Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | GM | Johansen Darryl K | AUS | 2452 | 7,0 | 41,5 | 52,5 | 39,50 |
| 2 | IM | Xie George Wendi | AUS | 2402 | 7,0 | 41,0 | 50,5 | 37,75 |
| 3 | GM | Kunte Abhijit | IND | 2513 | 7,0 | 40,0 | 50,5 | 38,75 |
| 4 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | ENG | 2550 | 7,0 | 39,5 | 50,5 | 37,75 |
| 5 | GM | Zhao Zong-Yuan | AUS | 2583 | 6,5 | 41,5 | 53,0 | 37,25 |
| 6 | GM | Deepan Chakkravarthy J | IND | 2482 | 6,5 | 39,5 | 50,0 | 34,25 |
| 7 | IM | Akshayraj Kore | IND | 2404 | 6,5 | 38,5 | 49,0 | 34,00 |
| 8 | IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | MAS | 2425 | 6,5 | 38,0 | 49,0 | 34,00 |
| 9 | GM | Reinderman Dimitri | NED | 2560 | 6,0 | 39,5 | 51,0 | 32,50 |
| 10 | IM | Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi | IND | 2469 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 50,5 | 31,00 |
| 11 | WGM | Karavade Eesha | IND | 2359 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 49,5 | 32,00 |
| 12 | GM | Ghane Shojaat | IRI | 2415 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 49,5 | 30,75 |
| 13 | WGM | Mohota Nisha | IND | 2304 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 49,5 | 30,00 |
| 14 | IM | Satyapragyan Swayangsu | IND | 2428 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 49,0 | 30,00 |
| 15 | FM | Fernandez Daniel Howard | SIN | 2171 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 48,5 | 30,50 |
| 16 | IM | Lane Gary W | AUS | 2371 | 6,0 | 37,5 | 48,5 | 29,50 |
| 17 | IM | Rathnakaran K | IND | 2427 | 6,0 | 37,0 | 47,5 | 29,50 |
| 18 | IM | Sriram Jha | IND | 2453 | 6,0 | 37,0 | 47,5 | 28,50 |
| 19 | FM | Smirnov Vladimir | RUS | 2365 | 6,0 | 36,5 | 47,0 | 29,00 |
| 20 | FM | Rej Tomek | AUS | 2308 | 6,0 | 36,5 | 47,0 | 26,00 |
Official Homepage of the Organizer
Information provided by Anju.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Did Xie get GM Norm?
Yes
Australian Grandmaster Wins Sydney International Chess – Sydney Player Scores First Grandmaster result
The last round of Australia’s strongest chess event for the year,
the Sydney International Open (SIO), which concluded at the Parramatta Town Hall on Sunday afternoon,
proved a great success for Australia.
The winner of the tournament was veteran Melbourne chess coach,
Grandmaster Darryl Johansen who defended a 100 move game against the top seed,
compatriot Grandmaster Zhao Zong Yuan, to take the SIO title.
Johansen’s success was somewhat of a surprise if only because of his age.
At 50 most people had thought the affable 5 times Australian Champion was well past his peak and no longer
capable of winning such a strong international tournament. However, Johansen seeded 11th proved the pundits wrong
and entered the last round half a point clear of his rivals.
Grandmasters Gawain Jones of England and Abhijit Kunte of India plus Sydney International Master George Xie
all won their last round games to join Johansen in equal first place.
Johansen was awarded the SIO title on tiebreak and the four players shared $10,000.
Xie’s result was particular noteworthy for Australian chess.
Xie needed only to draw his last round game against Indian International Master,
Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury to get his first coveted Grandmaster ‘norm’. But Xie, 23,
instead played hard to win his game thereby exceeding the GM norm by half a point and gaining a share of the top prizemoney.
Three GM norms are required for the title to be awarded by the World Chess Federation.
13-year-old Singapore junior Daniel Fernandez also impressed, scoring just a point less
than the winners and securing his first International Master result.
This was the third time the SIO has been held and was a rare opportunity for
Australian players to have the opportunity to play in an internationally ranked tournament
with chances to achieve Grandmaster or International Master results.
This year’s tournament saw more than 150 players from 17 countries including 11 men’s and women’s Grandmasters competing.
However it is of serious concern for chess in this country that the 2010 SIO tournament
is not yet confirmed due to a number of the sponsors withdrawing in the current economic downturn.
Sydney International Open Chess Tournament
Leading Final Scores:
=1st Darryl Johansen (Vic), Gawain Jones (England), Abhijit Kunte (India), George Xie (NSW) 7/9.
= 5th Zhao Zong Yuan (NSW), Mas Hafizulhemli (Malaysia), Deepan Chakkravarthy (India), Kore Akshayraj (India) 6.5.
Cathy Rogers
Media Liaison
Official Press Realease.