Salem Abdulrahman Mohamed

The Arab Individual Open Chess Championship 2020 off to perfect start on Thursday.

More than 1,300 male and female players from 20 countries are competing in the Arab Individual Chess Championship hosted by Abu Dhabi remotely.

The Arab Chess Federation has allocated a cash prize of $6000 for winners. UAE's Faisal Mohammed Al Hammadi was named as the chief arbiter for the three-day long tournament.

Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, President of the Arab Chess Federation, welcomed the participants of the Arab Individual Open Chess Championship 2020.

“Unfortunately, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic we had to cancel in general our annual live activities. But we still decided to organize our Championships online, as per regulations, in cooperation with the prestigious chess platform LiChess,” said Sheikh Saud.

The Arab Chess Federation was founded on July 27, 1975 in Damascus, Syria, with the object of spreading and development of chess as a mental and cultural sport across the Arab World.

The Arab Individual Open Chess Championship 2020 also marks the 45th anniversary of formation of Arab Chess Federation.

“I can promise some extra-ordinary events in close cooperation with FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation! We will start with the Arab Championships for Individuals,” he added.

“For the time being we welcome you in our online festival and promise that we will do our best to ensure that the Arab Individual Open Chess Championship 2020 (Online), will run smoothly and successfully.

The Arab Individual Open Chess Championship 2020 started on Thursday will end on June 6 with competition in three stages.

Egyptian Grandmasters Ahmed Adly and Bassem Amin, and UAE’s top-ranked Salem Abdulrahman Mohamed Saleh are among the top names who are competing in the competition.

Federations which are taking part in the event are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen.