Round 9

GM Gadir Guseinov and WIM Ulviyya Fataliyeva, both of Azerbaijan, won the open and women’s divisions, respectively, of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE.
Guseinov coasted to a draw in the final round against GM Alexey Barsov of Uzbekistan to win the title but two others caught up for a share of the $10,500 prizes for the top three out of a total of $23,000. Former world junior champion Ahmed Adly of Egypt and surprise talent FM Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan tied Guseinov at 7 points each.
Tolgontegin outmaneuvered the Alekhine Defense of GM Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan in 62 moves while Adly, using the Caro Kann Defense, could only draw against FM Skar Ali Salih of Iraq in 45 moves. The UAE’s GM Saleh A.R. Salem and top seed GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan shared 5th place with 6-1/2 points each.
In the women’s division, WIM Ulviyya Fataliyeva made easy work of WFM Alshaeby Boshra of Jordan to finish on top alone with 8 points. WFM Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran placed runner-up with 7-1/2 points followed by WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan in third place with 6-1/2 points. Top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan shared fourth place with WIM Khayala Abdulla of Azerbaijan with 6 points each.
Download games at chess-results.com and view results and final standings and see video streaming of the closing ceremony.



GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan receiving his trophy and prize. In photo are, from left, FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg, Guseinov, Sharjah Chess Club president Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Sharjah Sports Council General Secretary Ahmad Al Fardan, and Assistant General Secretary for Youth and Sports Khalid Essa Al Midfaa.


WIM Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan (center) receiving her trophy and prize from Sheikh Saud.


Group photo

Round 8

Former world junior champion GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt and GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan drew their respective 8th round assignments to maintain their co-leadership with 6-1/2 points each after the penultimate round of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE.
Adly used the Reti Opening against IM Arab Adlane of Algeria and there were four Queens on the board when the two agreed to a draw on the 57th move. Guseinov played a quick friendly draw against compatriot Eltaj Safarli in 21 moves of a Sicilian Maroczy Bind.
Three players follow with 6 points each, namely Adlane, GM Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan and FM Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan. Abasov needed only 33 moves to crush the Modern Defense of FM Jasem Alhuwar of the UAE. Tolgontegin used the Pirc Defense to beat FM Ibrahim Charour of Lebanon in 46 moves.
In the women’s division, Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan grabbed solo lead with 7 points. Fataliyeva used the French Defense to beat WIM Elena Boric of Bosnia Herzegovina in 31 moves.
WFM Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran follows closely half a point behind. Sarvinov Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan used the Sicilian Defense to hold Derakhshani to a draw in 55 moves. Kurbonboeva is alone in third slot with 5-1/2 points.
Four players follow with 5 points each, namely top seed WGM Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan, WIM Abdulla Khayala of Azerbaijan, WFM Boshra Alshaeby of Jordan and WFM Nadezhda Antonova of Tajikistan.
At stake in the twin events is $23,000 in cash prizes. Download games at chess-results.com and view results and standings and see video streaming.


Co-leaders GM Ahmed Adly (left) of Egypt and GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan drew their earlier match

Round 7

Former world junior champion GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt and GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan beat their respective 7th round opponents to share the lead with 6 points each at the homestretch of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE.
Adly used the Pirc Defense against erstwhile co-leader Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan. In a tense game where the players castled on opposite wings he attacked on the kingside while Adly countered on the Queenside. The Egyptian sacrificed a Rook on the 27th move threatened inevitable mate five moves later.
Guseinov outmaneuvered the Petroff Defense of compatriot GM Nijat Abasov in a marathon 73 moves as he was about to promote his pawn to a Queen in a Rook and pawn endgame.
International Master Arab Adlane of Algeria crushed the King’s India Defense of GM Saleh A. R. Salem of the UAE in 60 moves to hold third slot with 5.5 points.
Abasov, top seed Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan, FM Jasem Alhuwar of the UAE, Semetey Tologntegin of Kyrgyzstan and Ibrahim Chahrour of Lebanon follow with 5 pionts each.
In the women’s division, WFM Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran and Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan share the lead with 6 points each. Fataliyeva smashed the French Defense of top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan in 72 moves. Derakhshani kept pace by beating Narmin Khalafova of Azerbaijan in 41 moves.
WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan hugs third with 5 points followed by WIM Elena Boric of Bosnia with 4.5 points. At stake in the twin events is $23,000 in cash prizes. Games are open to spectators 4:30 pm daily at the Sharjah Chess Club. Games are broadcast live at http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICW/ for the women and http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ for the men with live video streaming. Download games at chess-results.com and view results and standings.


