9/29/2021 – The strong 4th Sharjah Masters Tournament ended on Sunday and after nine rounds four players shared first place with 6.5/9 each. But M. Amin Tabatabaei from Iran (pictured) had the best tiebreak and won the tournament. | Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
The Benko Gambit is back at the very highest level - and it's easy to see why. Black sacrifices a pawn to seize the initiative on the queenside, obtaining long-lasting pressure, active pieces and open files that make life difficult for White.
€39.90
The fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters open tournament in the Arab Emirate of Sharjah took place from 17 to 26 September. 60 players started in the 9-round Swiss to fight for a prize fund of USD 60,000, of which the winner received USD 10,000.
Sharjah, located north of Dubai, is part of the United Arab Emirates, which has experienced a major boom in recent years as a commercial and financial centre.
Sharjah also wants to distinguish itself as an educational centre, and opened two universities not long ago. Chess fits very well into this profile and with Saleh Salem, who was born in Sharjah, they also have a local grandmaster.
Saleh Salem
At the end of the tournament the local hero was one of the top four players: M. Amin Tabatabaei, Pavel Eljanov Saleh Salem and Parham Maghsoodloo all finished on 6.5 points and shared first prize.
Pavel Eljanov
But tournament winner was M. Amin Tabatabaei who had the best tiebreak.
The tournament had an excellent line-up with many young players, e.g. the two strong Uzbeks Nodirbek Yakhubboev and Nodirbek Abdusattorov and the newly crowned US Youth National Champion Hans Moke Niemann.
Live commentary of the last round
Crucial for Tabataei's victory was his fine win against Arkadij Naiditsch in round 8:
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
Italian Game Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains 8571 top class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 479 are annotated.
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others.
If you're looking for a dynamic alternative to the Slav, Queen's Gambit Declined, or other mainstream systems, the Chigorin Defence offers exactly what modern tournament players need.
Michael Kotyk presents a complete repertoire after 1.e4 e5, built around creative ideas, surprising move orders, and practical weapons designed to catch your opponents off guard.
€69.80
€59.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.