The 21st Sharjah International Chess Championship held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, gets underway at the headquarters of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club in Juraina, Sharjah.
Besides hosts UAE, players from Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Morocco, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Ukraine, France, Germany, Greece, India, Philippines, Iran, Bangladesh, Armenia and Cuba will participate in the six-day long event.
Total prize money of $25,000 is up for grabs ($10,000 for the rapid chess tournament, $5,000 for blitz championship and $10,000 for age groups).
Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, said: “Sharjah International Chess Championship has always been a cultural and sporting extravaganza. Alongside the sporting competitions among players who represent their nations, it acts as a platform for cultural exchange. We have succeeded under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to develop the chess sport to the international levels”.
Al Mualla added: “Organizing this championship during the holy month of Ramadan is a well-timed, providing a unique networking opportunity for players and enthusiasts of this captivating mind sport”.
Dr. Sarhan Hassan Al Muaini, Head of the Organising Committee, said that all the preparations for this event are complete.
Wahib Jafar Al Zarouni, Championship Director, said that this year the tournament will be the strongest in terms of technical level, compared to the previous editions, with the participation of 14 grandmasters whose rates are higher than the participants in previous years.
Uzbekistani grandmasters Alexei Barsov and Marat Doxmiev were the first players to arrive to the UAE.
Al Zarouni revealed that the championship will be a Swiss-system tournament, consisting of nine rounds. Each player will have 15 minutes, plus 10 seconds additional time per move.
A number of international masters and grandmasters will participate in the championship, including GM Salem Abdul Rahman (UAE), GMs Bassim Amin and Ahmed Adeli (Egypt) GM Alexei Barsov (Uzbekistan), GM Dimitri Komarov (Ukraine), GM Gadir Guseinov (Azerbaijan), GM Aleksander Mista and GM Bartlomiej Heberla (Poland), GM Igors Rausis (Czech Republic), GM Efsratios Grivas (Greece), IM Mehrshad Sharif (France), IM Sami Safarini (Jordan) and IM Kamal Al Najili (Tunisa).
The championship arbitrators are the International Arbitrators Elias Khairallah (Lebanon), Husan Turdialiev (Uzbekistan), Hisham Al Adhami (Palestine), Ihsan Jawad (Jordan) and Abdulqadir Raes and Adib Zihrawi (Syria).
The Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club will also host a Blitz Championship on the sidelines of the tournament.
Sharjah Blitz Chess Championship will be played through seven rounds on Thursday and Friday June 16 and 17. The organizing committee has allocated cash prizes for winners of the Blitz Chess Championship.