Salem stays on course for Sharjah Masters title

UAE Grandmaster Salem Abdulrahman Mohamed Saleh took the lead after completing the fourth round of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship on Monday.

The fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship is being held under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Salem produced another dominant display to beat the African Chess Champions and Egyptian Grandmaster Ahmed Adly.

The fourth round of the one of the strongest chess championship in the history of game was held under the supervision of Hussain Khalfan Al Shamsi, general secretary of the Arab Chess Federation, in the presence of Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, President of the Arab Chess Federation, Omar Noman Al Ali, Assistant Secretary General of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, Husan Turdialiyev, Vice-President of Uzbekistan Chess Federation, Raja'i Al Sousi, Executive Director of the club, and othermembers.

Shamsi praised the great efforts made by the organizing committee in hosting the fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship.

“Hosting such a high-level competition showcases the world class abilities of Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club.

“The championship also reflects the pioneering image of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club who have been organizing major international chess events for a long time.

“It also reflects the support of wise leadership,” Shamsi added.

Meanwhile, during the fourth round Indian Grandmaster SL Narayanan drew with Iranian Grandmaster Seyyed Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei. They both share 3.5 points and Georgia’s Mchedlishvili

Mikheil is at par with them following victory over French Grandmaster Jules Moussard.

Iranian Grandmaster Maghsoodloo Parham beat Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev.

The prominent results of the fourth round were Ukrainian Grandmaster Pavel Eljanov’s win over Paraguayan grandmaster Delgado Ramirez Neuris and Azerbaijani Grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch’s strong performance against Indian Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani.

Sadhwani achieved the title of Grandmaster at age 13. He is the 9th youngest player in history and the 4th youngest Indian to become a Grandmaster.

In another interesting clash on the board, Algerian Grandmaster Bilel Bellahcene drew with Russian Grandmaster Paravyan David.

Indian Grandmaster S P Sethuraman, who recently won the Barcelona Open, faced a tough time against Poland's Woman Grandmaster Jolanta Zawadzka.

Both played some super moves but Sethuraman finally prevailed.

Zawadzka is one of the top chess players of Poland. She has won the women's Polish Chess Championship in 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2018.

International Master Omran Al Hosani registered a remarkable win over Colombian Grandmaster Rios Cristhian Camilo.

Morocco’s Mokliss El Adnani and Syria’s Okla Sohib squared off in an all Arab-clash and it ended in a draw.

At the conclusion of the fourth round, four players are sharing the lead with 3.5 points. They are led by UAE’s Salem, India’s Narayanan, Iran’s Amin Tabatabae and Georgia’s Mchedlishvili Mikheil.

Five players including Greece’s Dimitrios Mastrovasilis, Kazakhstan’s Rinat Jumabayev, Ukraine’s Pavel, Indian Grandmasters Abhijeet Gupta and his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi are sharing second place.

Gupta played for the Indian national team in the 2012 Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, where he won an individual silver medal thanks to his rating performance of 2746 on board 4.

41 Grandmasters, two women Grandmasters, 13 International Masters and two FIDE Masters are taking part in the fourth edition of the Sharjah Master International Championship which offers a prize purse of $60,000.

Fast Contracting Company, National Paints and Centro Sharjah Hotel are the sponsors of the fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship.