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The 19th Fajr Open is taking place from 26th February – 7th March 2011 in Mashhad, Iran. There are no rest days, and two rounds played on Feb. 26 and Mar. 4, with the first game starting at 09:00 a.m., as does the single game in the final round on March 7. Amongst the participants are 25 GMs, 15 IMs and 10 FMs. Nine GMs are rated 2600+.
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We have not been able to obtain the games from the 19th Fajr Open yet. The organisers have promised to send them, but were not immediately forthcoming. If anyone is able to locate games please inform us.
Mashhad is located 850 kilometres (530 miles) east of Tehran, close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It is the second largest city in Iran with a population of about 2½ million. It is also one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world, known as the resting place of the Imam Reza.
Explore the area in eastern Iran in the window above or on a larger
map
The Imam Reza shrine, which dominates the city (source: Wikipedia)
Imam Reza shrine is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Ridha, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shi'ites. It is the second largest mosque in the world, 267,000 sq.m. in size and able to accommodate 700,000 worshippers (compared to the 357,000 sq.m. of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, which accommodates up to four million during the Hajj period). The Imam Reza complex includes the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, four seminaries, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, a dining hall for pilgrims, vast prayer halls, and other buildings.
GM Sergey Volkov inside the Imam Reza shrine complex
Repair work on some of the many the minarets
A blue mosque in the city
The Mashhad city center
Pedestrian area
The Reza Bazaar
A store with sweets and groceries
GM Volkov in a carpet store
A gallery of carpet pictures
The tournament location in the Mashad Torghabeh Grand Hotel
A round of the 19th Fajr Open under way
Second seed GM Alexander GM Moiseenko of Ukraine, rated 2670, faces a youngster
Vojdani Siavosh, 11, rated 1753, in the first round. In the background: Rustam
Kasimdzhanov waits for his opponent.
Top seed GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov, UZB, rated 2681.
The poster of the event (click to get it in full resolution)
