8/15/2018 – The 25th edition of the Abu Dhabi Chess Festival kicks off today at Hotel Dusit Thani, Abu Dhabi. The anniversary event is extra strong this year, featuring five grandmasters with a 2700+ Elo, among them the FIDE Presidential candidate Nigel Short making a brief return to the chessboard amid a hectic campaign season.
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Abu Dhabi Chess Festival turns 25
The 2018 Abu Dhabi Chess Festival is underway at Hotel Dusit Thani in the Emirati capital of Abi Dhabi. The tournament is a 9-round Swiss Open with a time control of 90 min per player plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Besides the main event, the festival also consists of an Open tournament for players rated below 2100 (since July 1st, 2017), a Juniors’ tournament for players below 16 years of age a blitz event and a lot more.
Celebrating its silver jubilee this year, the festival’s premier event, the Abu Dhabi Masters, will feature a field of very strong grandmasters. More than 100 titled players from 25+ countries have confirmed their participation this year.
In comparison to the previous year when Nigel Short was the top seed of the event with an Elo of 2688, this year, the tournament features five grandmasters rated above 2700. The line-up includes some well-known names like Richard Rapport, Le Quang Liem, Ivan Cheparinov, and Short, currently focused on the FIDE Presidential race, is back as well.
Some of the top grandmasters in the fray
GM Nigel Short has taken some time off his presidential campaign to play in Abu Dhabi | Photo: Prashant Mullick
Also, there are tons of very talented youngsters who can unsettle these bigwigs. Last year, the inaugural round had seen both of the top two seeds held to draws by players rated around 300 points lower and at least 14 years younger.
Aditya PaiAditya Pai is an ardent chess fan, avid reader, and a film lover. He holds a Master's in English Literature and used to work as an advertising copywriter before joining the ChessBase India team.
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