Sergei Tiviakov became the first champion to ever repeat with his second successive victory at the DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters.
After a slow start with a draw in the first round against Malaysia No. 1 Mas Hafizulhelmi, the determined Netherlands resident played himself into form and with less mistakes than his opponents even improved on his rating with a 9/10 score.
Thomas Luther who is also on his second visit was happy to finish a clear second with the help of some resourceful play to win and hold difficult positions in the latter part of the tournament.
Rolando Nolte enjoyed an early break but then simply could not convert several winning positions and so once against missed out on getting the GM title but could draw some consolation from third place ahead of the more fancied Niaz Murshed who seemed to have lost his ambition mid way through the event.
Of the others, Ramnath Bhuvanesh was always up and down while Goh Wei Ming never really recovered from his loss to Nolte from a winning position.
Mas Hafizulhelmi performed credibly, even picking up 5-6 rating points.
Young Padmini played at a high level and consistently throughout but was very unlucky not being able to convert on occasion against her vastly more experienced opponents, while for Dimakiling and Wohl, it was a mix of very good play and some horrible blunders.
It was indeed a grand closing ceremony at the Palace of the Golden Horses with staff and students from the Asian Metropolitan University putting on a great performance and wonderfully organising the closing ceremony.
DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters was organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation and KLCA on 13-22nd June at the Swiss Inn & Palace of the Golden Horses.
Final standings:
1 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2644 – 9
2 GM Luther Thomas GER 2552 – 7.5
3 IM Nolte Rolando PHI 2440 – 7
4 GM Murshed Niaz BAN 2479 – 5.5
5 IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh.R IND 2352 – 5
6 IM Goh Wei Ming Kevin SIN 2441 – 5
7 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi MAS 2347 – 4.5
8 WGM Padmini Rout IND 2347 – 4
9 IM Dimakiling Oliver PHI 2372 – 4
10 IM Wohl Aleksandar H. AUS 2369 – 3.5
11 GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2301 – 0