Grebnev hangs on to slim lead despite draw
Grebnev of Russia upped his score to 6.5 points after a relatively short, uneventful 21-move draw with Iran's GM Sina Movahed, one of two players who were just half a point behind the tournament leader.
Grebnev's compatriot GM Ivan Zemlyanskii, the other player within striking distance of the lead, dropped out of the running for the championship after losing to Armenia's GM Shant Sargsyan. Movahed, Sargsyan, and Spain's GM Alan Pichot, who defeated IM Rohith Krishna S of India, closely trail Grebnev with six points each going into the final round.
Playing the white pieces in an Italian Game, Sargsyan sacrificed a pawn that created room for his pieces to operate on both sides of the board.
Looking for counterplay, Zemlyanskii decided to strike in the centre with a pawn break on the d-file, a flawed plan that allowed Sargsyan to win back the sacrificed material and enter the endgame with a strategically won position.
Zemlyanskii stirred the game into complications in a bid to provoke errors and create practical chances, but despite a few imprecisions in technique, Sargsyan maintained control and converted with a tactical blow to finish the game.
Grebnev will take on Sargsyan in Wednesday's final round, while Movahed faces Pichot, with all four players in the running for the title.
In Category B, after six straight wins to start the tournament, Fide Master (FM) Mahdi Nikookar conceded a second consecutive draw, allowing India's Candidate Master (CM) Alankar Sawai Vandan to tie him for the lead. Nikookar drew his game with India's M. Mridav, while Vandan defeated Sri Lanka's Pesandu Rashmitha Liyanage. Both have seven points, a full point ahead of five others.
Tournament format, schedule, prizes The tournament follows a 9-round Swiss system with a 90-minute time control plus a 30-second increment per move. Games are played every day from 5pm, except the final round on June 4, which starts at 10am.
The tournament offers a prize pool of $52,000 to be handed out to the winners of both categories. Category A, contested by players with a rating over 2300, has a total prize fund of $39,500 with $12,000 going to the champion, while Category B, open to players rated below 2300, offers $12,500 in total prizes and $2,000 awarded to the champion.
Special prizes will also be distributed to top performers among rating categories, unrated, youth, women, and UAE players. International arbiter team & live coverage International Arbiter Majed Al Abdooli of the UAE spearheads the tournament's international team of arbiters who will manage and oversee the competition.
Chess fans from around the world can watch the Category A games live on the club's website as well as chess platforms such as lichess.org and chess.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
McNulty wins closing time trial to clinch Tour of Poland title
American Brandon McNulty won the closing time trial on Sunday to take overall victory in the Tour of Poland. McNulty, twice the US time trial champion, completed the hilly 12.5 km time trial around the Wieliczka salt mine in southern Poland 12 seconds faster than Italian Lorenzo Milesi of Movistar. McNulty, who rides for Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG, succeeds Jonas Vingegaard who won the seven-day race last year. Monegasque rider Victor Langellotti of Ineos, who took the overall lead on Saturday when he edged McNulty on the final climb, was 46 seconds back and ended up fifth overall. Another Italian, Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious, finished fourth on Sunday to climb to second overall. 'The way the course was today it was really and all-out effort on the climb and then just a matter of holding on on the descent and flat run-in,' said McNulty. 'At the split I knew I was ahead but you can never be comfortable until the finish line. I'm super happy. It's my first World Tour win in a GC. 'I didn't have the perfect start to the season, I had some illness and this is my first win of the year. Today was nice to get a win for Baroncini, who crashed out earlier in the week. We've had him in our minds since he left and we wish for him the best in his recovery,' he added. The week began dramatically when Filippo Baroncini was involved in a heavy crash on Stage 1, forcing his withdrawal from the race. The Italian suffered multiple injuries and is currently safely back in Italy where he is expected to undergo surgery for his facial injuries and begin his recovery. The victory of McNulty marks a successful week of stage racing for the Emirati squad, with Isaac Del Toro having claimed the overall GC at the Vuelta a Burgos in Spain on Saturday. The result was a reward for a consistent week of racing by the Mexican, who overcame a flat tyre on stage 5 to produce a valiant ride to second over the line on Lagunas de Neila. Once he had crossed the line on the race's final summit finish, the 21-year-old turned around and watched the clock tick by as his overall win was confirmed. The win tally for the team continues the grow, with 72 victories on the board so far this season. Agencies
