GM Saleh wins Al Ain Chess Rapid

Hello chess blog friends, the Al Ain Chess is off to a great start with some rapid chess. GM Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE won the Al Ain Rapid Chess Championship yesterday at the Hili Rotana hotel in Al Ain, undefeated with 6 points out of 7 rounds. Seventy players from 17 countries including 25 Grandmasters took part in the one-day precursor to the Al Ain Classic Chess Championship.

Salem beat Vugar Asadli of Azerbaijan, Armenians FM Manuel Petrosyan, GM Arman Pashikian and GM Samuel Ter-Sahakyan, GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan and drew with GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko of Ukraine and GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia.

After his fourth round loss to Salem, GM Ter-Sahakyan caught up to tie with 6 points for second place as Salem emerged first in the tie break. GM Kryvoruchko finished in third place with 5.5 points ahead by tie break over Mchedlishvili and GM Levon Babujian of Armenia who both scored 5.5 points each.

Seven players followed with five points each. Finishing in tie break order were GM Miknailo Oleksienko of Ukraine in 6th place followed by Marin Kravtsiv, also of Ukraine, GM Viktor Moskalenko of Spain, GM Alexander Kovchan of Ukraine, GM Arman Pashikian of Armenia and IM Amierreza Pourrameezanali of Iran.

Mokal Amruta Sunil of India won the award for best woman player while IM Omar Noaman received the prize for Emirati player and FM Mayed Alrashedi won best Al Ain player award.

Visit chess-results.com for Al Ain Rapid Chess results and standings and to download games.

More players are expected to arrive on time for the Al Ain Chess Classic also at the Hili Rotana hotel. At stake are some $50,000 in cash prizes with a top prize of $11,000 and various category prizes. The standard time control event shall be conducted as a 9-round Swiss System. Two rounds are scheduled on Saturday at 10 am and 5 pm. From Sunday games start 4 pm daily except for the last round which starts 2 pm. All games shall be broadcast live at the alainchess.com web site with photo gallery.

Organizing Committee head Dr. Saif Al Nuaimi (left) awarding prizes to the winners of the Al Ain Rapid Championship, from left, runner-up Ter-Sahakyan Samuel, champion Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE, third placer Kryvoruchko Yuriy, Tournament Director International Organizer Tarek Al Taher, Chief Arbiter Ashot Vardapetian. In front row are, from left, best woman awardee Mokal Amruta Sunil, Mchedlishvili Mikheil, Oleksienko Mikhailo, Kravtsiv Martyn, Kovchan Alexander and Moskalenko Viktor.

Organizing Committee head Dr. Saif Al Nuaimi makes the ceremonial move assisted by Tournament Director International Organizer Tarek Al Taher on the top board game between top seed GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan (right) and CM Puranik Abhimanyu of India. (Report via FIDE)

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Al Ain Chess Dec 19 - GM Yuri Kuzubov of Ukraine Top Seed

Hello chess blog friends, GM Yuri Kuzubov of Ukraine is top seed at the Al Ain Chess Tournament to be held from Dec 19 - 26 at the Hili Rotana Hotel. Forty-five Grandmasters and 14 International Masters are among 153 participants from 26 countries for the $50,000 Al Ain Classic Chess Championship. Seventeen of these players are rated above 2600 -- namely Ukrainians Yuriy Kryvoruchko, Alexander Areshchenko, Mikhailo Oleksienko, Evgenij Miroshnichenko and Vladimir Onischuk, Belarussian Sergei Zhigalko, Armenians Tigran L. Petrosian and Arman Pashikian, Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands, Samuel Shankland of the USA, Constantin Lupulescu of Romania, Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia and Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova. 

Aside from the host country, the largest contingent is from India with 33 players followed by Azerbaijan with 22 players. National team member GM Rauf Mamedov heads the Azerbaijan delegation while GM Aghijeet Gupta and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi lead the Indian contingent. The tournament will be a 9-round Swiss System. Round 1 will start 6pm tomorrow, 19 Dec. 

