UAE’s first Woman Grandmaster ends maiden campaign in Stavanger with 3 wins

UAE’s rising chess star Rouda Al Serkal signed off her maiden appearance at the Norway Chess Open with a flourish, winning three consecutive games to close out the prestigious tournament’s General Masters (GM) category on a high.

The 15-year-old showed remarkable resilience over nine gruelling rounds, bouncing back from early struggles to finish with a total of 4 points overall - a performance that not only demonstrated her talent but also her ability to adapt and learn against more experienced opponents.

Fresh off a strong campaign at the Asian Individual Women’s Championship in Al Ain two weeks before the tournament in Stavanger and a productive training block, Al Serkal came into the tournament with confidence. However, the opening round on May 26 against Swedish Grandmaster Platon Galperin - one of the tournament’s highest-rated players in the open category who finished fourth overall - didn’t go to plan.

Playing white, Rouda fought valiantly for 56 moves but eventually had to concede. The loss hit her hard, especially as it came in the very first round of her maiden appearance in the GM category.

"It was tough to start like that and then mentally recover from there - I was disappointed,” Rouda admitted. "I didn’t feel like I was getting my game right, and it was demoralising to lose after such a long fight. But I knew I had to regroup quickly.”

The next day, Rouda, who turns 16 next month, steadied herself with a hard-fought draw against American Luke Leon Robin Anatol before suffering another defeat in round three to Spain’s Lucia Follana Albelda.

"That was even more crushing as I had her completely in my grasp after openening with Caro Kahn advanced variation but somehow I just failed to capitalise.”

Two more challenging days followed with a draw against Mexico’s Jan Enrique Zepeda Berlanga and losses to Norwegians Ask Amundsen (playing white) and Astor Moe Maurstad (playing black).

But Al Serkal, the UAE’s first Woman Grandmaster and a former world youth champion, refused to let the early setbacks define her debut in Stavanger.

Her persistence began to pay off in round seven, when she notched her first win - a confident performance against Norway’s Sigur H. Myny while playing white.

"Eventually I just found my footing,” she said.

"I stopped overthinking, focused on basics, and trusted my training. Once that happened, things began to click.”

She carried that momentum forward, scoring her second consecutive win on May 30 against Italian Mauro Pivi, and capped her campaign on Sunday with a composed victory over France’s Franck Gouanelle - her third straight win.

With three wins, two draws and four losses, Al Serkal’s overall performance was a promising show of potential. Competing in a field filled with seasoned international players, she not only held her own but ended with a strong closing statement although she would have liked to finish better overall.

"I was honestly hoping to gain around 100 rating points,” Rouda said. "Most of the rounds I lost, I was either winning or had a clear advantage but lost my way in the end. That’s what frustrated me the most.”

Yet as the first Emirati woman to play in the Norway Chess Open’s GM category, her participation alone marks a milestone for UAE chess. But her ability to rebound and finish strong added a powerful narrative of character and composure to her international journey.

"It was a learning experience more than anything else,” Al Serkal said.

"And I’m proud I stayed with it. Ending with three wins felt really special - I feel like I’m still leaving stronger than I arrived although I could have done much better.”

Tournament founder Kjell Madland praised her spirited finish, saying: "It is exactly this kind of story that reinforces Norway Chess as a truly global platform. To have young talents like Rouda travel all the way from the UAE to compete at this level adds richness and reach to what we’re building here in Stavanger.”

Meanwhile, in the elite Norway Chess supertournament being played at the SpareBank 1 SR-Bank in Stavanger, world number one Magnus Carlsen and reigning two-time Women's World Rapid Chess Champion Koneru Humpy remain in close pursuit of the lead in the men’s and the women’s sections respectively. Final rounds take place later this week.