Iranian prodigy shares lead with two grandmasters at 24th Dubai Open

Three players are tied for the lead after Friday night’s seventh round of the 24th Dubai Open Chess Tournament at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.

Iranian International Master (IM) Sina Movahed, who celebrated his 14th birthday last Monday, and Serbia’s Grandmaster (GM) Velimir Ivic joined overnight solo-leader GM Mahammad Muradli of Azerbaijan in the leaderboard with 5.5 points each going into penultimate eighth round of the tournament.

Muradli, 21, kept his hold of the lead after holding the draw in a game where he was on the defensive against IM Aronyak Ghosh of India.

In a tense and strategically complex chess game, Aronyak found himself in a promising yet precarious position. The board was a battlefield of pieces, each one holding the potential to turn the tide in his favor.

Seeing an opportunity to expose his opponent’s vulnerable kingside, Aronyak decided to make a bold move. He calculated the consequences and then, with a deep breath, sacrificed his bishop. This daring sacrifice was meant to pry open the protective barrier around his opponent’s king, aiming to launch a decisive attack. The crowd watching the game held their breath, knowing the high stakes involved in such a move.

The board now lay before Aronyak with new possibilities. His opponent’s king was more exposed than before, and it was a critical moment. However, in the ensuing complex positions and with the clock ticking down, Aronyak could not find the correct follow-through. The optimal sequence of moves eluded him, and the initiative began to slip away.

As the game progressed, Aronyak found himself in a familiar yet disheartening position. He had another golden opportunity to capitalise on his earlier attack. The path to victory was still open if he could muster the courage and clarity to strike decisively. The pressure mounted, and his heart raced. In the heat of the moment, doubt crept in.

Instead of launching the attack, he chose the safety of a defensive manoeuvre. He moved his king to a safer square, hoping to regroup and reassess. This momentary hesitation proved costly. The queens soon got traded off the board, and with their departure, Aronyak’s attacking chances evaporated like mist in the morning sun.

Movahed picked up a win against GM Jakhongir Vakhidov, a member of Uzbekistan’s Olympiad championship team. Ivic, 21, outlasted India’s GM Pa Iniyan in a queen-versus-rook endgame.

Ghosh dropped to joint second place with five points along with compatriots IM L R Srihari and GM Raunak Sadhwani, China’s GM Dai Changren, IM Zhao Yuanhe and Li, Di, and Turkey’s IM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.

In Category B, Libya’s Yousef A. Alhassadi defeated co-leader Fide Master (FM) Ahmed Fareed of the UAE in the first-board match-up to reclaim the solo leadership with 6.5 points.

WIM Srishti Pandey of India and FM Bakhyt Temirov of Kazakhstan each have six points for joint second place. Pandey defeated compatriot AGM Vishal Choudary, while Temirov posted a win over Oman’s Mana Al Kathiri.

Muradli, who could only produce draws in his last two games, will face the Iranian prodigy Movahed on the first board in the eighth round, which will start at 5pm. The UAE’s Saif Ahmed will challenge Alhassadi for the lead on the first board in Category B.

The highly anticipated Dubai Open Chess Tournament has attracted over 160 players from 40 different countries.

The final round of tournament will start its final round on Sunday from 10am at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.

Each player is allotted a thinking time of 90 minutes, with 30 seconds added after each move. A total of $52,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winners.