Two rounds are scheduled 10am and 5pm on Saturday followed by daily rounds starting 4pm. The last 9th round starts 2pm on Friday, 26 Dec. Games shall be broadcast live on the web. At stake are some US$50,000 for the first 20 places with a top prize of $11,000 for the champion and various category prizes.

Al Ain Chess Club president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan (second from left) giving a press conference yesterday at the Hili Rotana hotel. In photo are, from left, Dr. Rashed Al Dhaheri, chairman of the UAE Chess Federation Constitutional Commission, Sheikh Sultan, Dr. Saif Al Nuaimi, General Secretary of the Al Ain Chess Club and Engr. Sultan Al Yabhoni, Deputy President of the Al Ain Chess Club. (Via FIDE)

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World Youth Chess Championships 2013: Indian Juniors win Most Medals

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The World Youth Chess Championships always showcase the chess stars of the future. The 2013 World Youth Chess Championships were held on 17-29th December in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The event was organized by the UAE Chess Federation and Al Ain Chess Club, under the auspices of FIDE. A total of 1,773 players from 121 countries competed.

India and China won three gold medals each, but the Indian players also bagged two silver and three bronze medals. Russia won 1 gold, one silver and 3 bronze medals, while Iran won one of each medals. United States claimed the gold and silver in the U10 boys section. Among the other countries, Canada, Armenia and Greece have one gold medal each. Spanish players won two silver medals, while Serbia, Mongolia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Belarus one silver each. Azerbaijan won two bronze medals home. Also with bronze medals, one for each country, are Poland, Bulgaria and Turkmenistan. (Report via FIDE) For a report on the Indian results, including the news on GM Abhijeet Gupta winning the Al Ain Open Chess Classic, read Chess Magazine Black and White website. All the results via the official website.

The closing ceremony was held after the last round of World Youth Chess Championship 2013 with medal winners in classic and blitz sections in all 12 categories recieving their medals from Sheikh Nahyan and FIDE president Kirsan Illyumzhinov.

U18 boys:1 IM Idani Pouya IRI 2483 – 8.5
2 GM Anton Guijarro David ESP 2558 – 8.0
3 GM Vaibhav Suri IND 2544 – 8.0

U18 girls:
1 WFM Tomnikova Lidia RUS 2167 – 8.5
2 WGM Ziaziulkina Nastassia BLR 2354 – 8.5
3 WIM Ibrahimova Sabina AZE 2205 – 8.5

U16 boys:
1 IM Karthikeyan Murali IND 2431 – 9.0
2 FM Girish A. Koushik IND 2413 – 9.0
3 FM Alekseenko Kirill RUS 2445 – 8.0

U16 girls:
1 Gu Tianlu CHN 2128 – 9.0
2 WIM Nicolas Zapata Irene ESP 2237 – 8.5
3 WGM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat IRI 2298 – 8.5

U14 boys:
1 Li Di CHN 2091 – 9.5
2 Zajic Milan SRB 2340 – 9.0
3 Atabayev Saparmyrat TKM 2203 – 9.0

U14 girls:
1 Tsolakidou Stavroula GRE 2132 – 9.0
2 Abdusattorova Bakhora UZB 1933 – 9.0
3 WFM Vasenina Anna RUS 2053 – 8.5

U12 boys:
1 Hakobyan Aram ARM 2015 – 9.5
2 FM Raghunandan K. Srihari IND 2168 – 8.5
3 Lobanov Sergei RUS 2239 – 8.5

U12 girls:
1 Shengxin Zhao CHN 1753 – 9.5
2 Shuvalova Polina RUS 2052 – 9.0
3 WFM Antova Gabriela BUL 1815 – 8.5

U10 boys:
1 FM Liang Awonder USA 2246 – 10.0
2 CM Peng David T USA 2042 – 9.0
3 Teclaf Pawel POL 1893 – 9.0

