In keeping with the expectations, top seed Sahaj Grover retained the Boardwalk Pearson Grandmasters chess tournament after aggregating seven points from 10 rounds in Port Elizabeth.
Sahaj, who ensured the title with a round to spare, drew the final round with Belarus GM Sergey Kasparov to top the six-player double round-robin league.
Rated 2511, Sahaj remained unbeaten. He scored four wins, including both encounters against second seeded Turkish GM Kivanc Haznedaroaglu, rated 2472.
There was a two-way tie for the runner-up spot at 5.5 points. French GM Thal Abergei was adjudged second on superior tie-break score as compared to Kasparov.
Haznedaroglu finished fourth with five points, ahead of the two South Africans Daniel Cawdrey (4.5) and Jan van Zyl-Rudd (2.5 points), who finished runner-up and third last year.