IM Andrei Obodchuk (FIDE) emerged as the winner of the 21st World IPCA Chess Championship for Disabled Players organized by Israeli Chess Federation and IPCA (International Physically Disabled Chess Association - Affiliated to the International Chess Federation, FIDE). The 9-round Swiss tournament in Ashdod City (Israel) brought together 24 players from eight countries. 

Obodchuk (pictured above) took a great start, winning four games in a row, but in Round 5, he suffered a painful defeat in the game against IM Andrei Gurbanov (Israel) after mishandling a won position. Unfazed, Obodchuk scored 2½/3 in the next three games and came to the final round a half-point ahead of IM Stanislav Mikheev of Serbia. 

The leader took matters into his own hands, beat Benny Shapiro with black pieces and clinched the title with an excellent score of 7½/9. Stanislav Mikheev (pictured below) finished just a half-point behind the champion and claimed silver. 

GM Yaacov Zilberman and Andrei Gurbanov tied for the third place, netting 6½/9 each, but the bronze goes to the former thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. 

WFM Svetlana Gerasimova (FIDE) netted 4½/9 and became the best woman player. Aleksandra Aleksandrova of Israel scored an equal amount of points but had inferior tiebreaks.

Final standings:

In addition to cups, medals and diplomas, the top-6 finishers received won prizes from €300 to €1,000. There were also three special money prizes for women.

The winners (open, women and players in wheelchairs) gained the spots in the IPCA team at the Chess Olympiad 2022.

Official website: ipca.chess.org.il/

Photo: Mark Livshitz