U10 girls:
1 WCM Salonika Saina IND 1642 – 9.0
2 WFM Asadi Motahare IRI 1657 – 8.5
3 WFM Lakshmi C IND 1757 – 8.5

U8 boys:
1 FM Praggnanandhaa R IND 1852 – 11.0
2 Can Isik TUR 1751 – 9.0
3 Suleymanli Aydin Elshan AZE 0 – 9.0

U8 girls:
1 WCM Zhu Harmony CAN 0 – 9.0
2 Mungunzul Bat-Erdene MGL 0 9.0
3 Bhagyashree Patil IND 1423 – 8.5

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World Youth Chess 2013 begins in Al Ain, UAE with Record Participation

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

A record 1,850 young chess players from around the world have gathered in Al Ain, UAE for the 13th FIDE World Youth Chess Championship (WYCC), being organised under the patronage of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, at the UAE University in Al Ain.

The competitions for under-8s, 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s for boys and girls have attracted the highest number of participants in the history of the World Junior Chess Championship. The event, being hosted in the Middle East for the first time, is one of the biggest sports competitions ever held in the UAE.

As the matches get under way at the indoor hall of UAE University, Armenian Grand Master Hovhannes Gabuzyan has a good chance of winning the gold medal in the under-18s category after he finished second at last year’s WYCC in Maribor, Slovenia. The winner on that occasion, GM Dariusz Swiercz of Poland, is not taking part this year. The 2012 bronze medallist Jorge Cori is likely to present a tough challenge for the Armenian here.

Women’s GM Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia will defend her girls’ under-18 title, while her compatriot Maria Severina, last year’s bronze medallist, will be looking to challenge for the title.

International Master Yury Eliseev, the Russian who won the gold medal in the under-16s boys category, and his counterpart Anna Styazhkina, a Woman Fide Master (WFM), are both in the UAE to defend their titles.

India’s Mugunda Kumar Mahalakshmi, the winner of the girls’ under-14s gold medal in Slovenia, and her compatriots Ramesh Vaishali, winner of the girls’ under-12s, and under-10s girls’ champion Priyanka Kalidhass have all arrived to defend their respective titles.

With the number of guests expected to total more than 4,000, the Local Organising Committee headed by Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakhboot Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Confederation and Chairman of the Al Ain Chess and Culture Club, has been working hard to complete the necessary preparations for hosting such a big event.

“We are happy and proud to be able to organise such a big event in the UAE,” Tournament Director Dr. Nasir Salem Al Ameri told Gulf News on Tuesday. “Chess is a unique sport that builds brain rather than brawn and depends upon strategy, calculation and prediction, with the players planning more than a move in advance and expecting their opponents’ moves.

“It is a pleasure to host the world’s best young brains and we do hope that the UAE youngsters will repeat the feat of our former champion Saeed Ahmad Saeed.” Saeed won the under-14s title twice, in 1979 and 1981.

Al Ameri added: “All the preparations to host a successful championship have finished and we are looking forward to achieving another organisational success for our country.”

The tournament gets under way at 3 pm on Wednesday and concludes on December 28. (Gulf News)

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World Cities Chess Sheikh Zayed Cup: Congratulations to Hoogeveen Team for Title

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The City of Hoogeveen, Netherlands became World Cities Chess Champion after beating Baku, Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5 in the finals of the knockout tournament 21-28 December 2012 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen again proved the hero for the Dutch team as he squeezed out a victory in an opposite coloured Bishop endgame in a marathon 89 moves.

The match was difficult from the start as Anish Giri, playing white on top board for Hoogeveen, and Eltaj Safarli had a complicated duel. Giri essayed the English Opening as white and accepted the early exchange of Queens on the 14th move. Both sides penetrated with their Rooks on the opponent's second rank. Safarli was first to unleash an attack. Giri was poised to counter with three pieces weaving threatening nets on the Black King when Safarli decided to repeat position and force a draw on the 31st move. 

