Yu Yangyi wins Qatar Chess, Giri Second, Kramnik third; Bela best woman Chess Player

Hello chess blog friends, the strongest chess open in history has concluded with a Chinese win! That was after top seed Anish Giri won six games in a row and former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik also won six games in a row.

Photo: official website

Eventually, it was Yu Yangyi who won the title by beating Kramnik in the last round. The Qatar Masters Chess Open took place 26th November (round 1) to 4th December 2014. Yu Yangyi had also beaten top seed Anish Giri. The two wins came back-to-back in the final two rounds even as fans thought the final would be decided between top seeds Giri and Kramnik. Vladimir Kramnik played his first chess open since 1993. 

The organisers did a splendid job and they are already planning for the next edition. The tournament coverage was excellent via the official website with plenty of photos, videos, all games, pgns etc. 

The best woman player at the tournament was Georgian chess player Bela Khotenashvili who began with a win over Baadur Jobava (2722). She registered a string of victories scoring 5.5 points and taking home $5,000. In second place was Ju Wenjun with 5 points. 

Final Standings
1. Yu Yangyi (CHN) - 7.5 points
2. Anish Giri (NED) - 7 points
3. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - 7 points
For the full standings please visit the Final standings page.

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Best Woman Prize - Bela Khotenashvili (GEO) - 5.5 points
Best Arabic Player - Salem A.R. Saleh (UAE) - 6 points


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Qatar Chess Masters 2014 begins Nov 25 with Top Stars

Hello chess blog friends, the Qatar Chess Masters, a new mega-open chess tournament, is set to take place from 25th November to 5th December at the 5-star Crowne Plaza Hotel in Doha, Qatar

 Photo by iloveqatar.net

The organizers are excited to have such great chess players as Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Anish Giri, Alexei Shirov, Gata Kamsky, Pentala Harikrishna, Pavel Eljanov and many others. 159 players already confirmed their participation. 

The total prize fund is $110,000, with top finishers earning $25,000 / $15,000 / $10,000 / $7,000 / $6,000 / $5,000 / $4,000 / $3,000 respectively. 

The organizers have awarded ten wild-card invitations during the Tromso Chess Olympiad. These players are invited to play in Qatar Masters Open 2014 with travel, hotel and food expenses covered by the organizers. 

The wild-card winners are: 
IM Belouadah Saad 2320 (Algeria) 
FM Vazquez Guillermo 2323 (Paraguay) 
GM Aleksandar Indjic 2539 (Serbia) 
IM Goh Wei Ming Kevin 2433 (Singapore) 
GM Gomez John Paul 2526 (Philippines) 
WGM Nemcova Katerina 2315 (USA) 
WGM Gara Ticia 2321 (Hungary) 
WGM Gomes Mary Ann 2352 (India) 
WGM Golubenko Valentina 2269 (Croatia) 
WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2252 (USA) 

Tournament website 

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Qatar's Traditional Ramadan Rapid, Blitz Chess in Doha July 2-5

Hello chess blog friends, here's a quick chess update about the traditional Ramadan chess blitz and rapid organised in Qatar. Qatar Chess Association will be organizing Ramadan Rapid & Blitz Chess during the period 2-5 July 2014 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Al-Falak Ballroom, both tournaments are open for Qatari and Expats of all ages and both genders. The games will start 21:30. to register please complete the registration form by clicking the following link:Registration Form

Tournament Schedule:
First day July 2nd Rapid Chess Rounds 1 to 3
Second day July 3rd Rapid Chess Rounds 4 to 6
Third day July 4th Rapid Chess Rounds 7 to 9
Fourth day July 5th Blitz Chess 9 Rounds and Closing Ceremony

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel