Unseeded FIDE Master V.S. Rathanvel of India upset top seed GM Le Quang Leim of Vietnam in the opening round of the 25th Abu Dhabi Chess Festival at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
The 17-year-old Rathanvel, rated 2348, crushed the Caro Kann defense of the Vietnamese champion, rated 2727. The Indian gave the Rook for Bishop exchange on the 18th move then embarked on a king hunt with Queen and two Bishops to force resignation on the 59th move.
Top seed GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam (right) got the upset axe in the first round against FM V.S. Rathanvel of India.
Rathanvel and 36 other players from India are in a group of 70 players who won in the first round. Local hero GM Salem A.R. Saleh was held to a draw by untitled 15-year-old Sankalp Gupta of India who used the Queen’s Indian defense and drew by repetition of position in 57 moves.
Amlong the leading grandmasters are former Abu Dhabi Open champion Wang Hao of China, Richard Rapport of Hungary, Irwin Cheparinov of Georgia, Vladimir Fedoseev and Danil Dubov of Russia, Amin Bassem of Egypt, Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia, Anton Korobov andf Martin Kravtsiv of Ukraine, Nigel Short of England and Vladimir Akopian of Armenia.
Over $61,000 in cash prizes are at stake in the tournament organized by the Abu Dhabi Chess Club and the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sport Council.
The inauguration was also attended by, Hussain Abdullah Khoury (left), Director of the festival and Hassan Ramadan President of the Kuwait Chess Federation Hussain Al Shamsi General secretary of the UAE chess Federation Abdul Mohsin Fahad Al Dosari, Acting General Authority of sports , Sultan Al Daheri Executive Director Etisalat Abu dhabi ., Omran Al Khoory President Business Development from VPS group were the dignitaries on the opening ceremony representing the sponsors.
“The festival has become a unique event on the international calendar of chess masters. The International Chess Federation have included the festival in its annual program and many popular newspapers and websites are covering the progress, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Hussain Khoury, told a press conference.
“We are grateful to Shaikh Saif for his kind patronage of the event. We expect the event will be a big success as we have received a large number of entries following the increase in prize money, he added.
A strong field of 47 grandmasters, 30 International Masters, 7 Woman Grandmasters, 6 Woman International Masters, 20 FIDE Masters and 2 Woman FIDE Masters in a record field of 158 players from 32 countries are competing in the Masters event. The Festival consists of an elite Masters championship for players rated above 2100, an Open tournament for those rated below 2100 and a Junior championship for players under 16 years of age.
Games are scheduled 4pm. There are no matches on Friday but there will be a simultaneous exhibition at 3pm and a blitz tournament starting 5pm. A family tournament and a Homeland protectors’ tournament will be held 2pm on 13 August.
Forty Seven Grandmasters are competing in the Masters.
In the Open, a record 236 players from 34 countries are competing in the 9-round Swiss System tournament. In the juniors, 184 players from 18 countries are competing including 73 juniors from the UAE. Visit chess-results.com for results and standings.
“We increased the prize money to Dhs 300,000 in our quest to attract more top quality entries, which will ensure that the event us a success,” added. Hussain Abdullah Khoury
“We are happy that the festival coincides with the UAE’s celebrations of the Accession Day of His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President.”
GM Salem A. R. Saleh of the UAE (left) was held to a draw by untitled 15-year-old Sankalp Gupta of India.
Khoury, who is also the Vice President of the UAE Chess Federation, said that the UAE’s players have a good chance of winning titles at the festival.
“The UAE’s players will benefit the most from the festival as it will be a good chance for them to play against the world’s best masters and we have excellent players who can win titles,” Khoury said.