India’s Himal Gusain Wins the 16th Dolomiti International Chess Tournament Title

by Niklesh Jain - 14/06/2025

Forni di Sopra, Italy The 16th Dolomiti International Chess Tournament, held in the UNESCO World Heritage region of the Dolomite mountains in Forni di Sopra, Italy, concluded today, and the title was claimed by India’s International Master Himal Gusain based on a superior tiebreak score. The event was organized by UniChess Italy. After 9 rounds, both Himal and Bulgaria’s top seed Grandmaster Martin Petrov finished with 8 points and were jointly placed at the top. However, due to a better tiebreak score, Himal was declared the champion, while Petrov had to settle for the runner-up position. Romania’s Madalin Andronescu secured third place with 6.5 points. Among the women players, Romania’s EKaterina Pirvulescu, Greece’s Grapsa Georgia, and Colombia’s Angela Franco were the top three finishers. Final Report & Photos by Niklesh Jain.

Himal Gusain Emerges Champion in Forni di Sopra

The town of Forni di Sopra in Italy is believed to have a history dating back 2500 years, and this was the 16th edition of the Dolomiti International Chess Tournament held here. India’s International Master Himal Gusain won the tournament remaining unbeaten throughout.

Like every year, the event was held at the local sports center.

This 9-round tournament featured participants from two sections and included players from a total of nine countries.

Final Round:
It was already clear that either Martin or Himal would win the title, as both were tied at 7 points, at least one point ahead of the rest. However, Himal had the better tiebreak score, and it was evident that if he won his final game, he would claim the title based on tiebreaks.

On the top board, Martin, playing with the black pieces, defeated Colombia’s Woman International Master Angela Franco in a Sicilian Opening, successfully completing his part of the job. All eyes then turned to Himal’s game.

Himal defeated Italy’s young player Lorenzo Tellarini in a 61-move battle, registering his sixth win of the event. With this victory, both Martin and Himal finished with 8 points, but in the Buchholz tiebreak,

Himal scored 51.5 points and secured first place

While Martin with 47.5 points had to settle for second.

Himal after winning the event with GM Roberto, President of UniChess Italy

Romania’s Madalin Andronescu drew with Romania’s Ecaterina Pirvulescu in just 15 moves and ensured his place in the prize list. Madalin finished third with 6.5 points, while Ecaterina Pirvulescu secured the top position among the women participants, followed by Greece’s Grapsa Georgia in second place and Colombia’s Angela Franco in third.

Italy's Riccardo Rostolis won the Group B title with 8 points in 9 rounds, scoring seven wins and two draws. With 6.5 points and better tiebreaks, Italy's Manuel Comini and Luca D'Antrassi secured second and third place, respectively.

Rank after Round 9 Group A

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	2	IM	Gusain, Himal	IND	2490	8	9	51,5	44,50	2165
2	1	GM	Petrov, Martin	BUL	2524	8	9	47,5	40,50	2155
3	13		Andronescu, Madalin	ROU	2069	6,5	9	49	30,25	2167
4	3	GM	Kotronias, Vasilios	GRE	2429	6	9	53	33,25	2174
5	9	WFM	Pirvulescu, Ekaterina	ROU	2100	5,5	9	49,5	25,25	2155
6	4	CM	Vincenti, Leonardo	ITA	2199	5,5	9	44	22,50	2108
7	12	WFM	Grapsa, Georgia	GRE	2069	5	9	50	23,50	2123
8	22		Tellarini, Lorenzo	ITA	1962	5	9	47,5	22,75	2150
9	11	WIM	Franco Valencia, Angela	COL	2091	5	9	47	22,75	2085
10	21		Bordignon, Angelo	ITA	1971	5	9	44,5	23,00	2068
11	19		Lagrotteria, Salvatore	ITA	2000	5	9	44,5	21,75	2129
12	7	FM	Koskinen, Henri	FIN	2131	5	9	43,5	21,25	2054
13	20		Budai, Leonardo	ITA	1975	5	8	41,5	22,50	2026
14	14		Ortobelli Lozza, Marco	ITA	2040	4,5	9	46	20,25	2100
15	6		Centamore, Alberto	ITA	2141	4,5	9	43,5	20,25	2072
16	32		Alkhateeb, Turki Abdullah S	KSA	1810	4,5	9	39,5	18,00	2054
17	8	FM	Paasikangas, Johanna	FIN	2112	4,5	9	39,5	16,50	1963
18	30		Aljameel, Sultan Anwar	KSA	1824	4,5	9	37	16,75	1975
19	28		Pirvulescu, Adrian	ROU	1910	4,5	9	36,5	15,50	2031
20	27		Alzamil, Abdulaziz	KSA	1918	4	9	38,5	16,00	2034
21	25		Comisso, Daniele	ITA	1936	4	9	37,5	14,75	1950
22	15		Fiorido, Giuseppe	ITA	2034	4	9	37,5	14,25	1967
23	26	CM	Bellincampi, Stefano	ITA	1922	4	9	35,5	14,00	1981
24	18		Budai, Federico	ITA	2002	4	8	41	17,25	1984
25	5	FM	Vidal, Llewellyn	FRA	2186	4	8	39	16,50	1958
26	24		Lugaresi, Gabriele	ITA	1937	3,5	9	35,5	12,25	1980
27	33		Al Mutlaq, Ibrahim A	KSA	1807	3,5	9	33	10,75	1956
28	29		Predan, Luca	ITA	1902	3,5	9	32,5	11,00	1929
29	17		Serea, Gabriele	ITA	2004	3,5	8	34,5	12,00	1930
30	16		Simoni, Matteo	ITA	2012	3	9	39	8,50	2070
31	23		Ranfagni, Stefano	ITA	1960	3	9	34	10,25	1924
32	10		Fontana, Enrico	ITA	2097	3	6	39	12,00	2012
33	31		Alem, Ali Hussain	KSA	1823	2	9	33	5,25	1955