 

The Hoogeveen team, kneeling from left, GMs Ivan Sokolov, Anish Giri, Sergey Tiviakov and Jan Smeets. Standing are, from left, Abu Dhabi Sports Council representative Salah Al Marzougi, FIDE Vice President Mohammed Kambouzia of Iran, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan, UAE Chess Federaiton Vice President Abdulaziz Al Khouri, FIDE Vice President Nizar El Haj and Organizing Committee Managing Director Hisham Al Taher

The Ruy Lopez game between Rauf Mamedov of Baku with white and Ivan Sokolov of Hoogeveen on board two was next to draw. After an exchange of Queens on the 19th move, Mamedov won a pawn. Sokolov controlled the open file with his Rook and forced perpetual check to draw in 35 moves.

The lower boards were left. Vasif Durarbayli had white for Baku on board 4 against Jan Smeets who used the Petroff Defense. Smeets was a pawn up in their Rook and Pawn endgame. Both sides had a passed pawn in a clearly drawn position when they agreed to halve the point in 57 moves.

It looked as if the game on board three between Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen and Nidjat Mamedov of Baku would also end in a draw. Tiviakov used the Alapin variation of the Sicilian defense and exchanged Queens on the 25th move. This led to an endgame with Rook and Bishops of opposite colors.

Tiviakov said, "After the opening I was sure that it is going to be a long game. We had this position with opposite colored bishops. Moreover I had one pawn up and gained an advantage in the endgame. My position gave me a chance to make about 100 moves. That's what I planned to do and generally what I did. Moreover my opponent was in time trouble. You can imagine: being in a time trouble, one pawn down, we can only think how to defend. My opponent was losing a lot of energy for that. The conditions of play were not equal by all means. As a consequence my opponent made a blunder and lost."

The Hoogeveen team won $21,000 out of the $150,000 prize fund. "We purposely had only four players to have fewer people to share the prize," Hoogeveen captain Ivan Sokolov said. Read more at the Fide website.

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World Cities Team Chess: Baku, Novi Sad, Tashkent, Hoogeveen Qualify for Semifinals

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The latest chess news updates from the World Cities Team Chess event in Al-Ain are here via Fide: In the quarterfinal matches, the city of Baku was the first to go through as they outclassed the Wu Xi team of China 3:1. The Azerbaijan strategy paid off as Eltaj Safarli and Gadir Guseinov held to draws the two stronger Chinese players, GM Wang Yue and Ji Dan. The battle shifted to the lower boards. Baku’s GM Rauf Mamedov outplayed Li Wenliang and Nidjat Mamedov outmaneuvered Fang Yuxiang to give Baku the 3:1 victory and a slot in the semifinals.

Next to qualify was Novi Sad. Serb Robert Markus used the King’s Indian Defense to beat Hans Tikannen on board 3 for Lund, Sweden. Markus sacrificed a Knight on the 20th move and embarked on a king hunt which ended in checkmate on the 39th move. Milos Perunovic followed suit with a temporary Knight sacrifice on the 22nd move against Carlsson Pontus. After a flurry of exchanges Perunovic netted two pawns and forced resignation on the 39th move. With a draw on board 4 against Swede Axel Smith, Nikola Sedlak sealed the victory for Novi Sad. The win by Swede Nils Grandelius on top board against Ivan Ivanisevic came too late to lift their spirits. 

The Tashkent team qualified next at the expense of Athens, Greece. Saidali Iuldachev scored first on board 4 against Andreas Tzermiadianos in 38 moves of a King and Pawn endgame arising from a Ruy Lopez. After two draws on the middle boards, Marat Dzhumaev sealed the win for Tashkent by beating Ioannis Papaioannou for a 3:1 score. After the game we asked Uzbekistan Chess Federation head Husain Turdialiev “Good prize money?” He replied “If we win next even better.” The fourth placed semifinalist receives $10,000 prize money out of a total $150,000 in this team tournament.

