the money prize of 1.500 euros. IM Teodora Injac and IM Nurgyul Salimova came second and third (respectively) thanks to the best tiebreak criteria.

The 9th edition of the Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival was played from 11th – 22nd December in Sitges, Barcelona. The Festival featured two Open tournaments (A and B), blitz side events, and masterclasses, with the total prize fund amounting to 27.155€. The main tournament Open A was played in 10 rounds according to the swiss system, with a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and the increment of 30 seconds from the move one.

Final standings:

Rk.		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	GM	Alekseenko Kirill		FID	2672	8.5
2	GM	Niemann Hans Moke		USA	2698	8
3	GM	Tabatabaei Mohammad Amin		IRI	2660	8
4	GM	Petrosyan Manuel		ARM	2621	7.5
5	GM	Yu Yangyi		CHN	2728	7.5
6	GM	Durarbayli Vasif		AZE	2612	7.5
7	GM	Karthikeyan Murali		IND	2620	7.5
8	GM	Bernadskiy Vitaliy		UKR	2617	7.5
9	GM	Dardha Daniel		BEL	2606	7.5
10	GM	Esipenko Andrey		FID	2678	7.5
11	GM	Moussard Jules		FRA	2684	7.5
12	GM	Tin Jingyao		SGP	2562	7.5
13	IM	Willow Jonah B		ENG	2409	7.5
14	IM	Boyer Mahel		FRA	2434	7.5
15	GM	Puranik Abhimanyu		IND	2616	7
16	GM	Korobov Anton		UKR	2662	7
17	GM	Adhiban B.		IND	2611	7
18	GM	Svane Frederik		GER	2568	7
19	GM	Cheparinov Ivan		BUL	2688	7
	GM	Kollars Dmitrij		GER	2610	7
21	GM	Jones Gawain C B		ENG	2630	7
22	GM	Sankalp Gupta		IND	2485	7
23	IM	Woodward Andy		USA	2457	7
24	GM	Arjun Kalyan		IND	2505	7
25	GM	Van Foreest Jorden		NED	2690	7
26	IM	Nigmatov Ortik		UZB	2439	7
27	GM	Kraemer Martin		GER	2583	7
28	IM	Aditya Mittal		IND	2479	7
29		Ilamparthi A R		IND	2336	7
30	GM	Cheng Bobby		AUS	2583	7
31	GM	Goh Wei Ming Kevin		SGP	2452	7
32	IM	Sammed Jaykumar Shete		IND	2430	7
33	FM	Bhambure Shantanu		IND	2306	7
34	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.		IND	2607	6.5
35	GM	Grigoryan Karen H.		ARM	2619	6.5
36	GM	Demchenko Anton		FID	2632	6.5
37	FM	Jubin Jimmy		IND	2376	6.5
38	GM	Gines Esteo Pedro Antonio		ESP	2500	6.5
39	IM	Gokerkan Cem Kaan		TUR	2470	6.5
40	GM	Alsina Leal Daniel		ESP	2527	6.5
41	GM	Firat Burak		TUR	2460	6.5
42	IM	Tahay Alexis		FRA	2400	6.5
43	FM	Bilych Olexiy		UKR	2401	6.5
44	IM	Wadsworth Matthew J		ENG	2470	6.5
45	GM	Raja Rithvik R		IND	2453	6.5
46	IM	Abdurakhmonov Mukhammadali		UZB	2397	6.5
47	IM	Garcia Ramos Daniel		ESP	2439	6.5
48	IM	Prraneeth Vuppala		IND	2427	6.5
49	FM	Akbas Umut Ata		TUR	2351	6.5
50	IM	Ajay Karthikeyan		IND	2430	6.5
