Abu Dhabi Chess Festival will attract a record 165 Grand Masters to the capital

ABU DHABI // A record 165 Grand Masters will play for honours in the 22nd Abu Dhabi Chess Festival.

The competition from Sunday to August 31 consists of Masters, Open and Under-16 competitions and has attracted more than 500 players from around the world vying for a slice of the Dh250,000 prize money.

Hussain Abdullah Khouri, chairman of the organising committee, said the event has reached a milestone since it was launched 22 years ago.

“We could hardly get a few Grand Masters in those early years but now have more than 25 in the waiting list,” he said at the launching ceremony for the festival at the Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche Hotel yesterday.

Salem Abdulrahman Saleh, the Asian Cup winner in Al Ain last week, spearheads the home challenge.

The Emirati, 22, is ranked 26th in the competition but the spotlight will be firmly focused on the 10-year-old prodigy FM (Fide Master) Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan.

Abdusattorov made chess headlines last year when he upset the Grand Masters Andrei Zhigalko and Ruslan Khusnutdinov in the Uzbekistan Open.

The youngster won the gold medal in the Under-8 age category at the world youth chess championship in Maribor, Slovenia, in 2012 and is the highest-rated under-12 chess player in the world.

“He’s one of the top draws in the competition,” said Ismail Ibrahim Al Khouri, the tournament director.

“It is hard to say of a clear favourite because there are players who have won more than 180 titles between them in this competition.

“As for our own Salem Abdulrahman (Saleh) it will be a good experience for his preparation for the world championships later in the year.”

apassela@thenational.ae

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