Minister of Sports and Youth H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali and Qatar Chess Association President Mohamed Al Mudahka during the opening match of the Qatar Masters 2023 between Magnus Carlsen (left) and Srihari LR, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen yesterday defeated India's Srihari LR in his opening game as third edition of the Qatar Masters International Open Chess Championship kicked off with exciting battles at the Lusail Sports Hall.
The high-profile event, which includes an elite group of the most prominent Grandmasters along with more than 100 international challengers, kicked off with a ceremonial opening, attended by the Minister of Sport and Youth H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Qatar Chess Association (QCA) President and Chairman of the Organizing Committee Mohammed Al Madahka, International chess federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich, United Arab Emirates Chess Association President Taryam Matar Taryam, general referee of the tournament Fred Laurent and a number of officials from participating federations.
The Sport and Youth Minister and QCA President made the first move to kick start the tournament’s inaugural match between World No. 1 Carlsen and Srihari – ranked 80th in the global ranking.
The only Qatari player in the main tournament, International Master Hussein Aziz, ranked 141st, lost the opening match to his Uzbek competitor Mukhiddin Madaminov, ranked 61st.
International Master Kushagra Mohan pulled off a huge upset in Round 1, taking down Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Fedoseev.
Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo, ranked seventh in the tournament, defeated the Uzbek Saidakbar Saydaliev to book a high profile meeting with American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura, ranked third in the world and second in the tournament, defeated Indian Vantika Agrawal.
In one of the most exciting games of the first round, International master Mohammed Nubairshah drew with his Indian compatriot, Grandmaster D. Gukesh.
Dutchman Anish Giri, ranked seventh in the world and third in the tournament, defeated Indian Rohith Karishna in another exciting contest.
The tournament is taking place according to the Swiss System of 9 rounds (90 minutes for each round + 30 seconds for each move), and sees the participation of 250 players from 45 countries. A total of 62 Grandmasters are in action, and a total prize pool of $120,000 is on offer.
QCA Executive Director and Director of the Championship Hamad Al Tamimi yesterday said the organisers are confident of hosting a successful tournament.
“We are pleased to welcome all participating delegations and we hope that the third edition will be a success on many fronts. Our goal is to maintain the high reputation the tournament enjoys all over the world," Al Tamimi said.
“The International B tournament features a number of young players from Qatar. It is undoubtedly a great experience for our players who get to benefit from the experience of being alongside an elite group of world champions,” he said.
FIDE President Dvorkovich said: “We are happy with the launch of the event, and we are undoubtedly very confident in the success of the QCA in organizing a wonderful tournament, similar to what happened in the previous two editions.”
Also yesterday, the Qatar Masters Open B Championship also kicked off simultaneously, with 94 players who are ranked under 2,300 points vying for honours.
