A trip to Saudi Arabia

Wang wins rapid

What are you thinking of first when hearing “Saudi Arabia”? Each of you probably has a different but related answer. I think that very few of you associate it with what I will describe. My experience there came as a surprise to me and I felt like I could share.

To start at the beginning: If you ever plan on visiting Saudi Arabia, I strongly recommend you to have a visa in your passport and not just a letter which says you’d get it in the airport. As I'd rather not dwell on the unpleasant, I’ll just jump to the next part.

It was my second trip to the KSA, after participating at the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships in Riyadh, 2017. I knew that I could trust the organizers and I would not be risking going there, but even so the human mind tends to become preoccupied with scenarios of what can go wrong. Well, after landing in Hail, nothing went wrong, things were getting just better and better with every day.

First of all the women playing in the tournament didn’t have to cover their heads. We only had to stick to a "smart casual" or elegant dress code. During my whole stay there, I felt that one couldn't care less about what I was wearing — concerns I had on this score were just in my head. I met some very friendly local participants of the tournament who told me that many changes are indeed taking place in the country and it is developing at a vertiginous pace. 

Hail located in the North-Western part of the country and has a population of about 1,200,000

Turing to the chess...there were three days reserved for playing (with three rounds a day), and one free day after six rounds. There were two sections — men and women and both had the same prizes (20 thousands dollars prize fund each)! The participation wasn’t huge, as one would expect given the prizes, but quite impressive for a country where the chess tradition goes back to only 2013, when the first chess tournament took place.

Coming directly from the HDBank Open in Vietnam, I didn’t have high expectations about my performance. I just wanted to complete the event with a result not to be too ashamed of. My first two days didn’t go especially well or badly, I won against two local players and made four draws against the titled foreigners. Entering the free day, I was just looking forward to wrapping it up and going home fast.

But the free day proved to be a blast! It was very unexpected. We took a trip to Jubbah, a city completely surrounded by the vast Nefud Desert. Despite this fact, it has an abundant agriculture, mostly focused on growing dates. Did you know that there were more than 30 species of dates? Well, I didn't, but I learned it in Jubbah. The city is largely known for its rocks (Jabel Umm Sinman) which feature inscriptions dating from the Mesolithic period (between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago). It was recognized as an UNESCO heritage site due to the 10,000 years of history it tells.

We had a very nice experience visiting it, the people were very open and showed us great hospitality! Some of us tried to ride a horse or a camel there — the first time for many! We also enjoyed a traditional lunch afterwards. Each member of a local family attending the event brought a home-made dish specially prepared for the occasion. It was great — a real celebration of tastes! We also enjoyed watching traditional dances and songs.

I like the free day so much, that I made 3/3 the next day, clinching the overall tournament win with a score of 7 points out of 9 in a very close fight! IM Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (the first WGM of India) came 2^nd with 6½ points and there was a tie for the 3^rd place. GM Monika Socko of Poland had the better tie-breaks. As the games were not broadcasted live, here is one of mine which I could recall from memory.

The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian

The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian is one of the most popular and fascinating replies to 1.e4. Right from the beginning, Black is striving for active and dynamic counterplay, and this results in a double-edge struggle for the initiative. Dutch top grandmaster and six-times national champion Loek van Wely himself has played the Sveshnikov since 1998. On this DVD he comments on his latest encounters with world-class players like Shirov, Anand, Topalov and Kramnik, games which abound with combinatorial ideas and sacrifices; a feast for all fans of tactics.

Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi, India's first female IM

The Open section was convincingly won by the Chinese GM Wang Hao, with 8½ points out of 9, followed by GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt, with 8 points out of 9. It was a tie between GM Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia and GM Sriram Jha of India for the 3^rd place with 7 points out of 9 with the latter 4^th based on the tiebreak score.

Here is Wang's win over Sargissian with my notes:

Marin's English Love Vol.1 and 2 - A complete repertoire for White after 1.c4

The aim of these Dvd's is to build a repertoire after 1.c4 and 2.g3 for White. The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups. The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.

Wang How hoists the trophy

GM Wang Hao seems to be on fire, winning first the strong HDBank Cup and Hail back-to-back. What are the odds for him to continue in the same manner at his next tournament, the 3^rd Sharjah Masters, where he actually is the top seed?

To conclude, I have the most pleasant memories from Hail and it is not only because I came 1^st, but also thanks to the great efforts of the organizers, who tried and (I would say) succeeded in putting Saudi Arabia on the chess map. It was a great event and I definitely hope to be back!

Final standings — Open (top 10)

Final standings — Women (top 10)