Grand international master Viorel Iordachescu for the first time became national chess champion after scoring four victories and five ties, IPN reports.

Iordachescu thus confirmed that he was the most valuable player of the tournament, according to his ELO equal to 2,589 points. ”I returned to the national chess championship after a pause of 22 years. Maybe this is the reason why I became champion for the first time,” Viorel Iordachescu told a news conference.

 In the rankings, he is followed by grand international masters Dumitru Svetushkin and Vasile Sanduleac.

In the women’s competition, Svetlana Petrenco won with 8.5 points, followed by Olga Hancu with 8 points and Paula-Alexandra Gatu with 6.5 points. For the first time in the current competition, there were provided awards of 24,000, 16,000 and 10,000 lei.