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The European continent is a hotbed of strong open events taking place throughout the year – Gibraltar in January, Reykjavik in March, Politiken, Pardubice and Biel in July, London Chess Classic in December and many others. But apart from Europe what are the other options for participating in a good tournament? You could play in the United States but then usually you have to be ready for two games a day. India and the South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. do have good events, but the location is not exactly central. The same goes for tournaments in Australia and New Zealand.
The perfect location for players all around the world to participate is the Middle-East and they have some excellent tournaments that are being organized throughout the year. One such event is held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi. The 22nd Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival will take place from the 23rd to 31st of August 2015.
Abu Dhabi is the second largest city in the UAE (largest is Dubai) and lies on the coast of the Arabian Gulf. It is ideally located for players of Europe, especially of east Europe. This is one of the reasons why the tournament will be very strong as top grandmasters from countries like Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Latvia, Russia and others will be seen in action. Players can arrive in Abu Dhabi from three airports: Abu Dhabi, Dubai (150 kms) and Sharjah (180 kms).
Prize fund: The thing which separates this tournament from the normal ones is the exceptional prize fund. The quantity of prizes is low but the quality is very high! Also the first prize has increased from $10,000 in 2014 to $12,000 this year
| 1st | US $12,000 | 6th | US $1500 |
| 2nd | US $7000 | 7th | US $1000 |
| 3rd | US $5000 | 8th | US $800 |
| 4th | US $3000 | 9th | US $700 |
| 5th | US $2000 | 10th | US $600 |
With such excellent prizes on offer many strong players have confirmed their participation.
The eight time Hungarian national champion Zoltan Almasi (2700) is the top seed of the event
David Howell (2698) is in great form, recently winning the strong Leiden Open with a score of 8.5/9.
By the time the tournament begins, the English GM might well be the top seed.
The 2013 Ukrainian national champion Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2695)
with his wife WGM Vita Kryvorcuhko (2183) will be there in Abu Dhabi
Baadur Jobava (2693) has shed a lot of rating points recently, but with his unconventional style
he will be one of the major attractions at the event [picture by Alina l’Ami]
Back to back victories in strong open events like Zalakaros, Albena, Iasi and Najdorf Memorial make Igor Kovalenko (above) one of the favourites in Abu Dhabi. You can read a wonderful interview of this dynamic player published on our website just a few days ago.
As GM Alejandro Ramirez put it, “A group of mathematicians started deciphering how Richard Rapport chooses his openings. However, midway through the project, they decided that predicting lottery numbers was an easier endeavour.” A highly exciting prodigy!
Apart from these above top six seeds there are many other exciting players like Sanan Sjugirov, Yuriy Kuzubov, Evgeny Alekseev, Alexander Areshchenko, Eltaj Safarli, Vladimir Akopian, Gawain Jones and Vidit Gujrathi.
D. Harika will spearhead the women’s challenge
Currently, there are 126 participants with from 31 countries with a whopping 57 grandmasters (26 of them above 2600), 15 International Masters and seven WGMs. The big difference in the Abu Dhabi Masters from the Dubai Open, which also has such a star-studded line up, is that only players above the rating of 2000 are allowed to participate. This significantly improves the level of the tournament.
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Two things about the schedule which are a tad uncomfortable for the players are – a double round on the 25th of August and the final round starting at 10 a.m. in the morning. The rest day on 28th of August does compensate a little for the above issues.
The Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche is the official hotel and venue for the Abu Dhabi Masters.
Here is the exact location of the hotel, plus all the tariff details.
The exquisite playing hall
Along with the masters tournament there will also be a number of side events:
For more information on the above, download the prospectus at the end of the article.
The Abu Dhabi Masters 2014 was won by Yuriy Kuzubov
On a parting note I would like to leave you with a wonderful combination executed by Kuzubov in the last round of the Abu Dhabi Masters 2014 which helped him win the tournament.
Kuzubov,Yuriy (2667) - Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi (2602)
Abu Dhabi op 22nd Abu Dhabi (9), 28.08.2014
White to play – Think as deeply as you can.
[Event "Abu Dhabi op 22nd"] [Site "Abu Dhabi"] [Date "2014.08.28"] [Round "9"] [White "Kuzubov, Yuriy"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D17"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2602"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/1p1q1ppp/2p5/p1Pn1b2/P1B5/1QB5/1P3PPP/4R1K1 w - - 0 24"] [PlyCount "19"] [EventDate "2014.08.20"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "UAE"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.10.17"] 24. Bxa5 $1 {White can snatch this pawn because of the back rank issues.} Nf4 { Vidit calculated the variations and declined to take the bishop. But now he is just a pawn down with a lost position.} (24... Rxa5 {This move is the real test of White's combination.} 25. Bxd5 $1 cxd5 {Most critical.} (25... Rxc5 26. Bxf7+ $1 Kf8 (26... Qxf7 27. Re8#) 27. Qb4 $1 $18) (25... Ra8 {is the best but then White is just a pawn up after} 26. Bc4 $16) 26. c6 $1 {The ony move to win.} (26. Qxd5 $2 h6 $19) (26. Qxb7 $2 Rxc5 $1 $19 (26... h6 $2 27. c6 $13)) 26... Qxc6 (26... bxc6 27. Qb8+ Qc8 28. Re8+ $18) 27. Qxb7 $1 Bd7 $1 28. Qb8+ Bc8 (28... Qc8 29. Qxc8+ Bxc8 30. Re8#) 29. Qc7 $3 $18 {This fantastic move was missed by Vidit. The rook is attacked and so is the queen.} (29. Qb6 $18 { is equally good.})) 25. Qg3 Rxa5 26. Qxf4 h6 27. h3 Kh7 28. g4 Bg6 29. Qd6 Qc8 30. b3 h5 31. f3 hxg4 32. hxg4 b5 33. cxb6 1-0
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is an amusement park located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It is the first and only Ferrari-branded theme park and largest indoor theme park in the world. Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster, is located here.
The Emirates Palace is a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Built as a landmark showcasing Arabian culture, Emirates Palace has created a niche in luxury hospitality. Situated on 1.3 km of private beach and surrounded by 85 hectares of gardens and lawns, with 114 domes that are 80 meters high, Emirates Palace comprises 394 rooms and suites carefully designed and furnished to offer guests superior comfort and luxury.
Etihad Towers is the name of a complex of buildings with five towers in Abu Dhabi. The towers are located opposite the Emirates Palace hotel and feature offices, apartments and a hotel. The estimated cost for the construction is 2.5 billion Dirhams.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the country. As the country's grand mosque, it is the key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid it can be visited by more than 40,000 people.
Panorama view of Abu Dhabi Corniche [Scroll to right – Image Wikipedia]
| ChessBase will provide detailed coverage of the Abu Dhabi Masters 2015. The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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