Not many can claim to have gained international recognition and success at the age of 15. Rouda Essa Alserkal is one of them.
The chess prodigy grabbed headlines late last year as she became the first Emirati woman grandmaster following success at the Arab Women’s Championship in Sharjah.
Rouda’s next target is clinching the main Grandmaster title (a woman grandmaster has a lower ratings threshold).
The Grade 10 student at Al Mawaheb School, Abu Dhabi, thus entered the big leagues, having started the journey at age four.
Her rise in the world of chess has now taken her to the prestigious Norway Chess Open, which opened on Monday and runs until this weekend.
Rouda is representing the UAE in the tournament, competing alongside stars of the game such as Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and new world champion Gukesh.
All of this has happened rather quickly for the teenager. Rouda said it took her some time to come to terms with becoming a woman grandmaster.
“It was in November. I was very shocked. It was still round eight and they told me if I win the round I will immediately get first place. And that I was going to become a woman grandmaster. It was very stressful. These things take a lot of time to sink in. But now, I feel very proud of myself,” Rouda told The National.
Rouda began playing with her father, Essa Alserkal, and other family members. She was soon enrolled in the Abu Dhabi Chess Club. By the time she was five, she began to show serious talent for chess.
Her list of wins includes the U20 UAE Championship, the 2017 World Cadets Championship, and many more.
“I started chess at four years old. We had a chess board at home. I used to play all the time with my mum, sisters, with my dad. When I joined Abu Dhabi Chess Club, a couple of months later, I won the Asian championship.
“I started taking chess more seriously when I won the world [cadets] championship in 2017. This is when I started to train more and have higher goals and ambition.”
Rouda is only the second grandmaster from UAE after Salem Abdulrahman. The Abu Dhabi resident is proud of what she has achieved, and hopes more women take up the game.
“The chess scene in the UAE is growing fast. There is a lot of support right now, especially for young players. For women, there is a lot of improvement but it could be better. Me becoming the first woman grandmaster in the UAE shows that anything is possible and I hope it opens more doors for young girls.”
Her work is not done yet, though. The requirements for the main Grandmaster title are a lot harder. As a woman grandmaster, Rouda currently has a little over 2,100 points in her rankings and needs to rise to 2,500 to gain the overall GM title. The task will only get tougher from here on as she will need to compete at bigger tournaments against better players to improve her standing.
“This means I have to work harder, keep up the grind. Inshallah, I will increase my ratings soon. It will be more difficult now,” she admitted.
While Rouda has her task cut out, managing high-stakes chess with the pressures of studies – which she admits has become a lot more difficult now – she is clear about what she wants to achieve on the chess board and in her life.
“My biggest goal is to achieve the Grandmaster title, not just the woman grandmaster title. Hopefully reach 2,500 ratings. And in future, I want to become a lawyer. And if everything works out, I will be a good lawyer hopefully.”
For now, her focus is on the Norway Open. The difficulty of the task facing her became clear right away in her opening match on Monday as Rouda struggled against Ukrainian GM Platon Galperin.
“It is sad to not start with a win,” Rouda said in a statement. “But it was also incredibly valuable. Playing at this level is intense, and I know I’ll grow from this.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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RESULTS
1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman
4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
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Results
2.30pm: Park Avenue – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Rb Seqondtonone, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
3.05pm: Al Furjan – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bosphorus, Dane O’Neill, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm: Mina – Rated Condition (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Royal Mews, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Aliyah – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,900m; Winner: Ursa Minor, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
4.50pm: Riviera Beach – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Woodditton, Saif Al Balushi, Ahmad bin Harmash
5.25pm: Riviera – Handicap (TB) Dh2,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Al Madhar, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Creek Views – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Al Salt, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
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ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
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