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Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Sarin and Muradli shine on opening day of 25th Dubai Open Chess Tournament
Top-seed Grandmaster (GM) Nihal Sarin of India and defending champion GM Mahammad Muradli of Azerbaijan won their respective matches with relative ease to lead 27 other players who hurdled their opening-round assignments at the start of the silver jubilee edition of the Dubai Open Chess Tournament on Tuesday at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club. Sarin, fresh from a two-way tie for first place in the Asian Individual Men's Chess Championships in Al Ain early this month, deployed the Scandinavian Defense against compatriot Fide Master (FM) Akshay Borgaonkar. The tournament top-seed sacrificed a pawn in exchange for strong pressure against white's queenside pawns, and then gradually outplayed Borgaonkar in a Queen and rook endgame. Playing the white side of a Catalan game, Muradli built a sizeable advantage on the board and the clock against Israel's International Master (IM) Or Bronstein on the way to a 38-move win. Muradli snatched a pawn on the 23rd move and still had over an hour on his clock while Bronstein was already surviving on the 30-second time increment when the game entered a knight-vs-bishop endgame. The 25th edition of the tournament was inaugurated by Khalid Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, Chairman of the Dubai Chess and Culture Club, in the presence of Saeed Mohammed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, and Nasser Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of the Council. A documentary film was presented highlighting the tournament's 25-year history, tracing its development since its inception in 1999 alongside the opening of the club. Falasi stated: 'Thanks to the unwavering support of our leadership and the vision to elevate chess in the UAE, we celebrate 25 years of the Dubai Open Chess Championship—an idea that began with ambition and has grown into a globally recognized event. 'This tournament is a source of pride for UAE sports and for the city of Dubai. It reflects our commitment to intellectual development, mental skills, and nurturing young talent.' He added: 'What sets this edition apart is the high caliber of international participation and the continuous improvements in organization and execution—thanks to our leadership, dedicated partners, and sponsors.' Reigning Asian junior champion GM Aleksey Grebnev, meanwhile, scored the tournament's first full point after disposing of Vietnam's IM Pham Tran Gia Phuc. The 18-year-old from Russia essayed the Rossolimo Attack against Pham and then won a pawn on the 18th move when the Vietnamese missed a tactical blow. Grebnev consolidated his advantage and wrapped up the game on the 36th move. The second and third seeds, GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia and GM Aleksandar Indjic, the 2024 European champion from Serbia, were both held to a draw by Indian teenage international masters Jimmy Jubin and Neelash Saha, respectively. The biggest opening-round casualties, on the other hand, included fifth-seed GM Tin Jingyao, Singapore's number one player, who lost to 46th-seed GM G B Harshavardhan of India, and former Dubai Open champion GM Abhijeet Gupta, who was outplayed by his Indian compatriot IM Mayank Chakraborty, winner of the category B event in last week's Sharjah Masters. A total of 29 grandmasters are taking part in the jubilee edition of the event, which is being contested over two categories with more than 180 players from 34 countries vying for the championships. In Category B, top-seed FM Sargis A. Manukyan of Armenia was held to a draw by 12-year-old Dmitriy Al Novodvorskiy of Russia, while second-seed IM Anastasios Pavlidis of Greece led the day-one winners after scoring a victory over Indian youngster Shayan Noushad Ibrahim Muhammad. 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 USD$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.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Champions Chess Tour 2025 — A qualifier for Esports World Cup 2025, list of Indians, live streaming info
The Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025 is an online chess tournament, which, over two contests, will finalise 12 participants for the Esports World Cup 2025, set to be played in Saudi Arabia between July 7 and August 24. The tour comprises two competitions — Chessable Masters and Masters. The top 12 players with the most CCT points will qualify for the World Cup. How many players participated in the CCT 2025? The first leg of CCT, Chessable Masters, had 58 players, while the second leg, Masters, had 23 competitors. What is the ranking system in CCT? 1st – 100 2nd – 80 3rd – 65 4th – 50 5th-6th – 40 7th-8th – 30 9th-12th 20 13th-16th 10 17th-23rd 5 24th-38th 3 39th-48th 2 49th-58th 1 When are the CCT competitions? The Chessable Masters was played from February 16 to 21, while Masters is being played between May 18 to 23. The playoffs for the former started on February 18, while those of the latter will be played on May 20. Who are the Indians participating in CCT 2025? Indians at Chessable Masters — Abhimanyu Puranik, Aravindh Chithambaram, Arjun Erigaisi, Bharath Subramaniyam, Narayanan Sunilduth Lyna, Nihal Sarin, Pranav Anand, R Praggnanandhaa, Raunak Sadhwani, Srinath Narayanan Indians at Masters — D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Ajun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and M. Pranesh In the Masters on Tuesday, three Indians — Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Erigaisi — will be competing. Following are their respective matches: Ding Liren vs R. Praggnanandhaa Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Arjun Erigaisi D. Gukesh vs Vladimir Fedoseev How to watch the Champions Chess Tour 2025? The Champions Chess Tour can be watched on the YouTube and Twitch channels of
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Asian chess: Nihal Sarin finishes runner-up; qualifies for the World Cup
