Tribune News Network
Doha
India’s GM Arjun Erigaisi of India, defending champion Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan and his compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Iranian Parham Maghsoudlou are among the top stars headlining the Qatar Masters 2024 International Open Chess Championship which begins at the Aspire Zone Hall on Tuesday (Dec 3-13).
While Erigaisi is top-seeded, Maghsoudlou is ranked third, Abdusattorov is ranked 6th, and Yakubboev is ranked 9th at the tournament which will see the participation of a total 300 male and female players from 25 countries with India leading with 110 players.
Among the prominent players from Arab region are Qatar’s GM Hussein Aziz, ranked 104 in the tournament, while Emirati Salem Abdulrahman, ranked 18, and first in the Arab world.
Abdulrahman returns to the tournament after missing the last three editions. His compatriots Omar Noman, ranked 108 in the tournament, and Omran Al Hosani, ranked 135, are also participating.
Egyptian Adham Fawzy, ranked 39, is also continuing his presence in the tournament and is one of the candidates to achieve an advanced position in the current version, in addition to the participation of his compatriots Mohamed Ezzat, ranked 110 in the tournament, and David George Samir, ranked 132, and their compatriot Wafaa Hamed, ranked 92 in the tournament.
Moroccan Mohamed Tayseer, ranked 100, the Syrian Mazen Fandi, ranked 128, and the Lebanese Akram Khader, ranked 136, will also be in action.
The organizing committee said it has completed all preparations for the start of the international championship (Swiss System of 9 rounds), which was previously organized in two consecutive editions in 2014 and 2015 and the previous 2023.
On Monday, the technical meeting for the tournament was held at Hotel Torch in the presence of all participating delegations, during which the start date of the competitions was set with the first move to be made at 4pm on Tuesday.
Mohammed Al Mudhahka, President of the Qatar Chess Association (QCA), pointed out that the Aspire Zone Hall is now ready to host the fourth edition of the tournament.
“We welcome the presence of the International Chess Federation and all participating delegations of coaches, administrators and players,” said Al Mudhahka.
He pointed out that entry will be free for the public, and some accompanying events will be held on the sidelines of the tournament. “Our goal is to maintain the reputation of the tournament that it gained in the previous two versions, and our efforts have succeeded in the presence of the most important first-ranked players, and we hope that our efforts will be crowned by presenting a distinctive version and we will see strong technical levels from all participants,” added Al Mudahka.
Meanwhile, the International B Championship (Swiss System of 9 rounds) to be held alongside will witnesses the participation of players from 40 countries from around the world, including 13 Arab nations.
The tournament, which is launched in parallel with the Qatar Masters, witnesses the attendance of 153 male and female players, who are players ranked under 2300 points.
Tunisian Zubeir Al Amdouni tops the list of participating players as has the highest ranking with 2230, followed by Iraqi Mohamed Salah, ranked second in the tournament, followed by Uzbek Abdulmajid Butiraliev, Pakistani Mahmoud Lodhi in fifth, Algerian Alaa Eddine Boulerins in sixth, and Iraqi Sattar Al Badri in seventh.
As for Qatari players, the tournament will witness the participation of Irfan Mohammed ranked 43, Khaled Al Jumaat ranked 51, Hamad Al Kuwari ranked 68, Abdulrahman Al Attas ranked 81, Turki Al Kuwari ranked 82, Ibrahim Al Janahi ranked 96, Fahad Al Mansouri ranked 100, Ahmed Saif ranked 102, Ali Al Nuaimi ranked 111, Amer Al Hammadi ranked 117, Badr Al Houthi ranked 124, Abdulaziz Al Mahasneh ranked 125, Khalifa Al Malki ranked 126, Mohammed Al Subaie ranked 128, and Khaled Al Yafei ranked 129.
The women’s tournament includes Rawda Al Qassabi ranked 106, Layan Al Qassabi ranked 110, Asma Al Hammadi ranked 123, and Ghalia Al Nuaimi ranked 127.
In last year’s 2023 edition, the Uzbek Nodirbek Yakubboev was crowned champion beating compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final round.
