Negi Finishes Second At Cappelle-la-Grande 2013

India's Parimarjan Negi was among the eight players who tied for the first place in the 2013 Cappelle-la-Grande International Open that concluded in France on March 2, 2013.

The top rated Indian in the meet, Krishnan Sasikiran of Chennai disappointed and finished 44th place with six points. G.N. Gopal, another Indian scored only 2.5.

The 1993-born Sanan Sjugirov of Russia hails from Elista. He is a former World Under-10 and Under-14 champion. He started as the fourth seed and won this tournament on tie-break.

The competitors included 74 GMs, 11 WGMs, 54 IMs, 17 WIMs. The 194 titled players and overall 564 players came from 50 nations.

This edition recorded 12 FIDE title norms. Three GM norms, seven IM norms and two WIM norms. It is time for more Asians to travel to France and complete or make fresh norms.

This 29th edition of France's premier Open event ran from Feb 22 to Mar 2, 2013. Cappelle-la-Grande is a small town of 8,000 inhabitants in the northeast of France, nearer to the North Sea.

Final placings: 1-8. GMs S Sjugirov (Rus), P Negi (Ind), M Rodshtein (Isr), S Fedorchuk (Ukr), E Hansen (Can), Vlad-Cristian Jianu (Rom), A Fedorov (Blr), Yuri Vovk (Ukr) 7/9 each...564 players.

Pic: Sanan Sjugirov of Russia is the new champion. Image from the official site.