CHENNAI: The prelim stage of the Airthings Masters reached its climax with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi crowning a dominating display and the relief of a first win for chess queen Alexandra Kosteniuk. Nepo booked his place in the knockout starting on Wednesday with ease as he racked up a total of 29 points that included an impressive 8 wins.
Meanwhile Kosteniuk, the only woman in the field, halted a streak of 13 defeats in her Meltwater Champions Chess Tour debut when she beat the in-form Canadian streamer Eric Hansen. At the end of play, she tweeted: I never knew that scoring 1 out of 15 could be such a relief. Thank you so much for your support! Your messages meant a lot!"
