S Rohith Krishna clinches 19th Malakoff Open 2023
IM S Rohith Krishna scored 7.5/9 to win 19th Malakoff Open 2023. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Despite losing his second round game against FM Samuel Malka (FRA), Rohith bounced back strong and scored 6.5/7 in the next seven games to win the tournament. His sole draw of the event was against the eventual second runner-up, GM Momchil Nikolov (BUL). Six players scored 7/9. GM Radoslav Dimitrov (BUL) and Momchil were placed second and third according to tie-breaks. GM Koustav Chatterjee, Sanket Chakravarty and FM Sourath Biswas are three other Indians to finish among top ten. They scored 7/9, 7/9 and 6.5/9 to secure fourth, sixth and eight place respectively.
Rohith's first tournament triumph of 2023
IM S Rohith Krishna was in a five-way lead heading into the last round at 6.5/8. The remaining four were - GM Momchil Nikolov (BUL), GM Koustav Chatterjee, FM Sourath Biswas, and CM Chinguun Bayaraa (MGL). Momchil drew against Koustav, Sourath lost to Rohith and Dimitrov beat Chinguun. Thus, Rohith became a clear champion. This was Rohith's second tournament he played in 2023. He also went on to win Ostravský koník 2023 Open yesterday. We will mention it in detail in a separate report. Rohith is currently trained by one of the best coaches in the country - FM FT K Visweswaran.
The total prize fund of the tournament was €7400. The top three prizes were €1500, €1000 and €800 each. GM Stany G A is the only other Indian player to win this event, the 14th edition back in 2016.
A total of 296 players including 5 GMs, 5 IMs and a WGM took part from 23 countries across the world. The tournament was organized by Regis Hombourger from 22nd to 30th April 2023 at Jean Jaurès in Malakoff, France. The nine-round Swiss league rating tournament had a time control of 90 minutes/40 moves, then 30 minutes, with an increment of 30 seconds per move during the whole game.
Round 9 results
| Ech. | Pts | Blancs | Res. | Noirs | Pts | ||
| 1 | 6½ | NIKOLOV Momchil | 2496 F | X - X | KOUSTAV CHATTERJEE | 2520 F | 6½ |
| 2 | 6½ | SOURATH BISWAS | 2265 F | 0 - 1 | ROHITH KRISHNA S | 2380 F | 6½ |
| 3 | 6 | DIMITROV Radoslav | 2490 F | 1 - 0 | CHINGUUN BAYARAA | 2203 F | 6½ |
| 4 | 6 | BELKHODJA Slim | 2267 F | 0 - 1 | FLOM Gabriel | 2434 F | 6 |
| 5 | 6 | LEKIC Dusan | 2331 F | X - X | BOULARD Eric | 2178 F | 6 |
| 6 | 6 | RIVALIN Kenny | 2206 F | 0 - 1 | SANKET CHAKRAVARTY | 2327 F | 6 |
| 7 | 6 | BRADBURY Neil H | 2215 F | 0 - 1 | PICARD Romain | 2308 F | 6 |
| 8 | 5½ | ROUAST Joseph | 2172 F | 1 - 0 | HALEGUA Dani | 2152 F | 6 |
| 9 | 5½ | CHARMETEAU Sven | 2289 F | 1 - 0 | HOLCMAN Jeremy | 2121 F | 5½ |
| 10 | 5½ | BOUGET Alexandre | 2270 F | X - X | MOHAMED ABDERRAHIM Taleb Mohamed | 2081 F | 5½ |
Final standings
| Pl | Nom | Elo | Cat. | Fede | Ligue | Club | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | m | ROHITH KRISHNA S | 2380 F | CadM |  | 7½ | 42½ | 2455 | ||
| 2 | g | DIMITROV Radoslav | 2490 F | SenM |  | HDF | L'Echiquier Cappellois | 7 | 47 | 2508 |
| 3 | g | NIKOLOV Momchil | 2496 F | SenM | | HDF | L'Echiquier Cappellois | 7 | 46½ | 2503 |
| 4 | m | KOUSTAV CHATTERJEE | 2520 F | JunM | | 7 | 45 | 2470 | ||
| 5 | g | FLOM Gabriel | 2434 F | SenM |  | IDF | Tremblay en France | 7 | 44 | 2391 |
| 6 | SANKET CHAKRAVARTY | 2327 F | JunM | | 7 | 41½ | 2333 | |||
| 7 | m | PICARD Romain | 2308 F | SenM | | NAQ | Poitiers-Migne Echecs | 7 | 41½ | 2319 |
| 8 | f | SOURATH BISWAS | 2265 F | CadM | | 6½ | 45 | 2355 | ||
| 9 | f | CHARMETEAU Sven | 2289 F | SenM | | IDF | U.S.Villejuif Echecs | 6½ | 44 | 2296 |
| 10 | m | LEKIC Dusan | 2331 F | SepM |  | 6½ | 43½ | 2323 |
