Grandmaster Swapnil Dhopade of Maharashtra, with an overall tally of eight points, emerged victorious in the Rs 7.5 lakh prize money IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Open Chess tournament.

International Master Stany G A of Karnataka finished a close second with 7.5 points, while Chandigarh’s Himal Gusain with seven points was placed third.

Top seed and GM-elect Shardul Garge of Maharashtracould only manage a poor joint fourth place finish along with seven other players, all with 6.5 points each in the tournament, which was held at the Mount Litera School International in suburban Bandra. Dhopade pocketed the winner’s prize of Rs 1.5 lakh, while second-placed Stany took home Rs 1.2 lakh and Gusain got the third-place prize of Rs 1 lakh.

Facts

• The word “Checkmate” in Chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means”the King is dead.”
• From the starting position, there are eight different ways to Mate in two moves and 355 different ways to Mate in three moves.
• There were 72 consecutive Queen moves in the Mason-Mackenzie game at London in 1882.
• A Computer Program named Deep Thought beat an International Grand Master for the first time in November 1988 in Long Beach, California.
• Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess.  It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves.