2015 Al Ain Classic starts

The Al Ain Chess Classic has begun on an enthusiastic note. Fifty-two Grandmasters turned up, adding to the strength of the event, with most of them enjoying smooth sailing in the first round except for a few draws that caused minor upsets. Sergei Zhigalko and Alexander Motylev were among those who conceded half a point in the early round to lower rated players. Star players of the tournament, Wang Hao and Alexei Shirov, both with considerable experience at a high level, won their games, although in Shirov’s case, not without a few hiccups.

The top ten of the tournament

Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2711) in the above file picture is the top seed of the event.
He capitalised on an error by his opponent, Hesham Abdelrahman of Egypt.

Hesham Abdelrahman - Yuriy Kryvoruchko

Chinese prodigy Wang Hao, the second seed of the event comfortably beat the author of this article

Alexei Shirov (right) had dropped enough rating points prior to the start to arrive as the
sixth seed in the tournament. His struggles continued as the Sicilian Kalashnikov landed
him in trouble against Peter Kokol (2363).

Peter Kokol - Alexei Shirov

Seventh seed Sergei Zhigalko (2655) before start of round one, pleasant and focused...

… and then during the round, he (right) was pretty intense. Abdulov Orkhan of Azerbaijan held
him to a draw. On the board just beside them eighth seed Alexander Motylev (left) was let off the
hook by WGM Mammadzada Gunay after she missed a tactical shot in a completely winning position.

Alexander Motylev - WGM Mammadzada Gunay

The seven upset draws of day one included the 2013 Al Ain Classic winner, Abhijeet Gupta

Here is an interesting position for the readers to solve. It seems like
White is creating play with the passed pawn and the Queen on the
seventh rank although it does not look very dangerous, but Kovalenko
found a nice counterattacking tactic. Black to play and win.

WGM Bhakti Kulkarni, WFM Rucha Pujari and WGM Gulnar Mammadova tried hard but were
unable to hold their higher rated opponents.

Standings after two rounds

... 127 players (Source: chess-results.com)

Games

Opening Ceremony

A glittering opening ceremony was held at the poolside. Interestingly, it was scheduled only after the first round was finished.  In the 2014 edition of the Classic, the opening ceremony and the first round had been severely delayed due to the late arrival of the guests. The organisers took care to avoid repeating this inconvenience to the players this year, and now we know why players return to the Al Ain Chess Classic!

Opening ceremony speech by Dr.Saif Salem Lekhraibani Alnuaimi, the Secretary General of the Al Ain Chess and Culture Club

A traditional Arabian dance performance at the opening ceremony

Some of the performers with the chief guests. The dignitaries standing behind (left to right)
are Miss Maria Ashamsi board member of Al Ain Chess Club, Dr.Saif is third from left, sponsor
of the tournament from Adib Bank Rashid Al Mazuroy, Tournament Director Tarik Al Taher,
Dr.Hesham Aljindi - President of Egyptian Chess Federation.

The Perfect setting?

It is often a problem to buy your everyday stuff when staying in a five star Hotel such as the Hotel Hili Raayhan by Rotana, but this one is different: There is a mall right beside it connected from the inside as well.

On the right is the official hotel of the tournament, the five-star Hili Raayhan by Rotana and
beside it is the Hili Mall. A very convenient setting!

Indian Grandmaster Deep Sengupta cited ‘excellent conditions’ (lodging, boarding, hospitality,
venue et al) as his reason to be back at the Al Ain Chess Classic and also enthusiastically led
the author of this article to the supermarket in the Hili Mall.

The remaining schedule of the tournament

Stay tuned for more updates!