51	IM	Sattarov Bobir		UZB	2389	6.5
52	FM	Saydaliev Saidakbar		UZB	2419	6.5
53	GM	Velten Paul		FRA	2465	6.5
54	IM	Sousa Andre Ventura		POR	2466	6.5
55	FM	Bai Adelard		TPE	2411	6.5
56	IM	Erdogmus Yagiz Kaan		TUR	2453	6.5
57		Ojas Kulkarni		IND	2196	6.5
58	IM	Bulmaga Irina	w	ROU	2432	6.5
59	GM	Aryan Chopra		IND	2618	6
60	IM	Samant Aditya S		IND	2470	6
61	CM	Nurgaliyev Sauat		KAZ	2150	6
62	GM	Sumets Andrey		UKR	2506	6
63	IM	Gholami Orimi Mahdi		IRI	2415	6
64	GM	Sochacki Christophe		FRA	2463	6
65	IM	Abdisalimov Abdimalik		UZB	2447	6
66	WGM	Injac Teodora	w	SRB	2365	6
67	IM	Sardana Rishi		AUS	2460	6
68	FM	Mathieu Phileas		FRA	2367	6
69	IM	Valenzuela Gomez Fernando		CHI	2361	6
70		Prudhvi Kumar V		IND	1733	6
71	FM	Kanov Nikola		BUL	2377	6
72	IM	Salimova Nurgyul	w	BUL	2390	6
73	IM	Kaasen Tor Fredrik		NOR	2452	6
74	WGM	Divya Deshmukh	w	IND	2347	6
75	IM	Dionisi Thomas		FRA	2390	6
76	IM	Rendle Thomas E		ENG	2381	6
77	FM	Ram Aravind L N		IND	2272	6
78	IM	Fernandez Guillen Ernesto J.		CUB	2462	6
79		Mompel Ferruz Xavier		ESP	1953	6
80	IM	Fataliyeva Ulviyya	w	AZE	2428	6
81	WGM	Priyanka Nutakki	w	IND	2316	6
82		Vignesh Bhuvaneswari		IND	2032	6
83		Arjun Chitrakudam  Krishnamachari		IND	2241	6
84	IM	Sarkar Justin		USA	2343	6
85	WGM	Nandhidhaa P V	w	IND	2358	6
86	IM	Leisch Lukas		AUT	2405	6
87		Tudor Henry Edward		ROU	1942	6
88		Hiren K G		IND	1965	6
89	GM	Narciso Dublan Marc		ESP	2448	6
90	FM	Yordanov Lachezar		BUL	2294	6
91	IM	Meister Peter		GER	2347	6
92	GM	Safarli Eltaj		AZE	2616	5.5
93	GM	Sanal Vahap		TUR	2597	5.5
94	FM	Pablo Mari Alejandro		ESP	2338	5.5
95	FM	Jain Kashish Manoj		IND	2334	5.5
96	FM	Harshad S		IND	2202	5.5
97	GM	Pogorelov Ruslan		UKR	2288	5.5
98	CM	Wong Zhenyong Jayden		SGP	2181	5.5
99	FM	Dalaud Dorian		FRA	2342	5.5
100		Sherman Reem		ISR	2179	5.5
101	FM	Alexiadis Hristos		GRE	2342	5.5
102	WIM	Rakshitta Ravi	w	IND	2242	5.5
103	IM	Moksh Amit Doshi		IND	2414	5.5
104	WGM	Pourkashiyan Atousa	w	USA	2321	5.5
105	CM	Blasco Coll Andreu		ESP	2294	5.5
106	GM	Nevednichy Vladislav		ROU	2502	5.5
107	IM	Fitzsimons David		IRL	2352	5.5
108	IM	Baenziger Fabian		SUI	2426	5.5
109		Assylov Miras		KAZ	2044	5.5
110	FM	Wagh Suyog		IND	2376	5.5
111	FM	Voiteanu Gabriel		ROU	2152	5.5
112	FM	Castellanos Gomez Alejandro		ESP	2277	5.5
113	FM	Vitier Vazquez Cristian		CUB	2424	5.5
114	IM	Song Julien		FRA	2369	5.5
115	FM	Kholopov Alexander A.		FID	2146	5.5
116	WIM	Newrkla Katharina	w	AUT	2265	5.5
117	IM	Karavade Eesha	w	IND	2325	5.5
118	FM	Atanasov Anthony		CAN	2251	5.5
119	WGM	Schneider Jana	w	GER	2272	5.5
