tag: Qatar - Page 1

Looking back: Qatar Masters 2015 – a class of its own

2/4/2016 – What happens when you organize a tournament that has 132 players, 77 of them grandmasters? What happens when 17 players above 2700 are trying their best to defeat the reigning World Champion? What happens when playing hall, facilities and accommodation are world class? What we get is an open tournament of a stature that has never been seen before in the history of chess – say our reporters in Doha.

Qatar Masters Rd9: Magnus supreme in Qatar

1/1/2016 – As you know from our Express report Magnus Carlsen won the Qatar Masters in a thrilling tiebreak finish with last year's winner Yu Yangyi. After the event was over our reporters in Doha had to take a flight home and got stuck in Bahrain. Thus the description of the final day comes a little late, but it is full of didactic analysis that will make you stronger, and exclusive pictures and videos.

Qatar 2015 Rd9: Carlsen takes title in thrilling final round

12/29/2015 – After an edge-of-your-seat final round in which Yu Yangyi defeated Wesley So to try to snatch the title in a playoff, World Champion Magnus Carlsen added another feather to his cap by clinching the Qatar Masters 2015 title after outclassing his Chinese rival in tie break blitz games. Express Report.

Qatar Masters Rd8: It’s a Carlsen vs Kramnik showdown!

12/29/2015 – Magnus Carlsen won his game with ease against Mamedyarov and shot into sole lead with 6.5/8. Kramnik beat Sjugirov while Yu Yangyi got the better of Nils Grandelius. Both of them follow Magnus with 6.0/8. It is going to be a superb last round as Carlsen takes on Kramnik and Wesley takes on Yu Yangyi. In this article we also introduce you to the eight chess couples in Qatar!

Qatar 2015 Rd8: Carlsen smashes Mamedyarov

12/28/2015 – After his recent success in the London Chess Classic which helped him to win the Grand Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen is close to another tournament victory as he emerges as the sole leader with 6.5/8 at the end of the eighth round at the Qatar Masters. Kramnik and Yu Yangyi trail with 6.0/8 and hope for a miracle in the last round. Express report.

Qatar 2015 round 7: Two rounds to go, three leaders!

12/28/2015 – After a draw with Anish Giri in round seven Magnus Carlsen is no longer the sole leader at the Qatar Masters. He is joined by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who played yet another enterprising game against Surya Ganguly and Sanan Sjugirov, who was simply flawless in his execution of Dmitry Jakovenko. A pack of 16 players with half a point less follow the leaders. Exclusive pictures and In depth analysis from Doha.

Qatar 2015 Rd7: Mamedyarov and Sjugirov join Magnus

12/27/2015 – After seven rounds at the Qatar Masters three players share the lead with 5.5/7 each: Magnus Carlsen, who drew against Anish Giri after a tough fight, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who won a messy game against Surya Ganguly, and Sanan Sjugirov, who defeated Dmitry Jakovenko. Half a point behind the three leaders are sixteen players with 5.0/7. Express Report.

Qatar 2015 round six: race for the title

12/27/2015 – The top five boards ended in draws, so that Magnus Carlsen maintained his half-point lead, but now has 13 people following him. With three rounds to go the race to the title is getting intense. In this report we reveal the secret of what players like Kramnik, Li Chao, Hou Yifan eat during the game, and also how Karjakin, Wesley and Carlsen’s sisters spend the rest day. Illustrated report with pictures, video and analysis.

Qatar 2015 Rd6: Carlsen leads, with thirteen following

12/26/2015 – The results at the top boards in the sixth round at the Qatar Masters did not live up the excitement of earlier rounds, with only Giri’s cliffhanger game with Ganguly causing heartburn for chess fans. However, if action was lacking on the very top boards, with so many strong GMs, there were plenty of entertaining games to be found. Express report.

Qatar 2015 Round 5: The Magnus Attack

12/25/2015 – It was edge of the seat entertainment from Qatar as Magnus Carlsen beat Li Chao in an opposite side castling attack and moved in to sole lead with 4.5/5. A pack of nine players including Anish Giri, Wesley So and Vladimir Kramnik follow him on 4.0/5. 25th December is a rest day. We bring to you some indepth analysis and exciting basketball pictures from Doha that show World Cup 2015 winner Sergey Karjakin in action.

Qatar 2015 R05: Carlsen leads, eight follow

12/24/2015 – It was one of the most entertaining days at the Qatar open with some great masterpieces of contrasting nature for the fans. While Magnus Carlsen won a brilliant attacking game against the Chinese GM Li Chao to emerge as the sole leader with 4.5/5 points, Vladimir Kramnik displayed his usual endgame expertise to squeeze out a win from what looked like a completely drawn position. Express report.

Qatar 2015 Rd4: Five stars and one dark horse

12/23/2015 – It is no surprise to see stars such as Magnus Carlsen, who won a brilliant game today, Anish Giri, Li Chao, Wesley So, and even Maxim Matlakov in the lead with 3.5/4, but in sixth place leading an all-star group with 3.0/4 is the complete unknown and untitled Xu Yinglun with a fantastic 2856 performance. That is what opens are all about. Illustrated report with commented games.

