Iniyan, 22, who hails from Erode in Tamil Nadu, remained undefeated in the tournament, scoring six wins, including against International Masters from Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Turkey, France and Poland, besides three draws.

He scored 7.5 points in nine games and was tied for first place with GM Malek, in a tournament that had 276 participants, including 39GMs, from 43 countries.

In fact, Iniyan won the last four games in a row, especially the crucial penultimate and final games.

The first game of the tie-break against the Polish GM ended in a draw. In the second game, Iniyan, playing with black pieces, won to take his tally to 1.5-0.5 and clinch the title.

GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, who was leading the tournament until the last game which he lost, finished third on the podium with seven points. PTI AM AM AH AH