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By IM Prathamesh Mokal
All photos by WGM Emkhtuul Altan Ulzii (unless otherwise stated)
He completed the last round formalites by drawing with top seed Yuriy Kryvoruchko from Black and winning the tournament by the same margin as his lead in the previous round. Wang Hao took home a shining trophy and the first prize of 13000 dollars!
The winner of the Al Ain Chess Classic 2015…Wang Hao!
The last round
Wang Hao had already won the tournament with an unassailable 1.5 point lead but his clash against the top seed seemed worth following.
Top seed Yuriy Kryvoruchko, completely focused against Wang Hao in the final round
Yuriy Kryvoruchko - Wang Hao
Alexander Areshchenko beat Abhijeet Gupta to end the Indian hopes of a good finish
Alexander Areshchenko - Abhijeet Gupta
As many as nine players finished on 6.5/9 to share second place. While Alexei Shirov,Yuriy Kryvoruchko, Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko, and Arman Pashikian got there with final round draws, Alexander Areshchenko, Zahar Efimenko, Levan Pantsulaia, Robert Hovhannisyan and Kravtsiv Martyn scored crucial last round victories to finish on a good note.
The eighth round
The eighth round actually saw the victory of the tournament sealed as Wang Hao scored over Gupta on the top board. Shirov had to be content with a draw as Kryvoruchko did not allow him to make any inroads.
Oh no…the Berlin again (Shirov). Kryvoruchko held Shirov to a draw with Black pieces in the
eighth round. Wang Hao versus Gupta in the background as the arbiter watches Shirov’s game.
Meanwhile, a curious position arose in the game Mchedishvili vs Malakhatko in round eight.
White to play and win
Players and personalities
One could not help but notice a little kid moving around, holding his own against (and even beating) seasoned masters in the tournament.
It is none other than 10-year-old Uzbek CM Javokhir Sindarov. He had a
great tournament and stands to gain 81 Elo points! One of his victories
came against yours truly. From personal experience, I think we are likely
to see Sindarov achieve the IM and GM titles within a couple of years.
Arbiter Ilgar Bajarani at his workstation
GM Ivan Sokolov, who coaches talented players in the U.A.E was often
seen visiting the tournament hall to follow the games of his protégés.
You can read Sagar Shah’s excellent interview of Sokolov by clicking here.
The Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony was held at the poolside of the Hotel Hili Raayhan by Rotana.
The traditional dance at the closing ceremony
Alexei Shirov, after receiving his (second) prize volunteered to say a few words and praised
the organisation of the Al Ain Chess Classic, “Al Ain has established itself as an important tournament in the calendar”. Behind him on the stage is the tournament director Tarek Al Taher, happy to find out that his efforts have been appreciated.
WCM Narmin Mammadova of Azerbaijan took the best female player prize
The Amateur section was won by India’s Sasikumar Anusweud
|
Rk
|
SNo
|
Ti.
|
Name
|
FED
|
Rtg
|
Pts
|
TB
|
rtg+/-
|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Wang Hao | CHN | 2707 | 8,0 | 41,5 | 21,8 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Shirov Alexei | LAT | 2676 | 6,5 | 44,5 | 10,9 |
| 3 | 21 | GM | Pashikian Arman | ARM | 2606 | 6,5 | 42,5 | 15,2 |
| 4 | 24 | GM | Pantsulaia Levan | GEO | 2598 | 6,5 | 41,5 | 15,2 |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Kryvoruchko Yuriy | UKR | 2711 | 6,5 | 40,5 | 0,4 |
| 6 | 4 | GM | Areshchenko Alexander | UKR | 2677 | 6,5 | 39,5 | 4,3 |
| 7 | 17 | GM | Oleksiyenko Mykhaylo | UKR | 2616 | 6,5 | 38,0 | 1,8 |
| 8 | 16 | GM | Kravtsiv Martyn | UKR | 2623 | 6,5 | 37,5 | 3,8 |
| 9 | 15 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | ARM | 2624 | 6,5 | 37,0 | 5,6 |
| 10 | 9 | GM | Efimenko Zahar | UKR | 2647 | 6,5 | 37,0 | 6,7 |
| 11 | 13 | GM | Mchedlishvili Mikheil | GEO | 2635 | 6,0 | 42,5 | 4,4 |
| 12 | 19 | GM | Onischuk Vladimir | UKR | 2612 | 6,0 | 40,5 | 1,6 |
| 13 | 12 | GM | Rakhmanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2640 | 6,0 | 39,5 | 2,3 |
| 14 | 26 | GM | Andriasian Zaven | ARM | 2594 | 6,0 | 39,0 | 5,4 |
| 15 | 8 | GM | Motylev Alexander | RUS | 2653 | 6,0 | 38,0 | -1,2 |
| 16 | 7 | GM | Zhigalko Sergei | BLR | 2655 | 6,0 | 38,0 | 0,3 |
| 17 | 25 | GM | Azarov Sergei | BLR | 2595 | 6,0 | 37,0 | 0,5 |
| 18 | 30 | GM | Kulaots Kaido | EST | 2574 | 6,0 | 35,5 | 3,0 |
| 19 | 10 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | ESP | 2640 | 6,0 | 33,5 | -8,3 |
| 20 | 37 | GM | Zeng Chongsheng | CHN | 2530 | 5,5 | 44,5 | 15,7 |