Qatar 2015 Rd3: Brilliancies and great escapes

12/22/2015 – If there was one thing that stood out in the third round, it was the unrelenting fighting spirit exhibited in the third round. This manifested itself with games that punctuated by strokes of genius, brilliant attacks, to miraculous saves that would leave mere mortals in a state of despair. Another highly entertaining round. Express report with games.

Qatar 2015 round two: Nine players on perfect score

12/22/2015 – The second round of Qatar Masters was filled with high quality chess as strong GMs clashed against each other. Magnus Carlsen finally won his first game in an open tournament after a gap of eight years, Giri won a fine Sicilian against Grandelius and So carved out a beautiful positional victory over Naroditsky. In the evening there was a football match. We have exclusive pictures and game analysis from Doha.

Qatar 2015 Rd2: A bit of everything

12/21/2015 – Once again, it was an action packed round with a large number of notable results. On center stage, even if not board one, was Magnus Carlsen facing Indian junior Chitambaram Aravindh, whom he dispatched in a strange game. Kramnik dropped a half point, while Giri played a superb game to become one of nine leaders with 2.0/2. Here is the Express report with results and games.

Qatar 2015 round one: A day of surprises

12/21/2015 – Usually the initial games at Open are smooth sailing for the top seeds – but not in the Qatar Masters Open 2015. There were so many upsets. Magnus Carlsen drew his game, and amongst the 2700+ players, so did Harikrishna, Jakovenko and Ivanchuk. Wei Yi and Nikita Vitiugov were two super GMs who went back with a nil on the scoreboard, while GM Pavel Tregubov lost to an untitled 12-year-old Iranian. Giant illustrated report from Doha.

Qatar 2015 Rd1: Surprises, upsets – what a start!

12/20/2015 – In a massive open with many of the best players in the world, upsets are expected, but even the most jaded viewers were left gawking in round one. The first and foremost was Magnus Carlsen held to a draw with white by IM Nino Batsiashvili. While that stood out, so did 11-year-old Abdusattorov’s draw against GM Sam Shankland. Express report with all results and games.

Qatar Masters starts on Sunday

12/20/2015 – It is one of the biggest events of the year 2015. We count 77 GMs, with top stars like Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Vassily Ivanchuk at the top. The average rating of the entire field of 141 players is 2526. The Opening dinner took place on Saturday and we bring you some candid pictures of the players and of Doha, captured by Amruta Mokal.

Magnus at the Qatar Masters Open 2015

10/8/2015 – The Qatar Masters Open 2015 just got bigger, better and stronger. The reason: reigning World Champion and world number one Magnus Carlsen confirmed he'll play in what is going to be one of the most amazing open events in chess history. We have inputs from the tournament director Mohamed-Al-Modiahki, and also a brief recollection of the last open tournament played by Magnus Carlsen.

Welcome to Qatar Masters Open 2015

9/24/2015 – When top players like Anish Giri, Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So, Sergey Karjakin and other 2700+ giants play in a tournament, the best we can do is watch them in action. If on the other hand you have always wished to play in the same event and cross swords with them, then Qatar Masters Open 2015 is your big chance. It is world’s strongest Open with a total prize sum of $130,000!

Final impressions of the Qatar Masters

12/21/2014 – "The best tournament I have ever played in," and "definitely the strongest of my life." These were some of the opinions of participants of the Qatar Masters 2014 – incidentally the first Open with Vladimir Kramnik in 22 years. Our reporter in Doha, 15-year-old IM Akshat Chandra, spoke with him and with the winner Yu Yangyi. The latter interview was conducted on a Google Translate page.

Qatar Masters and the amazing Doha (2/2)

12/12/2014 – In spite of the overwhelming wealth of Doha, the luxuriousness manages to sidestep any feelings of arrogance as described by Alina L'Ami in the second part of her report. However the conditions were superb attracting an incredibly strong lineup featuring world-class players who rarely step outside the circuit of round robins. That they did made possible the thrilling finish.

Qatar Masters and the amazing Doha (1/2)

12/10/2014 – Though the Qatar Masters Open was assuredly covered in detail, and well, a post-scriptum report was sent by our dear globetrotting Alina L'Ami, who sent her impressions of not only the event, but above all Doha, Qatar, and a city that is hotter than hot in more ways than one. It was a festival of exotic markets and boundless luxury cars, such as Lamborghinis and pink Rolls-Royces.

Yu Yangyi wins Qatar Masters Open 2014

12/4/2014 – He started as the 13th seed, rated 2705, but went on to beat two Top Ten players, both in great form, to take clear first. Chinese GM Yu Yanyi has gained 25 Elo points and now has a live rating of 2730 (no. 24 in the world). A remarkable achievement of a player who is still in the Juniors section of the FIDE ratings. We bring you the games and pictures in our final report from Doha.
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