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds Group B

Rk.	SNo	Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	1	Rostolis, Riccardo	ITA	1962	8	9	51,5	45,00	1767
2	10	Comini, Manuel	ITA	1791	6,5	9	51,5	33,75	1780
3	12	D'Antrassi, Luca	ITA	1785	6,5	9	48,5	34,50	1709
4	5	Jega, Gabriel	ROU	1854	6,5	9	47	32,75	1727
5	13	Tomio, Dante	ITA	1769	6,5	9	46,5	31,00	1737
6	7	Ciani, Davide	ITA	1820	6	9	41,5	28,00	1673
7	17	Nanni, Sergio	ITA	1717	6	9	40	22,50	1659
8	8	Galliani, William	ITA	1819	5,5	9	49,5	28,25	1769
9	15	Marinig, Lorenzo	ITA	1743	5,5	9	49	25,25	1750
10	9	Penzo, Amleto	ITA	1793	5,5	9	49	25,25	1730
11	14	Donadi, Luca	ITA	1745	5,5	9	45,5	26,00	1723
12	6	Di Lascio, Savino	ITA	1822	5,5	9	44	25,50	1675
13	11	Martinez, Guido	ITA	1790	5,5	9	39	23,25	1652
14	22	Circolari, Mattia	ITA	1686	5	9	42	22,25	1671
15	20	Zanchini, Domenico Francesco	ITA	1703	5	9	39,5	19,25	1619
16	23	De Joannon, Giulio	ITA	1667	5	9	39	18,00	1636
17	16	Rivara, Massimo	ITA	1728	5	9	38,5	19,75	1635
18	18	Gambarotto, Paolo	ITA	1714	5	8	44,5	22,25	1685
19	3	Gasperi, Fosco	ITA	1876	4,5	9	50	22,50	1760
20	28	Andreini, Gigliola	ITA	1632	4,5	9	45	19,50	1711
21	24	Roversi, Stefano	ITA	1647	4,5	9	44,5	20,25	1684
22	29	Mancosu, Aliseo	IRL	1629	4,5	9	42,5	16,75	1619
23	25	La Malfa, Stelio	ITA	1642	4,5	9	40,5	16,50	1615
24	31	Kofler, Albin Ernst	ITA	1624	4,5	9	38	15,50	1602
25	40	Bellotto, Adriano	ITA	1457	4,5	9	35	14,75	1536
26	19	Biondelli, Marco	ITA	1707	4,5	8	43	17,25	1632
27	2	Lantini, Marco	ITA	1941	4,5	5	43	22,00	1681
28	30	Torelli, Mauro	ITA	1625	4	9	46,5	20,75	1755
29	27	Degaudenz, Fabio	ITA	1639	4	9	46	19,00	1685
30	36	Predan, Dino	ITA	1515	4	9	43,5	15,75	1657
31	26	Sbalchiero, Lorenzo	ITA	1642	4	9	41,5	14,50	1672
32	32	Mancosu, Marco	IRL	1622	4	9	40	15,00	1604
33	37	Gomirato, Diego	ITA	1510	4	9	35,5	12,00	1535
34	21	Fornai, Francesco	ITA	1687	4	8	37,5	15,50	1599
35	45	Chiarot, Alessandro	ITA	1399	3,5	9	42,5	16,00	1687
36	38	Testa, Alessandro	ITA	1507	3,5	9	36	11,25	1542
37	42	Canzi, Gianluca	ITA	1439	3,5	9	35	11,25	1538
38	43	Basso, Lorenzo	ITA	1399	3,5	9	34	10,50	1531
39	41	Tomasino, Vincenzo	ITA	1457	3,5	9	32,5	9,00	1529
40	39	Latone, Matilde Vittoria	ITA	1467	3,5	9	30,5	7,75	1539
41	34	Ponzecchi, Riccardo	ITA	1554	3,5	8	41,5	13,75	1651
42	33	Traversi, Carlo	ITA	1610	3,5	7	38,5	12,50	1604
43	44	Bissocoli, Daniela	ITA	1399	3	9	29,5	6,00	1512
44	35	Omacini, Mario	ITA	1520	3	8	39	13,00	1613
45	47	Marini, Dario	ITA	1399	2,5	9	30,5	5,25	1514
46	46	Disaro', Remigio	ITA	1399	2	9	31,5	3,00	1521
47	48	Ruberto, Maria Nunzia	ITA	1399	1	9	29,5	1,00	1485
48	4	Fuggetta, Leonardo	ITA	1865	0	0	4	0,00	0,0

To know what Forni di Sopra is like and how to reach here, watch my video here ( In Hindi ) :

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