Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla presents the trophy to Seyyed Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei as other dignitaries look on.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Iranian Grandmaster Seyyed Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei emerged winner at the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship 2021.

The fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship was being held under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

In one of the most exciting final of the game, four grandmasters including Ukraine’s Pavel Eljanov, Amin Tabatabaei, UAE’s Grandmaster Salem Abdulrahman Mohamed Saleh and Parham Magsoodloo tied for first place, each finishing with identical 6.5/9 points apiece.

Amin Tabatabaei drew his last round game against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev.

By the virtue of a better tiebreak, Amin Tabatabaei took the top spot following the closely contested nine round of the prestigious championship.
In 2017, Salem finished in a tie for first place in the 1st Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship with Chinese Grandmaster Wang Hao.

Five Grandmasters shared 5th to 9th places with identical six points apiece — Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Rinat Jumabayev, SL Narayanan, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Abhijeet Gupta.
Narayanan, who enjoyed a fair amount of success in online chess tournaments during the coronavirus pandemic, was the best finisher among Indians at seventh place.

The ninth and the final round was opened by Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, Shurooq, in the presence of Omar Noman Al Ali, tournament director, Raja’i Noman Al Soussi, CEO of Sharjah Cultural and Chess club and Saud Al Marzouki, Saud Al Marzouqi, Chairman of the National Teams Committee at UAE Chess Federation.

The closing ceremony of the tournament was held after the end of the final round, which was graced by Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, President of Arab Chess Federation

Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, Khaled Issa Al Midfa, Assistant Secretary General of the General Sports Authority, Engineer Sami Al Safirini, Deputy President of the Arab Chess Federation, and number of members of the board of directors of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club.

Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President also attended and addressed the gathering virtually.

Meanwhile, the Challengers tournament was held on the sideline of the main competition.

In Group A, Ukraine’s women International Master Svetlana Moskalets took the top spot.

Jamaican Duane Rowe finished second while Palestine’s Raji Sayel took third spot and Syria’s Abdul Kader Rayes came fourth.

In Group B, Daniel Fernandez emerged on top.

Egypt’s Ramez Sameir came second while India’s Vishal Chaudhary finished third.

Indian Grandmaster Erigaisi hailed the organizing committee of Sharjah Masters International Chess Champioship.

“Had a great time playing in Sharjah, UAE. Thank you @shj_masters for organizing such a wonderful event. I hope to participate in the upcoming editions,” Erigaisi tweeted.
Erigaisi earned the title of Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 13 days.

41 Grandmasters, two women Grandmasters, 13 International Masters and two FIDE Masters took part in the fourth edition of the Sharjah Master International Championship, which carried a prize purse of $60,000.

Fast Contracting Company, National Paints and Centro Sharjah Hotel are the sponsors of the fourth edition of the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship.

The Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club was established in 1979 and joined the UAE Chess League in June 1981 with the objective of spreading the game across the Sharjah emirate.