120	CM	Rajarishi Karthi		IND	2239	5.5
121	IM	Borocz Istvan		HUN	2334	5.5
122	WIM	Hryzlova Sofiia	w	UKR	2157	5.5
123		Gugan Govindan		IND	2126	5.5
124	FM	Mamedov Edgar		KAZ	2283	5.5
125		Fanninger Leon		AUT	2136	5.5
126	FM	Lye Lik Zang		MAS	2241	5.5
127	IM	Krastev Alexander		GER	2416	5.5
128		Karadzhov Ivan		BUL	2024	5.5
129	CM	Dahale Atul		IND	2222	5.5
130		Pousada Garcia Daniel		ESP	1960	5.5
131		Coles Ruben		FRA	2098	5.5
132	IM	Sidhant Mohapatra		IND	2337	5
133	IM	Sai Agni Jeevitesh J		IND	2226	5
134	GM	Ivanchuk Vasyl		UKR	2673	5
135	CM	Vaibhav Jayant Raut		IND	2247	5
136	FM	Carbonell Sancho Marc		ESP	2384	5
137		Kushal O		IND	1801	5
138	CM	Shaik Sumer Arsh		IND	2290	5
139		Cherniack Alex		USA	2188	5
140	IM	Ayats Llobera Gerard		ESP	2464	5
141	IM	Bournel Antoine		FRA	2392	5
142	FM	Nawin Jayaprakash Jayavalli		IND	2351	5
143	FM	Dixit Nikhil		IND	2306	5
144	FM	Kristoferitsch Daniel		AUT	2286	5
145		Aditya Varun Gampa		IND	2249	5
146	FM	Shailesh Dravid		IND	2286	5
147	CM	Korkmaz Necmettin		TUR	2077	5
148	WIM	Benmesbah Natacha	w	FRA	2268	5
149	FM	Torngren Gustav		SWE	2275	5
150	FM	Lim Zhuo Ren		MAS	2305	5
151	WIM	Priyanka K	w	IND	2146	5
152		Perkampus Laurin		GER	2168	5
153		Saravanan Durga	w	SGP	1784	5
154	WFM	Pipiras Filipa Fortuna	w	POR	2065	5
155		Saveljevs Aleksandrs		LAT	1974	5
156		Gasic Merino Franco		CHI	2195	5
157		Morais Miguel Almeida		POR	1844	5
158	FM	Van Dael Siem		NED	2345	5
159	GM	Vogt Lothar		GER	2339	5
160	WGM	Gong Qianyun	w	SGP	2299	5
161		Halegua Dani		FRA	2095	5
162	WIM	Gaboyan Susanna	w	ARM	2200	5
163	FM	Bach Matthias		GER	2208	5
164		Wecker Martin		GER	2150	5
165		Panjer Sidney		GER	2100	5
166	CM	Gulatz Maurice		GER	2227	5
167	FM	Domene Mulyukov Alexander		ESP	2271	5
168		Chitre Arush		IND	1646	5
169		Comellas Blanchart Jordi		ESP	2034	5
170		Levesque Guillaume		FRA	1887	5
171		Kumar Sanjit S		ENG	1965	5
172		Ortega Serra Marc		ESP	2291	4.5
173	CM	Md Imran		IND	2279	4.5
174	CM	Ribera Veganzones Serni		AND	2199	4.5
175	WIM	Rakhmangulova Anastasiya	w	UKR	2296	4.5
176	IM	Clarke Brandon G I		ENG	2484	4.5
177		Rodriguez Diaz Javier		ESP	2084	4.5
178	FM	Ruiz Buendia Miguel		ESP	2257	4.5
179		Joel Paul Ganta		IND	2183	4.5
180	WGM	Enkhtuul Altan-Ulzii	w	MGL	2285	4.5
181		Van Kessel Wessel		BEL	2145	4.5
182		Levi Netanel		ISR	2179	4.5
183		Uber Gracia Hugo		ESP	1931	4.5
184	FM	Krasteva Beloslava	w	BUL	2350	4.5
185	FM	Kostov Deyan Samuil		BUL	2260	4.5
186		Patil Harshal		IND	1928	4.5
187		Shreyas Seshadri Nallore		IND	1849	4.5
