Runner-up in the World Cup R Praggnanandhaa was the best Indian, finishing third overall, while world champion Alexander Grischuk reigned supreme to win the Tata Steel Chess India 2023 Open Blitz title here on Saturday.
Praggnanandhaa remained unbeaten in four games, but losses to Nodirbek Abdusattorov (13th round), Grischuk (15th), and Vidit Gujrathi (16th) proved expensive.
Erigaisi was the second-best Indian, finishing fourth overall with 10 and a half points.
D Gukesh, India's No. 1, finished ninth after six defeats in nine rounds on the final day, including one against his closest opponent Praggnanandhaa in the penultimate round.
However, he recovered brilliantly, winning against Praggnanandhaa and German prodigy Vincent Keymer to end on top with 12 points, with a swift draw against Pentala Harikrishna in the final and 18th round.
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Grischuk, the two-time global blitz champion, suffered the tournament's sole defeat in the 13th round when he was surprised by rising Indian Arjun Erigaisi.
Former world Rapid champion Abdusattorov concluded with three points with Praggnanandhaa, but the Uzbek edged the Indian phenom on tiebreaks thanks to a massive win over Gujrathi.
Praggnanandhaa started the day on a high note, outwitting Rapid section runner-up Teimour Radjabov with a brilliant offensive game.
He held Rapid champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the 11th round before winning the next round against Keymer.
Abdusattorov ended the Indians' four-game unbeaten streak in the 13th round, which also saw Erigaisi pull off the day's biggest upset.
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Grischuk defeated Praggnanandhaa with the black pieces in round 15, while the Indian was stunned in the last round when he lost a key encounter against fellowmate Gujrathi to fall to third place.
The winners:
Women's
Rapid: 1. Divya Deshmukh, 2. Ju Wenjun; Blitz: 1. Ju Wenjun, 2. Koneru Humpy
Open
Rapid: 1. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 2. Teimour Radjabov; Blitz: 1. Alexander Grischuk, 2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
(With PTI inputs)
