MARIANSKE LAZNE: Indian Grandmaster M R Lalith Babu emerged victorious in the Marienbad Open 2022 chess tournament here.
He remained unbeaten through nine rounds and accumulated 6.5 points to finish half a point ahead of Icelandic GM Hannes Stefansson, the runner-up.
Lalith Babu won four games and drew the other five to take the top position.
His wins came against Czech players Vaclav Finek, Karel Malinovsku, Daniel Sorm and Jakub Kusa.
The 29-year old Indian GM drew his final round match against Stefansson late on Saturday to seal the top spot.
It was a third straight title for Lalith Babu.
He had previously won in Thailand, followed by one in Italy.
"Kickstarted 2022 by achieving hat-trick championship, by winning my 3rd event Marienbad Open 2022!," GM tweeted.