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Iran's Mehdi wins chess tournament

Samer Mehdi pulled off a come-from-behind championship run to highlight a day of unexpected twists and turns in the FCPL Monthly Open Chess Tournament, held on Friday at Reef Mall in Dubai.

  • By Irish Belleza, Web Coordinator
  • Published: 22:47 June 24, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Samer Mehdi pulled off a come-from-behind championship run to highlight a day of unexpected twists and turns in the FCPL Monthly Open Chess Tournament, held on Friday at Reef Mall in Dubai.

Mehdi, the fifth seed from Iran, claimed the top prize with a win over erstwhile unbeaten solo-leader Rolenson Loyola in their final-round encounter. Pre-tournament favourite Loyola earlier piled up six straight wins to establish a full-point barrier from the rest of the field entering the ultimate seventh round, and needed only a draw against Mehdi to secure the championship of the weekend blitz chess event, organised by the Filipino Chess Players League-UAE and supported by Reef Mall.

Loyola, however, suffered a monumental breakdown when he uncharacteristically committed a series of blunders in the middlegame, leading to a loss that spoiled an otherwise perfect performance.

Mehdi's win tied him with Loyola with six points apiece, but the Iranian won the title by virtue of the winner-over-the-other rule, relegating his Filipino rival to second place.

Securing third place with 5.5 points was third-seed Jobannie C. Tabada, who was also gunning for a six-point total but wasted his chances when he made an ill-advised queen sacrifice in the middlegame to find himself in a losing position in his final-round encounter with Santhosh P.

Tabada eventually managed to secure a miracle draw after his Indian foe lost way in the ensuing complications.

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