188		Chia Yu Zhe Ashton		SGP	1970	4.5
189	WFM	Nilssen Ellen Fredericia	w	DEN	2187	4.5
190		Lever Erwan		FRA	2241	4.5
191		Nesse David		NOR	1809	4.5
192	CM	Butolo Alexandru-Mircea		ROU	2043	4.5
193		Stanetzek Carsten		GER	2172	4.5
194		Villa Tornero Alex		ESP	1925	4.5
195	FM	Schulze Lara	w	GER	2284	4.5
196		Le Pen Steven		FRA	2038	4.5
197		Moracchini Margaux	w	FRA	2046	4.5
198		Nikolov Yavor		BUL	2092	4.5
199	WFM	Yash Jyoti Bir	w	IND	2099	4.5
200		Ezquerro Luque Albert		ESP	2134	4.5
201		Sierra Magrazo Lidia	w	ESP	1755	4.5
202		Salinas Tomas Daniel		ESP	2089	4.5
203	FM	Saya Ethan		FRA	2138	4.5
204		Ramos Aguilar Jose Manuel		ESP	2008	4.5
205	CM	Harish Neeraj		USA	1902	4.5
206	FM	De Santis Alessio		ITA	2159	4.5
207	WFM	Rodriguez Redondo Adhara	w	ESP	2057	4.5
208	CM	Zhang Kendrick Botong		NZL	1963	4.5
209		Ismail Tamer		BEL	2112	4.5
210		Alfonso Pellisa Aaron		ESP	2018	4.5
211	FM	Hristodorescu Daniel		ROU	2108	4.5
212		Liu Tianyi (Jack)		ENG	1892	4.5
213		Gregersen Hedin		FAI	1912	4.5
214	WFM	Galvan Cipriani Viviana	w	ESP	2088	4.5
215		Gayon Benoit		FRA	1941	4.5
216	FM	Jeet Jain		IND	2141	4
217		Arhan Chethan Anand		IND	2112	4
218		Dietrich Peter		AUT	2015	4
219	FM	Milat Marcel		CAN	2290	4
220		Frederic Clement		FRA	2245	4
221		Arvind Ramnath Iyer		IND	1834	4
222		Kocak Ediz		GER	2115	4
223		Bub Volker		GER	2091	4
224		Verbin Valentina	w	MDA	2088	4
225	WFM	Hapala Elisabeth	w	AUT	2075	4
226		Maloberti David		FRA	2050	4
227		Coles Robin		FRA	2051	4
228		Jove Albaiges Guillem		ESP	1922	4
229		Stewart Ashley		ENG	2090	4
230		Escudero Ribo Eloi		ESP	1626	4
231		Fernandez Climent Albert		ESP	1963	4
232		Villar Reymundo Juan Antonio		PER	2135	4
233		Chulis Alexander		AUT	2097	4
234		Schmuck Corentin		FRA	2040	4
235		Boixader Arbo Xavier		ESP	2039	4
236		Itzhaky Shmuel		ISR	2109	4
237		Koehler Ronald		GER	2118	4
238		Bryant Harry		ENG	1510	4
239		Follana Albelda Lucia	w	ESP	1938	4
240		Perez Aleman Pedro Tomas		ESP	1996	4
241		Verbruggen Samuel		BEL	1963	4
242		Bonoo Iwan		NED	1925	4
243		Place Nicholas		USA	1967	4
244		Al Mutlaq Ibrahim A		KSA	1595	4
245		Pina Tiago		POR	1916	4
246		Jinan Jomon		IND	2271	3.5
247		Romero Calduch Sergio		ESP	2258	3.5
248	FM	Mahitosh Dey		IND	2134	3.5
249	FM	Lorscheid Gerhard		GER	2137	3.5
250	FM	Baert Andy		BEL	2156	3.5
251		Devnani Kush		IND	2134	3.5
252	IM	Mannion Stephen R		SCO	2233	3.5
253	FM	Garcia Molina Jose		ESP	2357	3.5
254	FM	Webb Laurence E		ENG	2201	3.5
255		Krassel Timofei		RUS	1787	3.5
256		Noria Silvestre Joaquin		ESP	2138	3.5
