Nikita Vitiugov wins the 1st edition of the Prague International Chess Festival Masters! The Russian Grandmaster scored 5,5 points out of 9 rounds and convincingly triumphed.

The first game to finish was Polish derby between Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek, by move repetition. Nikita Vitiugov needed a draw to avoid tie-breaks and secure the title. At that point, his position was equal, and shortly after draw was agreed.

"Every player is happy after winning a tournament. Maybe it was not a great performance, but I am still happy to have won", said the 1st Masters Champion. "I was moved when I was invited here, and it was an honor to participate in such an event", said Vitiugov.

Vidit Gujrathi defeated David Navara to join Wojtaszek, Duda and Gelfand on shared 2nd place. Eventually he finished 2nd, thanks to Direct Encounter.

Boris Gelfand surprised with quick victory against Harikrishna Pentala in the final round, eventually scoring 5/9. "My opponent had a poor day, it happens to everyone. His position collapsed and I had an easy game", said Gelfand. "Maybe things could have been different for me. Yesterday I had good winning chances, and I should have focused more in the crucial moments. Of course, it is a good result for me, especially because recently I did not play so well. I am happy to be here and I am satisfied with my tournament", said the famous Grandmaster after the game.

The final round started with the first move made by Tournament Director Mr. Petr Boleslav, in the game Vitiugov vs Rapport.

On behalf of the whole organizing team, we would like to congratulate the winners and thank all the participants for making this event great. See you next year!

In the Open event Grandmaster Hannes Stefansson from Iceland maintained the sole lead after a draw on the top board with IM G.A.Stany. IM Alina Kashlinskaya defeated Dong Bao Nghia to reach 6 points and shared 4th place.

Top results of Open event round 8: Stefansson vs Stany 1/2, Sedlak vs Cernousek 1/2, Stachowiak vs Zubov 1/2, Bernadskiy vs Bakhmatsky 0-1, Kriebel vs Vorobiov 1/2, Nguyen vs Gasanov 0-1, etc.

Top round 9 pairings: Vorobiov vs Stefansson, Stany vs Bakhmatsky, Kashlinskaya vs Sedlak, Zubov vs Rasik, Cernousek vs Demuth, Rakesh vs Kriebel, etc.

Full standings and pairings of the Open event can be found on  Chess-Results.

Results round 9

Final Standings

For more updates, visit us on social media:  Facebook,  Instagram,  Twitter and  YouTube.

All photos by Vladimir Jagr are available for download on the  media page, as well as on  Zonerama.