Co-leader Ahmed Adly of Egypt (right) vs Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan


Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran (left) vs. Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan

Round 6

Unheralded FIDE Master Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan and three Grandmasters share the lead with 5 points each after 6 rounds of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE. Tologontegin used the Trompovsky attack to beat International Master Jamshed Isaev of Tajikistan in 47 moves. Tied with Tologontegin are former world junior champion Ahmed Adly of Egypt and GMs Gadir Guiseinov and Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan.
Guseinov used the Gruenfeld defense to draw with Adly in 49 moves. Abasov essayed the Queen’s Gambit declined to draw with GM Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE in 42 moves.
Saleh and Adlane Arab of Algeria are tied at 4.5 points each. Nine players trail with 4 points each in the 9-round Swiss System tournament. Visit chess-results.com for full results and standings.
In the women’s division, youthful WFM Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran turned back the Scotch Gambit of Khayala Abdulla of Azerbaijan in 62 moves to be in a tied with WFM Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan. Fataliyeva used the French Defense to beat WFM Narmin Khalafova of Azerbaijan in 39 moves to share the lead at 5 points each.
Khalafova, Abdulla, top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan and Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan follow with 4 points each. Visit chess-results.com for women’s standings.
At stake in the twin events is $23,000 in cash prizes. Games are open to spectators 4:30 pm daily at the Sharjah Chess Club. Games are broadcast live at http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICW/ for the women and http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ for the men with live video streaming.


Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran (right) vs. Khayala Abdulla of Azerbaijan

Round 5

GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan beat erstwhile solo leader GM Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE to share the lead with GM Nijat Abasov and Egyptian GM Adly Ahmed after five rounds of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE.
At the halfway mark of the 9-round Swiss System, the three leaders have 4.5 points each among 46 players from 22 Islamic countries. Guseinov survived a spirited defense by Saleh in 46 moves of a Ruy Lopez. Abasov, also of Azerbaijan, crushed the Sicilian defense Pelikan variation of IM Adlane Arab of Algeria 32 moves. Former world junior champion Ahmed Adly of Egypt used the Sicilian Najdorf variation to deal top seed Elhaj Safarli of Azerbaijan his second loss.
Salem, IM Jamshed Isaev of Tajikistan, FM Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan and Omid Noroozi of Iran follow with 4 points each. Adlane Arab and FM Ishaq Saeed of the UAE trail with 3.5 points.
In the women’s division, erstwhile solo leader WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan, using the Sicilian Dragon, stumbled against Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan in 34 moves of her Yugoslav Attack. Fataliyeva and compatriots WIM Khayala Abdulla and WFM Narmin Khalafova, and Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran tie for the lead with 4 points each.
Khlafova needed 77 moves of a Vienna Game to beat Rozana Gjergji of Albania. Khayala capitalized on an opening blunder by top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan to win in only 15 moves. Derakhshani turned back the Troopovsky Attack of Niusha Afshar of Iran in 26 moves.
Kurvbonboeva and Elena Boric of Bosnia Herzegovina trail with 3.5 points each followed by Saduakassova and four others at 3 points each.
At stake in the twin events is $23,000 in cash prizes. Games are open to spectators 4:30 pm daily at the Sharjah Chess Club.
Games are broadcast live at http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICW/ for the women and http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ for the men with live video streaming.
Visit chess-results.com for the open stats and women’s stats.


GM Gadir Guseinov (left) of Azerbaijan vs. GM Saleh A.R. Salem of UAE


Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan (left) vs. WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan

Round 4

UAE’s GM Saleh A.R. Salem beat top seed GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan to grab solo lead after four rounds of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, UAE.
Saleh needed only 30 moves to crush the Bogo Indian Defense of Safarli as the Sharjah ace seized the open file with double Rooks and penetrated the weak back rank to weave a mating net.
Former world junior champion Ahmed Adly of Egypt, GM Gadir Guseinov and Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan and IM Arab Adlane of Algeria share second slot with 3.5 points each. Adly drew with Abasov in 40 moves of an Open Catalan system while Adlane Arab drew with Guseinov in 63 moves of a Modern Defence.



Eight players are tied at 3 points each, namely Safarli, Salim Aliyan Al Mashikhi of Oman, FM Salih Akar Ali Salih of Iraq, IM Isaev Jamshed of Tajikistan, FM Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrkyzstan, GM Alexei Barsov of Uzbekistan and Omid Norooze of Iran.
In the women’s division, Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan beat Elena Boric of Bosnia Herzegovina to grab solo lead with 4 points. Kurbonboeva outmaneuvered the Dutch Defense of Boric in a marathon 70 moves.
Six players follow in second slot with 3 points each, namely top seed WGM Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan, WIM Khayala Abdulla, WFM Narmin Khalafova and WFM Ulfiyya Fataliyeva, all of Azebaijan, and Niusha Afshar of Iran. Khalafova beat Azahari Siti Nur Fatimah of Brunei, Afshar beat Antonova Nadezhda of Tajikistan, Saduakassova used the Sicilian defense to draw in 57 moves with Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran while Khayala drew with Ulviyya in 51 moves of a Dutch Defense.
The tournaments are 9-round Swiss System events with $23,000 at stake in cash prizes. Games are open to spectators 4:30 pm daily at the Sharjah Chess Club.
Games are broadcast live at http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICW/ for the women and http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ for the men with live video streaming at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6coWGQYnZFA.

