Emirati ace GM Saleh Salem maintains perfect six-point slate heading into the final three rounds at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club
Top 14 rankings after six rounds
1. GM Salem A.R. Saleh UAE 2680 – 6.0
2. GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2620 – 5.5
3. GM Grivas Efstratios GRE 2482 – 5.0
4. GM Magerramov Elmar AZE 2534 5.0
5. GM Lazarev Vladimir FRA 2467 – 5.0
6. FM Saeed Ishaq UAE 2259 – 5.0
7. IM Videnova Iva BUL 2343 – 5.0
8. Tabada Jobannie C. PHI 2220 – 5.0
9. Mortel Marlon PHI 1938- 4.5
10. GM Arencibia Rodriguez Walter CUB 2532 – 4.5
11. WGM Safranska Anda FRA 2263 4.5
12. San Juan Dennis PHI 2191 4.5
13. Manjunath J. IND 2024 4.5
14. FM Saleh Nabil UAE 2250 – 4.5
Dubai, UAE (December 2, 2015) – UAE number one Grandmaster (GM) Salem Saleh reasserted his dominance as he defeated three grandmasters in a row to wrest pole position after six rounds in the 44th UAE National Day Rapid Chess Championship at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club on Tuesday. Saleh defeated sixth-seed GM Vladimir Lazarev of France, fourth-seed GM Walter Rodriguez Arencibia of Cuba and fifth-seed GM Efstratios Grivas of Greece in succession during the second of the three-day competition to strengthen his bid in the UAE’s premier chess event to mark the country’s 44th founding anniversary.
Having earned a spot in the elite list of 100 highest-rated players in rapid chess in the World Chess Federation’s December rankings released on Tuesday, Saleh will start the final day of competitions with a highly anticipated duel with his coach, second-seed GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands, who currently occupies solo second spot with 5.5 points. Sokolov disposed of IM Mehrshad Sharif of France in the fourth round, drew with third-seed GM Elmar Magerramov of Azerbaijan in the fifth round and defeated the Philippines’ Marlon Mortel in the sixth round on Tuesday.
Reigning UAE National Men’s and UAE President’s Cup champion Fide Master (FM) Saeed Ishaq defeated India’s Aswin Sreekumar in the sixth round for his fifth point, putting him at joint third place with Lazarev, Grivas and Magerramov. Also sporting five-point slates are eighth-seed International Master (IM) Iva Videnova of Bulgaria and Jobannie C. Tabada of the Philippines after beating the Philippines’ Marvin Marcos and Sharif in the sixth round respectively.
More than 110 players from over 20 countries are taking part in the nine-round Swiss system tournament organised each year to commemorate the founding anniversary of the UAE. The tournament offers AED 22,000 in total cash prize with the champion receiving AED 5,000 along with the champion’s cup. There will also be awards for the best-performing UAE players as well as top Dubai players. Time control is 15 minutes plus three seconds per move for each player. Emirati International Arbiters (IA) Mahdi Abdul Rahim and Saeed Yousef Shukri serve as chief arbiter and deputy chief arbiter respectively, assisted by IAs Mohamed Abdulla and Jamal Qasim and Majid Ali Abdouly.
