The Armenian grandmaster Robert Hovhannisyan has won the Final Four cross-finals of the Hoogeveen Open Chess Tournament after a tough battle. He had to fight for his life for hours against Nico Zwirs, who let him slip away with a draw at the last minute. That meant a tiebreak, which was won 1½-½ by Hovhannisyan, even after two exciting matches. Bharah Subramaniyan and Evgeny Romanov had already agreed a draw, and in the tiebreak young Indian Bharath was the handiest.
Top of the ranking of the 'rest' of the tournament were the English grandmaster Daniel Fernandez and the Apeldoorn master Thomas Beerdsen, who both won their last match.
Final standings Final Four:
1. Hovhannisyan
2. Zwirs
3. Bharat
4. Romanova
Final position at the head 'rest':
1. Fernandez, Beerdsen 7
3. Moroni, Ashwath, Ismail 6½
6. 10 players with 6 points