Round 3

GM Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE and five others lead with perfect scores after three rounds of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah.
Salem crushed the Slav defense of FM Salih Akar Ali Salih of Iraq in only 25 moves in the other day’s third round. Top seed GM Eltaj Safarli, Nijat Abasov and Gadir Guseinov, all of Azerbaijan, GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt and IM Arab Adlane of Algeria share the lead at 3 points each in the 9-round Swiss System tournament.
In the women’s division, top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan and five others share the lead with 2-1/2 points after three rounds. Saduakassova beat WIM Sabrina Latreche of Algeria in the second round and drew with Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan in the third. Tied with Saduakassova and Kurbonboeva at 2-1/2 points each are WIM Khayala Abdulla and Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan, Elena Boric of Bosnia Herzegovina and Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran. The best players from 22 Islamic countries are competing for honors and a total of $23,000 in cash prizes.
Participating players are from Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and host United Arab Emirates.

Ceremonial moves in the women's division, standing from second left, Sharjah Chess Club president Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Director of Media Center Department of Sharjah and Chairman of Sharjah Islamic Culture Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmad Al Qassimi, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Arab Chess Federation president Ibrahim Al Bannai and Sharjah Sports Council General Secretary Ahmad Al Fardan.

Rounds start 4:30 pm daily. Games are open to spectators at the Sharjah Chess Club and broadcast live on http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ with streaming video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfTNgFyz0CU.

Visit chess-results.com for results and standings.

Round 2

Seeded players, led by local hero GM Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE, continued to prevail in the second round of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship at the Sharjah Chess Club in the United Arab Emirates.

Top seed GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan beat FM Jasem Alhuwar of the UAE to maintain a perfect 2-point slate together with compatriots GMs Gadir Guseinov and Nijat Abasov, GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt and GM Alexei Barsov of Uzbekistan. Joining the lead pack of GMs were IM Adlane Arab of Algeria, FM Farhan Mohannad of Jordan, FM Sa;ih Akar Ali Salih of Iraq and untitled Salim Aliyan Al Mashikhi who scored the upset of the round at the expense of IM Jamshed Isaev of Tajikistan.

There were no surprises In the women’s division as top seed Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan and seven others maintained a perfect 2-point score. Saduakassova beat WIM Sabrina Latreche of Algeria. Keeping pace at 2 points each were WIM Khayala Abdulla of Azerbaijan, WIM Elena Boric of Bosnia Herzegovina, Sarvinov Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan and WFM Dorsa Derakhshani of Iran.


GM Salem A.R. Saleh of UAE

Round 1

The Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship reeled off yesterday at the Sharjah Chess Club in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. with the best players from 22 Islamic countries competing for honors and a total of $23,000 in cash prizes.

Top seed GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan leads 46 players in the open division while WGM Danada Saduakassova of Kazkakhstan is the highest rated among 26 players in the women’s division.

Participating players are from Aghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and host United Arab Emirates. The tournaments are 9-round Swiss System events.

Safarli crushed the Sicilian defense of Kamis, Kamarunsalehin of Brunei in 38 moves. Leading with one point each are GMs Safarli and Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan, Adly Ahmed of Egypt, Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan, Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE, Alexei Barsov of Uzbekistan, IMs Adlane Arab of Algeria, Jamshed Isaev of Tajikistan, FMs Semetey Tologontegin of Kyrgyzstan, Sali Akar Ali Salih and Noor Nameer Al Deen of Iraq, Jasem Alhuwar, Ishaq Saeed and Marshool Hamdan of UAE, Husain Ayyad and Maher Ayyad of Bahrain, Ramez Sameir of Egypt, Salim Aliyan Al Mashikhi of Oman, Khurraw of Afghanistan and Ommid Norooze of Iran.

In the women’s WGM Dinara Saduakassova made easy work of Rozana Gjergji of Albania in 29 moves of a Nimzoindian defense. Tied with Saduakassova at one point each are WIM Khayala Abdulla, WFM Ulviyya Fataliyeva and WFM Narmin Khalafova of Azerbaijan, WIM Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva of Uzbekistan, WIM Elena Boric of Bosnia, Dorsa Derakhshani and Niusha Afshar of Iran, WIM Sabrina Latreche of Algeria, WFM Nadezhda Antonova of Tajikistan, WFM Ghayda Alattar of Jordan, Hj Azahari Siti Nur Farimah of Brunei and Yara Faqih of Palestine.

Rounds start 4:30 pm daily. Games are open to spectators at the Sharjah Chess Club. Games are broadcast live on http://iccicc-shj.com/live/ICO/ with streaming video.




World Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov makes the ceremonial opening moves on top board of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture Chess Championship with, from left, Sharjah Chess Club president Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Sharjah Sports Council General Secretary Ahmad Al Fardan, Director of Media Center Department of Sharjah and Chairman of Sharjah Islamic Culture Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmad Al Qassimi, Ilyumzhinov, UAE Chess Federation Deputy President Abdul Aziz Khouri and Chief Arbiter Sultan Taher.