Giri beats Aditya to secure outright victory

Anish Giri emerged as the clear winner of the 2025 Sharjah Masters after a determined effort in the final round secured him sole first place with a score of 7/9. Giri, the second seed, had been among the leaders from round three onwards and entered Sunday's ninth and final round tied for first place with top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

On Saturday, Abdusattorov had caught up with Giri in the standings by defeating Salem Saleh, setting up a tense finish. In the final round, Giri faced 44^th seed Aditya Mittal with the white pieces, while Abdusattorov had black against fifth seed Amin Tabatabaei. Abdusattorov, in a must-win mindset, aimed to create imbalances at all costs, but his aggressive approach left him in trouble. He eventually held a 35-move draw, finishing with 6½ points.

Giri's game against Aditya appeared balanced for most of the encounter, with the Dutch grandmaster enjoying a slight but persistent edge in a queenless middlegame. After Aditya's 37...Bc5, Giri captured the a-pawn and entered a rook endgame with three versus two pawns on the kingside.

The resulting position was assessed as equal by engines, but Giri continued to press in the endgame. His patience paid off when Aditya erred with 63...Ke7, allowing Giri to steer the game to a winning technical position.

The game concluded on move 91 with 91.Ra8, after which Black's rook had no useful squares and White’s king march would be decisive.

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With the win, Giri completed the tournament unbeaten and gained 10.3 rating points, moving up to 12^th in the live FIDE ratings list.

Meanwhile, Abdusattorov shared second place with Aleksandar Indjic, who also finished on 6½ points. Indjic, the 2024 European Champion and eighth seed in Sharjah, ended his campaign strongly with a final-round victory over Bardiya Daneshvar, the reigning Asian champion, using the black pieces.

The champion in Sharjah

Prize winners and organisers

Bibisara Assaubayeva delivered a noteworthy performance at the open event, securing her final grandmaster norm and thus earning the GM title - the highest title awarded in chess.

The 21-year-old from Kazakhstan, currently ranked 12^th in the FIDE women's rankings, scored 5 points from 9 games. Crucially, all nine of her opponents were rated above her, with her lowest-rated opponent being fellow Kazakh player Rinat Jumabayev (2551). Assaubayeva's result corresponded to a tournament performance rating of 2621, comfortably meeting the requirements for the GM norm.

This achievement marks the culmination of a multi-year effort. Assaubayeva earned her first two GM norms at top-level women's events: the 2021 Women's Grand Swiss in Riga and the 2023 Women's Grand Prix leg in New Delhi.

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The course is designed to provide a deep yet practical repertoire for Black, balancing solid foundations with aggressive counterplay.
The Classical Sicilian has stood the test of time as one of the most principled and fighting defences against 1.e4. With its rich history spanning world championship matches and modern elite tournaments, this opening remains a favourite among players who seek a dynamic, counterattacking approach without venturing into extreme theoretical battles like the Najdorf or Sveshnikov.
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With her success in Sharjah, she now completes the requirements for the GM title, having crossed the 2500 rating threshold earlier in her career.

Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: Himank Ghosh / Chessbase India

Final standings

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Links

• Official site
• Full technical information on Chess-Results
• Daneshvar wins Sharjah Masters, Divya clinches Challengers (2024)
• Arjun Erigaisi wins Sharjah Masters (2023)
• Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins Sharjah Masters (2022)
• M. Amin Tabatabaei wins Sharjah Masters (2021)