Favorites led the way in the opening round of the Asian Individual Chess Championship on 7th May 2025 at the Danat Resort Hotel in Al Ain, UAE

Top seed GM Sarin Nihal of India was held to a draw by IM Paulo Bersamina of the Philippines. Similarly in the women’s division, top seed IM Leya Garifulina, playing under neutral FIDE flag, was held to a draw by WIM Luong Phuong Hanh of Vietnam.

GM M. Amin Tabatabaei of Iran led 53 others in grabbing early lead. Local bet Salem A.R. Saleh (photo above) beat IM Gilbert Elroy Tarigan of Indonesia to lead the charge of UAE players. An impressive roster of 51 top Grandmasters, 53 International Masters and 21 FIDE Masters in a field of 154 men from 33 countries are competing for ten slots in the FIDE World Cup and $80,000 in cash prizes.

Watch live games on Chess.com and Lichess. Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings and to download games.

Guess the Sacrifice!

Guess Black’s sacrificial move in the following game between GM Idani Pouya as White and Tan Jun Ying of Malaysia after 53.Qe4? Answers at the end of this story.

Guess White’s sacrificial move in the following game between GM Sethuraman of India as White and compatriot IM Patab Ritviz after 33…Nb7?:

In the following game between IM Lev Zverev playing White under neutral FIDE flag and Isaak Huh of Korea, guess White’s sacrifice after 45…Bd4:

WCM Zainab Darwish Almaamari of the UAE

In the women’s division, second seed GM Valentina Gunina, playing under neutral FIDE flag, beat WFM Enkh- Amgalan Enkhrii of Mongolia to share early lead with 38 other players.

Two GMs, 19 WGMs, 13 WIMs and 21 WIMs and 17 WFMs are competing for two slots in the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

In this game between GM Idani Poua of Iran and Tan Jun Ying of Malaysia, Black sealed the win with 53… Bxd5!

In the following game between GM Sethuraman of India as White and compatriot IM Patab Ritviz, White sealed the win with 34.Rxe4!

In the following game between IM Lev Zverev playing White under neutral FIDE flag and Isaak Huh of Korea, White sacrificed the exchange to open lines with 46.Rxf6!

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