11 hours Ago
Doha: Last year’s runner-up and World No. 6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov and defending champion Nodirbek Yakubboev suffered shocking defeats, while India’s Arjun Erigaisi lived up to his favourite tag by securing a victory in an eventful opening day of the Qatar Masters Open 2024 chess championship yesterday. At Doha’s Aspire Zone, Uzbek Abdusattorov was beaten in his opening game by FIDE Master Reza Mahdavi of Iran, seeded 71 in the prestigious event this year, while his Compatriot Yakubboev – seeded No.
9 this year – lost to India’s International Master Amith Doshi Moksh in the opening game. The 22-year-old Grandmaster Yakubboev had won the Qatar Masters Open last year when he defeated Abdusattorov 2-0 in a blitz play-off. However, top seed Erigaisi made a winning start playing by outsmarting Uzbek International Master Mukhammadali Abdurakhmonov.
Erigaisi, who is the 15th player in history to break the 2800 Elo barrier in standard chess ratings and only the second Indian player to do so after legendary Viswanathan Anand, takes on Uzbek Grandmaster Murtas Kazhgaleyev in today’s Round 2. The fourth edition of the Qatar Masters Open officially began with Qatar Chess Association President Mohammed Al Mudahka, alongside several key officials, making the first move in the opening round match between Erigaisi and Abdurakhmonov. Al Mudahka expressed his delight at organising the fourth edition of the tournament, emphasising the extensive preparations made to ensure grand success and attract top-ranked players from around the world.
Chief Arbiter Laurent Freyd highlighted the event’s significance in fostering global talent, adding that Qatar’s organisational excellence will contribute to the event’s success. Freyd thanked Qatar for promoting chess in the region, noting the importance of events of this caliber in nurturing te next generation of players. Earlier yesterday, several top-ranked players, including No.
3 seed GM Parham Maghsoodloo and GM M Amin Tabatabaei suffered mishaps on the opening day when they were held by significantly lower-ranked players. Iran’s Maghsoodloo was held to a draw by Mongolia’s IM Ganzorig Amartuvshin while his compatriot Tabatabaei faced a surprising draw against FM Artin Ashraf. Uzbekistan’s GM Vladislav Artemiev was held by India’s IM Vantika Agrawal later in the evening.
Qatar’s International Master Husain Aziz earned an impressive draw against China’s IM Zhihang Xu, seeded 35th. The tournament, running until December 13, brings together 300 players from 25 countries, including 50 Grandmasters. The Qatar Masters Open B tournament also got underway with the participation of 153 players from 40 countries, competing at ratings under 2300.
Qatar’s CM Erfan Mohamad Firdaus beat Uzbekistan’s Abdulazizova Asmirakhon in his opening match in the B Tournament, while Firdaus’ compatriot Turki Al Kuwari secured a win over Englishman Alexander Torchinsky. Khaled Aljamaat beat his Qatari compatriot Mohammed Al Subaiey, while CM Hamad Al Kuwari drew with Pakistan’s Muhammad Khan and Abdulrahman Al Atas shared a point with Tharun Ashok Kumar of India..
