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GM Ernesto Inarkiev won the Sharjah Masters 2019 with 7.0/9 and a performance of 2790. It was a seven-way tie at the top, but Inarkiev edged out everyone else with a superior tiebreak (Buchholz), and the prize money was not shared.
Although Inarkiev was one of five leaders after three rounds, he was the only one of that group to finish at the top by the tournament's end. Wang Hao was the only one of the 2700-rated players to reach 7 points.
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | ||
| 1 |
|
GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | 2692 | 7,0 |
| 2 |
|
GM | Wang Hao | 2718 | 7,0 |
| 3 |
|
GM | Kryvoruchko Yuriy | 2680 | 7,0 |
| 4 |
|
GM | Firouzja Alireza | 2657 | 7,0 |
| 5 |
|
GM | Matlakov Maxim | 2692 | 7,0 |
| 6 |
|
IM | Yakubboev Nodirbek | 2569 | 7,0 |
| 7 |
|
GM | Mareco Sandro | 2666 | 7,0 |
Ernesto Inarkiev took home the first place prize of US $15,000 | Photo: Niklesh Jain
I caught up with Inarkiev after the tournament and asked him about the last round exciting draw against Matlakov, his favourite game of the event, how he found the conditions in Sharjah, his views on Russia winning the World Team Championships, Kramnik's retirement and the upcoming talents of Indian chess.
On this DVD Vladimir Kramnik retraces his career from talented schoolboy to World Champion in 2006. With humour and charm he describes his first successes, what it meant to be part of the Russian Gold Medal team at the Olympiad, and how he undertook the Herculean task of beating his former mentor and teacher Garry Kasparov.
"In every tournament Russia is favourite, but it's not enough"
Performance of Inarkiev via Chess-Results (click or tap to enlarge)
Inarkiev's two most important wins were against Indian players — Nihal Sarin in round four and Abhijeet Gupta in round six. In both the games you can see that the Classical variation of the Sicilian was played. Inarkiev's play had a nice blend of good opening preparation and logical moves one after another. He didn't make a mistake which would swing the evaluation in favour of his opponent. Both Nihal and Abhijeet were not able to keep the same amount of control. We have quite a lot to learn from Ernesto's handling of the Sicilian.
Click or tap the second game to switch
When choosing an opening repertoire, there are days when you want to play for a win with Black, when you want to bear down on your opponent’s position with a potentially crushing attack. The Najdorf is perfect for just such occasions. Strategy, combinations, attack and defence, sacrifices and marvellous manoeuvres — exciting chess is all about the Najdorf!
After the start of 1½/3 Maxim Matlakov would not have thought that he would tie for the first place at the end of the tournament. He lost to Oliver Dimakiling and then drew against Sri Sai Baswanth (rated 2018). But not losing his faith Matlakov scored 5½ points in the last six rounds.
Matlakov had a string of five straight wins | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Alireza Firouzja had another fine tournament. He remained unbeaten, scored 7.0/9 for an Elo performance of 2698. His live rating is now 2675. And mind you, Alireza is still just 15 years old!
Firouzja will be 16 in June | Photo: Niklesh Jain
IM Lawrence Trent analyzed Firouzja's win over IM Anh Khoi Nguyen in the latest edition of The Weekly Show.
Lawrence is live most Tuesdays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT)
IM Nodirbek Yakkuboev is still an IM, but easily surpassed the requirements of a GM norm with a 2689 performance, including two critical wins against Le Quang Liem and Vladimir Fedoseev.
Click or tap the second game to switch
The Grünfeld is a highly dynamic opening in which Black's position often seems to hang together by a single thread; and yet, this apparently precarious equilibrium appears to be enough to make it entirely viable — up to the highest level.
Nodirbek Yakkuboev | Photo: Niklesh Jain
Two other Uzbek talents Nodirbek Abdustattorov and Shamsiddin Vokhidov| Photo: Niklesh Jain
Mareco Sandro scored 7.0/9 and finished 7th despite losing the first round | Photo: A. Silver
All the top winners captured in one frame | Photo: Niklesh Jain
A tournament of this stature cannot be organized without a competent team | Photo: Niklesh Jain
The Chairman of the organizing committee Mr. Talal Alzaabi | Photo: Niklesh Jain
You'll find more clips via ChessBase India's Sharjah Masters 2019 playlist on YouTube.
Talal Alzaabi, the chairman of the organizing committee, speaks about the Sharjah Masters 2019, the Sharjah Chess Club and his future plans
Le Quang Liem speaks about his third round win over M.R. Venkatesh
Nihal Sarin recaps his performance to IM Sagar Shah in a 45-minute interview where we talk to the 14-year-old prodigy about his games from Sharjah Masters 2019
GM R.R. Laxman played a logical game from the black side of the Nimzo-Indian and beat GM Pouya Idani
