Grand Open Blagoevgrad 2013 was held from 28th September to 5th October at the 22-ri Septemvri Hall in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
The tournament was organized by the Blagoevgrad Municipality, Foundation Moral I Pravo and Victory Blagoevgrad Chess Club.
In the last round the overnight leader GM Mladen Palac was defeated by his compatriot GM Ivan Saric, who caught him on the shared first place. Four more players reached the score 7,0/9 to join the Croatians on the top.
Ivan Saric is declared winner on best tie-break score.
The notorious local player Borislav Ivanov shared 10th place with 6,0 points. In round seven he was forfeited when his opponent GM Maxim Dlugy asked for a search on both players. Ivanov refused to remove his shoes. Curiously enough, he was paired for the next round and was allowed to finish the tournament.
Final standings (top 20):
1. GM Saric Ivan CRO 2627 – 7
2. GM Palac Mladen CRO 2562 – 7
3. GM Petkov Vladimir BUL 2564 – 7
4. GM Drenchev Petar BUL 2488 – 7
5. IM Kukov Velislav BUL 2410 – 7
6. GM Drazic Sinisa SRB 2461 – 7
7. GM Sedlak Nikola SRB 2581 – 6.5
8. Kesidis Odyseas GRE 2119 – 6.5
9. Ninov Dayan BUL 2140 – 6.5
10. GM Dlugy Maxim USA 2524 – 6
11. IM Cvetkovic Srdjan SRB 2360 – 6
12. GM Vasilev Milen BUL 2487 – 6
13. GM Spassov Liuben BUL 2327 – 6
14. NM Stoinev Metodi BUL 2221 – 6
15. FM Ivanov Borislav BUL 2324 – 6
16. Vaklinov Vasil FRA 2144 – 6
17. FM Dinev Dejan MKD 2346 – 6
18. Evstatiev Georgi BUL 2147 – 6
19. Mourelatos Ilias GRE 2154 – 6
20. FM Veleski Robert MKD 2264 – 6
Thought Dlugy retired or in jail?
Incomprehensible that he was not flushed from the tournament…