Top-seeded GM Praveen Thipsay of Maharashtra emerged winner at the FIDE-rated All India Open Chess Tournament here on Saturday.
Thipsay defeated Friday’s sole leader MS Thejkumar of Karnataka in 45 moves.
Thipsay, playing white, opened the move with king pawn opening while Thejkumar opted for Caro-kann defense.
The outing began on a cautious note as Thipsay was trailing by half a point against Thejkumar who was leading with eight points by end of ninth and penultimate round.
Final standings: Praveen Thipsay (8.5) 1; M S Thejkumar (8) 2; B S Sivanandan (8); Saptarshi Roy (8); Konguvel Ponnuswamy (8); R R Laxman (8); Saravanan Krishnan (7.5); Atanu Lahiri (7.5); P Karthikeyan (7.5); Sanjay N (7.5); Anurag Jaiswal (7.5); Shyam Sundar (7.5); Anilkumar (7.5) and Muralidharan (7.5).