India's P Magesh Chandran remained unbeaten in nine rounds to win the title in the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess Congress in Hastings, England.
The 36-year old Grand Master with a FIDE rating of 2479, remained unbeaten and finished in clear first place with 7.5 points from nine games after securing a 33-move draw in the final round against compatriot G A Stany, also a GM on Sunday, 5 January.
He beat fellow Indian GM Deep Sengupta in the eighth round.
Two other Indians - Deep Sengupta and Swayams Mishra - finished 13th and 14th respectively with identical six points.
France's Romain Edouard, who was the only player to end the tournament a half point behind Chandran, took the second spot. Four players shared third to sixth places with 6.5 points.
The US-based Chandran posted six wins and secured three draws to take the top spot. He outscored a field that included two players with a 2600-plus ELO rating and five in the 2500-plus category.
He was delighted with his performance and rated the win over compatriot Deep Sengupta as his best in the tournament.
"It is great (to win the tournament). I haven't had such a performance in a long time," Chandran, who hails from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, told PTI.
Chandran, who currently lives in North Carolina, USA, and has a chess academy, said he plans to play more events this year.
The Indian had become a GM in 2006 and moved to the US for higher studies at the University of Texas.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)