IM Harsha Bharathakoti wins Kathmandu Open 2018

by Shahid Ahmed - 18/04/2018

IM Harsha Bharathakoti drew his last round game against GM Azer Mirzoev and became champion of Kathmandu Open 2018 with a score of 7.5/9. He won a gigantic trophy and NRS 200000. Seven people ended up with 7.0 points each. Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan, had the best tie-break score and he secured the first runner up position bagging home NRS 120000, followed by Tarlev Konstantin of Ukraine, who got NRS 80000. Top 3 board games might have ended up in a draw but the result does not do justice to their hard fought devastating battles. In this report, we bring you photos, games and videos from the final round of the tournament.

Determined and poised, Harsha Bharathakoti won the tournament with a score of 7.5/9 and the only player in the tournament to do so | Photo: Nongsha Angom

IM Harsha Bharathakoti speaks after becoming champion

Harsha receives his championship trophy, certificate and NRS 200000

Final moments of the game between IM Harsha Bharathakoti and GM Azer Mirzoev in the last round

Azer Mirzoev receives his trophy, certificate and NRS 120000

GM Azer Mirzoev speaks about the tournament and his best game

Tarlev Konstantin shows his exuberant side even while receiving his second runner-up prize and NRS 80000

Flamboyant GM Tarlev Konstantin of Ukraine talks about his toughest competition, his expressions during the game and how live-in-the-moment kind of guy he is

P Shyam Nikhil secured 4th position with a score of 7.0/9 after a draw in the last round against...

...Alon Greenfeld of Israel who also scored 7.0/9 and secured 5th position

Himal Gusain attained 6th position with a score of 7.0/9

Top seed Sergey Volkov of Russia had a strong finish at the 7th position

Llaneza Vega Marcos got into top 10 despite having a bumpy start and finished at 8th position

Sandipan Chanda did not have his best tournament and finished at 9th position with 6.5/9

Alexander Fominyh of Russia had a +3 finish with a score of 6.5/9, he secured 10th position

Padmini Rout scored 6.0/9 and she was adjudged as the Best Female player of the tournament

Padmini speaks about Kathmandu Open 2018, her first visit to Nepal, Humpy and Anand playing in Olympiad later this year

Alina L'ami scored 6.0/9 and secured 2nd position in the Best Female category

Alina talks about her willingness to play in Nepal, how and why she does chess photography and her upcoming schedule

Group photograph with the prize winners of various category

Ex-President of Asian Chess Federation was present in the Prize Distribution Ceremony

Check the playlist here for videos from the tournament

Final Standings

Rank after Round 9

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	8	IM	Harsha Bharathakoti		IND	2424	7,5	0,0	47,0	51,0	4	6
2	5	GM	Mirzoev Azer		AZE	2504	7,0	0,0	49,0	53,0	5	5
3	4	GM	Tarlev Konstantin		UKR	2549	7,0	0,0	49,0	52,5	4	5
4	14	IM	Shyaamnikhil P		IND	2385	7,0	0,0	47,5	51,5	5	5
5	6	GM	Greenfeld Alon		ISR	2490	7,0	0,0	47,0	51,0	4	5
6	10	IM	Gusain Himal		IND	2413	7,0	0,0	47,0	50,5	5	5
7	1	GM	Volkov Sergey		RUS	2598	7,0	0,0	45,0	49,0	4	6
8	9	IM	Llaneza Vega Marcos		ESP	2422	7,0	0,0	40,5	44,5	4	7
9	2	GM	Sandipan Chanda		IND	2579	6,5	0,0	50,0	53,5	5	4
10	13	GM	Fominyh Alexander		RUS	2391	6,5	0,0	48,5	52,0	4	5
11	3	GM	Sengupta Deep		IND	2579	6,5	0,0	47,5	51,0	5	5
12	25		Neelash Saha		IND	2212	6,5	0,0	47,0	51,0	4	5
13	12	GM	Sriram Jha		IND	2392	6,5	0,0	45,5	48,0	4	5
14	11	IM	Prince Bajaj		IND	2409	6,5	0,0	45,0	50,0	5	5
15	19	FM	Gajwa Ankit		IND	2292	6,5	0,0	45,0	49,0	4	6
16	21	IM	Deshmukh Anup		IND	2282	6,5	0,0	44,0	47,0	4	6
17	35		Saptorshi Gupta		IND	2080	6,5	0,0	42,0	45,0	4	6
18	17		Srijit Paul		IND	2351	6,5	0,0	38,0	41,0	4	6
19	7	GM	Kasparov Sergey		BLR	2462	6,0	0,0	49,0	52,5	5	4
20	30		Harshavardhan G B		IND	2119	6,0	0,0	47,0	49,5	4	4

Complete Standings

Previous articles of this tournament:

Kathmandu Open 2018 Day 1: Inauguration Ceremony & Preview

North East Champion holds former Russia Champion in Round 2 of Kathmandu Open 2018

Neelash defeats top seed, three-way lead after round 4 in Kathmandu Open 2018

Kathmandu Open 2018 Round 6: 14 players lead

Harsha Bharathakoti in sole lead after penultimate round in Kathmandu Open 2018

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