Qatar Chess Federation President Mohammed Al Mudahka with the Qatar Masters Open champion Nodirbek Yakubboev (left) and Qatar Masters Open winner Nodirbek Yakubboev (left) and Qatar Masters B Tournament winner Tolentino Rustum with their trophies.
Doha, Qatar: Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev emerged victorious after nine days of intense competition against some of the world’s most elite players as the curtain came down on the Qatar Masters Open Chess Championship 2023 yesterday.
Yakubboev's triumph came after a nail-biting tie-break where he outplayed compatriot Nodirbek Abdusttorov after both finished at the top of the standings with 7 points each at the close of the ninth round. The tie-breaker was set when Yakubboev defeated his Indian rival Murali Karthikeyan, who had displayed remarkable skills throughout the tournament at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall. On the other hand, the 19-year-old fifth seed Abdusttarov, the runner-up, overcame Indian chess ace and overnight leader Arjun Erigaisi to take his points tally on par with Yakubboev.
Women's title winner Vaishali Rameshbabu (second left) with second placed Divya Deshmukh and third place winner Alua Nurmanova and an official.
Yakubboev’s remarkable performance throughout the event lifted his rating to 2775. His triumphant journey in Lusail also included notable victories over formidable Grandmasters Adhiban and Rinat Jumabayev prior to yesterday’s decisive round. The victory over Abdusattorov earned him the coveted first prize of $25,000.
The champion Yakubboev, initially seeded 19th, was delighted to have defied all odds and expectations amidst a star-studded field at the Qatar Masters.
“I am lucky to have won the title here in Qatar, and I want to thank everyone who supported me and, especially during the last stage. I will try to make more efforts to maintain this level,” the 21-year-old added.
“I feel happy. I didn’t believe that I can do that, but I tried today to win. And I did. I kept calm and played the tie-break. Even if I had lost that tie-break, I would have been happy,” Yakubboev said.
About playing against his compatriot Abdusttorov, Yakubboev said, “It’s a little bit strange for me. Even if I (had to play) against Arjun, that wouldn’t have mattered. I tried to do my best.”
After learning that he won $25,000, Yakubboev was surprised. “Really?”
“I wanted to get some Elo points here but I won.”
“I cannot describe all my feelings. I’m a little bit tired. Now I will try to do my best in Grand Swiss (FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament) to qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2024. So let’s see what will happen,” he said.
Indian SL Narayanan finished in joint third, along with compatriots Erigaisi and D Gukesh as well as Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov, American Hikaru Nakamura and Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo, with 6.5 points each.
Narayanan closed his great run at the Qatar Masters 2023 with a draw against World No.3 Nakamura as the Kerala youngster, who now has a live rating of 2668.2, aims to become the next Indian Grandmaster to cross the 2700 barrier in near future.
Sindarov drew with Dutchman Anish Giri, Gukesh took down compatriot Abhijeet Gupta while Maghsoodloo beat Australian Temur Kuybokarov to complete their impressive runs in Lusail.
Meanwhile, pre-tournament favourite, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen was held by India’s Abhimanyu Puranik in round 9 as the five-time world champion shared the joint fourth position along with 13 others.
The World No.1 player won five games and managed to draw two, but the defeats against Kazakh Alisher Suleymenov and Karthikeyan proved too costly for him.
Qatar’s Husain Aziz lost his ninth round game against India’s Antonio Dcunha Viani as he finished with 3 points.
In the women’s category, Indian sensation Vaishali Rameshbabu was crowned the women’s title winner with a solid score of 5 points. Although she lost her last game against American Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, her Grandmaster Norm was confirmed. After the game ended, Kaidanov congratulated Vaishali on getting her final Grandmaster Norm, in the presence of her mother Nagalakshmi.
Vaishali, the sister of India’s star player Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, is just 32.3 elo points away from becoming her country’s third female Grandmaster after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.
Meanwhile, FIDE Master Tolentino Rustum of the Philliphines won the Qatar Masters B Championship title with a dominant score of 8.5.