Dubai Eye
a day ago
- Dubai Eye
Defending champions Sabalenka, Sinner cruise through Cincinnati second round
World number one Aryna Sabalenka saved 12 break points to survive her Cincinnati opener against Czech Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 6-1 on Saturday, as the men's defending champion Jannik Sinner cruised past Colombian qualifier Daniel Galan 6-1 6-1. Sabalenka, who had a first-round bye, had not played since her semi-final defeat at Wimbledon and said the downtime served her well as she mounted a tremendous defensive effort to set up a meeting with Briton Emma Raducanu. "I played so many matches this season so I'm quite experienced to handle those key moments," Sabalenka told Tennis Channel. "Key for me is always to go for it without doubting my decisions. So far it's been working really well." Raducanu made easy work of Serbian Olga Danilovic 6-3 6-2 in her first match under new coach Francisco Roig, after a handful of confidence-building performances this summer that included a trip to the semi-finals at the Washington Open. "I'm really building some momentum. I'm really happy with how I've stayed pretty consistent over the last few months," said Raducanu, who lost to Sabalenka in a third-round thriller at Wimbledon this year. "I still feel like there's a long way to go but just working hard behind the scenes, putting a lot of hours in and hoping I can trust in that." Italy's Sinner, who also took a break following his Wimbledon win, was in pristine form as he produced just four unforced errors to swat aside Galan in 59 minutes earlier in the day. He will next play Canadian Gabriel Diallo. "It's very difficult to play here, I feel like the ball is flying, it's very fast," said Sinner. "So when you lose confidence with a couple of shots, it makes it very, very difficult to play." Poland's third seed Iga Swiatek was back on top form after an early exit in Montreal as she sprinted through the first set and fended off four break points in the second to beat Anastasia Potapova comfortably 6-1 6-4. She next plays Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, who she has defeated in all three previous meetings, in the third round of the U.S. Open tune-up tournament. Australian Open winner Madison Keys had a tougher opening to her Cincinnati campaign, saving two match points to survive against German Eva Lys with a 1-6 6-3 7-6(1) win to punch her ticket to the third round where she will play Japan's Aoi Ito. "I just kept trying to listen to everyone here cheering me," said American Keys, who triumphed in 2019 and clinched Saturday's affair with an unreturnable forehand. "It helped me get back into the match and across the finish line." Earlier on Saturday, Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech upset Norwegian 11th seed Casper Ruud 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2, while eighth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti lost to France's Benjamin Bonzi 5-7 6-4 7-6(4). Fourth seed Taylor Fritz sent over a dozen aces to close out the day's programme on Center Court with a routine 6-4 6-4 win over American compatriot Emilio Nava and book a meeting with Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
Football: Man United sign striker Sesko in $89 million deal
9 Aug 2025 14:38 (AGENCIES)Manchester United have signed Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko from Germany's RB Leipzig on a contract until 2030, the Premier League club said on transfer fee is 76.5 million euros ($89 million) with 8.5 million in 22-year-old Sesko, who joined Leipzig from Austrian club RB Salzburg in 2023, scored 39 goals in 87 appearances across all competitions for the German side."The history of Manchester United is obviously very special but what really excites me is the future," Sesko said in a statement."When we discussed the project, it was clear that everything is in place for this team to continue to grow and compete for the biggest trophies again soon ... It is clearly the perfect place to reach my maximum level and fulfil all of my ambitions."I cannot wait to start learning from (manager) Ruben (Amorim) and connecting with my team-mates to achieve the success that we all know we are capable of together."Manchester United have also signed forwards Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo as well as left back Diego Leon for the new campaign which starts at home to Arsenal on August have spent around 200 million pounds following their 15th-place finish in the Premier League last season, their lowest position in the top flight for 51 years. The four new signings will be introduced at Old Trafford before Saturday's friendly against Italian side Fiorentina.