In the last match of the round, Hoogeveen came from behind to beat Saratov. The Russians scored first as Alexei Iljushin beat Jan Smeets on board 4 in 41 moves of a minor piece endgame. Much was expected of Dutch top board Anish Giri but he was held to a draw by Evgeny Tomasevsky. Dutch captain Ivan Sokolov also drew on second board with Igor Lysyj leaving the decision to the third board match between Hoogeveen’s Sergei Tiviakov and Evgeny Romanov. The Russian GM lost a pawn on the 43rd move but as Sokolov commented later, the game looked drawish which would give the victory to the Russians.

It was nearly midnight and everyone left in the hall had their eyes glued to the monitor as Tiviakov nursed a one pawn advantage in a precise same-colored Bishop endgame to force resignation on the 67th move. This meant Hoogeveen won the match by the Berlin system where more weight is put on the higher boards.

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Ail Ain Autumn Chess Fest (Blitz+Rapid) from Nov 23

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The latest chess tournament announcement via Fide is about the Al Ain Chess Club that will be holding its Autumn Chess Festival Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2012 on November 23 and 24 in UAE. The tournament will be submitted for FIDE rating.

Blitz Tournament Start at 03:00 P.M., Friday, 23 November 2012
System: 9 Rounds Swiss Time Control: 5 Minutes with 3 Seconds delay per move Rapid Tournament Start at: 02:00 P.M., Saturday 24 November 2012 System: 6 Rounds Swiss Time Control: 20 Minutes with 10 Seconds increment per move

Prizes:
Blitz Tournament (Total Prizes 3000 AED):
Winner 1000 AED + Cup
2nd 700 AED
3rd 500 AED
4th 250 AED
Best Woman 200 AED
Best UAE Man 100 AED
Best UAE Woman 100 AED
Best Alain Youth 100 AED

Rapid Tournament (Total Prizes 3000 AED):
Winner 1000 AED + Cup
2nd 700 AED
3rd 500 AED
4th 250 AED
Best Woman 200 AED
Best UAE Man 100 AED
Best UAE Woman 100 AED
Best Alain Youth 100 AED

Prizes will not be shared among tied players but determined by tie break. Closing Ceremony of both tournaments will be at 10:00 P.M. of 24 November 2012.

Tie Break System: 1- Direct Encounter; 2 - Buchholz Cut 1; 3- Buchholz Cut 2; 3- Sum of Buchholz 4- Sonneborn-Berger 5- Progressive Score.

Registration: Players who wish to participate should send the following information by Fax to 03-7633362; E-mail to Chessalain@yahoo.com; or by SMS to 050-4374421 till 20:00 of Thursday 22 November 2012.

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World Cities Team Chess Qualifiers Announced by Fide

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

 

FIDE has announced the qualifiers for the World Cities Team Championship for the Sheikh Zayed Cup scheduled 21-29 December 2012 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Olympiad champion Armenia will lead 32 city teams in the $150,000 knock-out format championship. Host United Arab Emirates joins qualifiers from the World Team Championship, Continental teams and 25 top zonal teams from the Istanbul Olympiad. 

Read more »

Six Chess Parks for Kids in Al Ain, Abh Dhabi

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Now this is the kind of chess news we really like. Imagine six chess parks in a city. A news report from Al Ain, a city in Abu Dhabi, will build six chess areas in parks across the city. The project, unique in the Emirates, is aimed at children who can participate while playing in various parks and gardens, including Al Mubazzarah, Al Foah, Al Jahili, Al Muraijab, Al Taweah and Al Wadi.

Al Ain (Arabic: العين‎, al-ʿayn, literally The Spring), also known as the Garden City due to its greenery, is the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest city in the United Arab Emirates.

"The development of children shouldn't be imposed on schools and parents only, but the responsibility also lies on all entities of the country," the city municipality said in a statement. "We are trying to achieve that to an extent."

Each chess centre will have a space of 64 square metres, and include playgrounds and walking tracks for easy movement. There will be different kinds of games on offer, and places to sit.

The centres will be distributed across the city. The Al Foah garden in the north is designated for families, with Al Muraijab designated for women and children only.

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