Nihal Sarin finished runner-up in the Asian individual chess championship at Al Ain (UAE) on Thursday. The No.1 seed from Kerala defeated Bardiya Daneshvar in the top board clash between the joint overnight leaders, but the Iranian became the champion on account of a superior tie-breaker score after they finished with seven points each from nine rounds. Nihal, however, booked his berth for the World Cup, scheduled to be held in India later this year. Five other Indians – Pa. Iniyan, R. Raja Rithvik, S.L. Narayanan, M. Pranesh and G.B. Harshvardhan – also qualified for the prestigious event. In the women's section, Vantika Agrawal was the best placed Indian, in fourth place. She was among four players to score seven points from nine rounds, but China's Song Yuxin won the title after the ties were broken. Mongolia's Bat-Erdene Mungunzul was the runner-up. The standings: Open: 1-2. Bardiya Daneshvar (Ira) and Nihal Sarin (Ind) 7 points; 3-8. Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzb), Ivan Zemlyanskii (Rus), Pa. Iniyan (Ind), R. Raja Rithvik (Ind), S.L. Narayanan (Ind) and M. Pranesh (Ind) 6.5; 9-10. G.B. Harshvardhan (Ind) and Sergei Lobanov (Rus) 6. Women: 1-4. Song Yuxin (Chn), Bat-Erdene Mungunzhul (Mgl), Xeniya Balabayeva (Kaz) and Vantika Agrawal (Ind) 7 points; 5-9. Srija Seshadri (Ind), Anastasia Bodaruk (Rus), Valentina Gunina (Rus), Afruza Khamdamova (Uzb) and Alua Nurman (Kaz) 6.5; 10. Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (Uzb) 6.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Nihal Sarin bounces back as Indian stars shine at Asian Chess Championship
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin bounced back with a victory against Russia's Nikita Matinian in the second round of the Asian Individual Chess Championship in Al Ain, UAE on Thursday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The tournament, carrying a prize fund of USD 80,000, serves as part of the World Championship cycle with top players qualifying for the World Chess Cup later this year. Fourth-seeded Murali Karthikeyan secured his second consecutive win by defeating Lou Yipping of Philippines. However, Grandmaster S L Narayanan faced a setback, losing to Uzbekistan's Atakhan Albin. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The day proved challenging for higher-seeded players in the premier Asian championship, with many facing tough competition. India's young chess players performed well overall. Abhijeet Gupta registered his first tournament victory by defeating fellow Indian K Senthil Maren. In the women's section, Vantika Agrawal continued her strong form from the opening round, defeating Assel Serikbay to achieve the maximum score of two points. Quiz: Key results in the open section included A R Ilamparthi's victory over Amin Tabatabaei, while Grigory Fedorov lost to Prraneeth Vuppala. Aditya Mittal defeated Bai Adelard, and Siddharth Jagadeesh won against Rashid Husain Alhammadi. Mayank Chakraborty secured a win over Abuazizah Raji, and V Pranav emerged victorious against Sakline Mostafa Sajid. Explained: Why Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket In women's competition, Valentina Gunina defeated Yana Zhapova, while Liya Kurmangaliyeva drew with Song Yuxin. Zarina Nurgaliyeva won against Mungutntuul Batkhuyag. Meruert Kamalidenova defeated Potapova Margarita, and Afruza Khamdamova won against Sakshi Chitlange. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Indian players Rakshitta Ravi and Priyanka Nutakki secured victories over Arshiya Das and Rouda Essa Alserkal respectively. The tournament continues to serve as a crucial qualifying event for the upcoming World Chess Cup, attracting top players from across Asia.
News18
07-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
Indian GM Nihal Sarin To Lead Indian Contingent For Asian Continental Chess Championship
Last Updated: Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin is the favorite in the Asian Continental Chess Championship, aiming for a World Chess Cup berth. Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin will start as favourite in the Asian Continental Chess Championship here. The nine-round event will see an in-form Sarin, who is the top seed, competing for the top prize as well as a berth in the next World Chess Cup slated to be held in New Delhi in October later this year. As many as 18-Indian Grandmasters will be seen in action in the strongest Asian championship with top 10 places reserved for the next World Chess Cup. Sarin, who recently won the Tashkent Open, is now closing in on becoming the next 2700 ELO rating player from India with just seven points short of the coveted mark. The ride could be bumpy though with presence of many Asian stalwarts like Amin Tabatabai of Iran and Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan, who have been given the second and third billing. Forth seeded Murali Karthikeyan will be the other Indian to watch out for, while Leon Luke Mendonca and reigning world junior champion V Pranav are likely to be other major contenders for a podium finish. Though not at their prime, one can never rule out several times national champion and former gold medalist Surya Shekhar Ganguly and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta in the USD 80000 prize money event. The women championship will be held simultaneously and the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by International Master and Chess Olympiad gold medallist Vantika Agrawal. This will also be the first time ever that the Russian players will be part of the Asian event, playing under the FIDE flag. Topping the list in the women's section is Leya Garifullina who will start as the top seed, Valentina Gunina and Olga Girya, who are seeded second and thiird. Vantika, seeded seventh, can give everyone a run for their money as she has been doing pretty well in the ladies' section. P V Nandhidha, Padmini Rout and Rakshitha Ravi are the other Indian players, who can make a mark for themselves but a good start will be the key for them. The event will also have two blitz championships, for men and women, reserved for the last day. First Published: May 06, 2025, 18:18 IST