257		Renganayaki Venkatesh	w	IND	1978	3.5
258		Barkasheva Sofia	w	EST	1588	3.5
259		Sperat Czar Nicolas		FRA	2047	3.5
260		Alzamil Abdulaziz		KSA	1862	3.5
261		Leftheriotis Alexandros		GRE	2143	3.5
262		Sarveshwaran Vignesh		IND	2040	3.5
263		Levy Benyamin		ISR	1888	3.5
264		Khandhar Kaushal		MAS	2020	3.5
265		Alem Ali Hussain		KSA	1593	3.5
266		Benseny Martinez Guerau		ESP	1890	3.5
267		Perez Garcia Jimena	w	ESP	2014	3.5
268		Schopf Martin		GER	1900	3.5
269		Altisen Palmada Roberto		ESP	1948	3.5
270		Ramadugu Akshay		IND	1812	3.5
271		Amulya Guruprasad	w	IND	1699	3.5
272	WGM	Heinemann Josefine	w	GER	2332	3
273	FM	Ryan Joseph		IRL	2249	3
274	IM	Papadiamandis Elliot		FRA	2334	3
275		Patel Zain		ENG	1761	3
276	IM	Reprintsev Alexander		UKR	2330	3
277		Raghav Srivathsav V		IND	2059	3
278		Labrovic Jakov		CRO	1891	3
279	WCM	Ankitha Goud Palle	w	IND	1980	3
280	WFM	Jimenez Fernandez Rebeca	w	ESP	2040	3
281		Bland David I		ENG	1974	3
		Aadith Rajesh		IND	1714	3
283	WCM	Bibilashvili Lali	w	GEO	1900	3
284		Rios Torondell Jaume		ESP	1809	3
285		Mashchenko Tamila	w	UKR	1913	3
286		Paricharak Shardul		AHO	1881	3
287		Cafolla Peter		IRL	1915	3
288		Fabregas Oliver		GER	1804	3
289		Golsta Ramona	w	LAT	1719	3
290		Apaar Saxena		IND	1578	3
291	WFM	Samaganova Aleksandra	w	KGZ	1884	3
292		Egli Urs		SUI	1806	3
293		Suneth Shyam Keshaav		MAS	1325	3
294		Gamal Alaa	w	ENG	1713	3
295		Tadmor Maya	w	ISR	1810	3
296		Kotmans Rob		NED	1948	3
297		Yedid Lior		ENG	1490	3
298		Oliver Amengual Adria		ESP	1856	2.5
299	FM	Oswaldo Valentin Requejo Cotrin		PER	2248	2.5
300	WIM	Sieber Fiona	w	GER	2245	2.5
301		Izagirre Alsua Aritz		ESP	1835	2.5
302		Vallbona Domingo Joan		ESP	1871	2.5
303		Kratz Jonathan		FRA	1514	2.5
304		Voronaya Eva	w	FID	1379	2.5
305		Senso Moreno Francesc Xavier		ESP	1731	2.5
306		Sachdeva Ronit		ENG	1571	2.5
307	IM	Roberson Peter T		ENG	2418	2
308		Schulze Tim		GER	1710	2
309		Herman Gamazo Isaac		ESP	1906	2
310		Duke Michael		SCO	2067	2
311		Leimeister Winfried		GER	1845	2
312		Borrellas Comellas Josep		ESP	1905	2
313		Shamir Shahar		ISR	1604	2
314		Cordova-Lopez Diego Anton		ENG	1985	2
315		Bergara Ede Josu		ESP	1713	2
316		Paricharak Nakul		AHO	1695	2
317		Shaffer Alexander		PUR	1750	2
318		Steiners Emils		LAT	1626	2
319		Harandi Teymour		ENG	1459	1.5
320		Larkin Benjamin		ENG	1866	1
321		Villa Izquierdo Roberto		ESP	1780	1
322	FM	Ventura Bolet Maxim		ESP	2223	0.5
323		Serrano Aspa Xavier		ESP	2054	0
324	IM	Pranesh M		IND	2475	0
	CM	Vardanyan Aras		LTU	2271	0
		Pichugov Andrey		ENG	1681	0