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If you are a chess fan there is one event which you just cannot afford to miss – it is the Qatar Masters Open 2015. What are the reasons for it?
The tournament is only open to players above 2300 Elo rating. Thanks to this the 141 player event has a whopping rating average of 2526!
The top seed is none other than the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen!
Carlsen will have his work cut out for him as he faces stiff challenge from ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, from Anish Giri, Wesley So, Sergey Karjakin and twelve other 2700+ players!
There are four ex-Women World Champions who will be seen in action: Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Antaoneta Stefanova, and Anna Ushenina.
Last but not least Peter Svidler will be commentating for the official website, together with our very own ChessBase author Alejandro Ramirez.
Before we take you to the pictures of the opening dinner, here are a few shots of beautiful Doha:
The picturesque West Bay Doha Skyline from the Corniche,
a waterfront promenade extending for several kilometers along Doha Bay
What would we do without the camels in the desert?!
18th of December was the Qatar National Day and the flags were everywhere in the city. There were also people on the streets offering free dates and Qatari coffee to just about everyone who passed by!
The star studded Qatar Masters Open 2015 launched off with an elegant opening dinner for all the players on the evening of 19th of December 2015. It was a pleasant atmosphere as all the players met up, spoke, relaxed and broke bread with each other one last time before the games begin tomorrow. ChessBase photographer Amruta Mokal captured some delightful moments, which we now present to you.
The opening ceremony took place at the Aspire ballroom of the Torch Hotel, which is 300 metres high and one of the landmark structures of Doha. It is also one of the official hotels where top players like Carlsen, Kramnik, Giri, etc. are staying.
“What are the best places to visit in Doha?” First timers and recently married Alexandra Kosteniuk and Pavel Tregubov ask Vladimir Kramnik, who has been here already in the 2014 edition of the Qatar Masters and really loves the city.
You can be assured of some fantastic games when Vasily Ivanchuk is playing. The Ukrainian
genius is in Doha after his triumph in the ACP Masters in Ashdod just a few days ago.
The globetrotting couple Sopiko Guramishvili and Anish Giri finished the London
Chess Classic, went home for a couple of days and are back to business in Qatar
Beware the Chinese are here! Left to right: Li Chao (2750), Yu Yangyi (2736),
Lu Shanglei (2618), Wei Yi (2730) and Ni Hua (2693), for an average of 2700+!
A formal picture of the Chinese camp with some of the wives included
The Russian contingent looks stronger than ever: Evgeny Tomashevsky, Sergey Karjakin,
Peter Svidler (who is the official commentator) and Dmitry Jakovenko
More Russians! Ildar Khairullin, Maxim Matlakov and Nikita Vitiugov
Polish chess couples: Mateusz and Marta Bartel, Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Alina Kashlinskaya
The players were treated to wide variety of juices and non-alcoholic drinks
Tournament Director Mohamed Al-Modiahki, Khalif Al-Hitmi, World Champion Magnus Carlsen,
Salem Al-Manaai, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, Dr. Nasser Abdulghani Al-Abdulghani
The World Champion and his parents were then treated some nice magic
“That was interesting!” Henrik and Sigrun Carlsen have a good time at the opening ceremony
Big Vlad was quite amused by a card trick
Chief Executive Officer of FIDE, Geoffrey Borg, chats with a young lady
who has a beautiful new hair style. Anyone guess who she is?
Yes, it's none other than the World number one Hou Yifan,
fresh from her smashing victory in a match in Shanghai
Four former Women World Champions captured in one frame:
Zhu Chen, Hou Yifan, Antaoneta Stefanova and Alexandra Kosteniuk
Wesley So (right) and foster mother Lotis Key and our reporter in Doha, Sagar Shah (left)
A Frenchman, a Moroccan and an Egyptian: GM Hicham Hamdouchi (2597), Mohamed Tissir (2346), IM Ezat Mohamed (2490).
Ezat just requires one GM norm and ten Elo points. We might see him as a GM at the end of this event.
Indian prodigy GM Aravindh Chithambaram, centre, with GM M.R. Venkatesh (left) and IM N.R. Vignesh
Viktor and Margarita Bologan
Brothers in style: Samuel Shankland, USA, and S.P. Sethuraman,
India are also just seven rating points apart
The charming and affable 15-year-old WGM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2390)
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Plus special prizes for Best Women, Best Arab Players, Best Junior Players,
Rating groups 2300-2399, 2400-2499 and 2500-2599.
| Sat 19 December | Arrival, Opening Ceremony | 3 PM 7 PM |
| Sun 20 December | Round 1 | 3 PM |
| Mon 21 December | Round 2 | 3 PM |
| Tue 22 December | Round 3 | 3 PM |
| Wed 23 December | Round 4 | 3 PM |
| Thu 24 December | Round 5 | 3 PM |
| Fri 25 December | Rest day | |
| Sat 26 December | Round 6 | 3 PM |
| Sun 27 December | Round 7 | 3 PM |
| Mon 28 December | Round 8 | 3 PM |
| Tue 29 December | Round 9 Awards Ceremony | 12 PM 7 PM |
| Wed 30 December | Check-out and departures | 12 PM |
To be announced
Photos by Amruta Mokal of ChessBase India
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