Serbian Grandmaster Miodrag Todorcevic was proclaimed champion of the XXVI El Corte Inglés International Chess Tournament, an open event, whose final day took place today in Gran Canaria.
Todorcevic, who defeated local player Eduardo Ramírez, accumulated the same number of points in that ninth round -seven- as Basque Grandmaster José Luis Fernández, also Gran Canarian International Master Pedro Lezcano and Italian-Argentine chess player Nicolás Natalicchio. The Serbian master was favored by the tie-breaking system.
Lezcano and Natalicchio defeated Gran Canarian international master Sabrina Vega and local Abel Díaz, respectively; meanwhile, Fernández did not go beyond a draw against Gran Canarian international master Daniel Ortega -fourth and half a point behind the champion-.
Chess players David Navarro, Sergio Hernández, David Acosta, Daniel Martín, Yadira Rodríguez and Luis García received special prizes, as the top finishers in their respective island categories.
After the closing ceremony, Todorcevic, who has Spanish nationality and resides in the Canary Islands, stated that he is "satisfied" with winning the title of champion in a tournament that he considered "very difficult".
"I am a pedagogue by profession. I really like to play, but also to teach, and I try to transmit everything I know," he added.
The award ceremony also brought together the presidents of the Canary and Gran Canaria federations of the science sport, José Miguel Fraguela and Agustín Santana, respectively, as well as the president of the Club La Caja de Canarias -which hosted the competition-, Andrés Armas.
