Bahrain International Open Rapid Chess Championship 2013 held

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

You don't usually find lots of chess news coming in from Bahrain. Here's a nice chess update that we are happy to share: Bahrain Chess News: Well-known local chess players Ayyad brothers, Hussain and Maher, dominated the seniors division at the the Bahrain International Open Rapid Chess Championship which was held at the Golden Tulip Bahrain Hotel recently. 

Hussain and Maher clinched first and second place, respectively in the event, which was played over 70 rounds in the Swiss system with rapid time control of 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment after each move. Hussain claimed the final victory after tallying 6.5 points. Maher followed with six points. 

In third place was Ahmed Alghamdi of Saudi Arabia, who with Fadi Malkawi, Ali Alghasra, Ahmed Abdullateef, Sheer Mohamed and Dado Cagampan. 

More than 80 participants from 11 different countries competed in three different categories in the competition, which offered a total prize fund of BD2,000. In the women's section, sisters Sara and Zainab Alafoo finished equal first after a superb performance. They were followed by Bayan Hameed in third place and with a better tie-break than Fatima Jawad, who finished fourth. Maleeha Hussain was fifth. 

In the juniors category, Canadian Adnan Habib managed to keep the lead with a score of five points, while the experienced Arpit Hamirwasia slew down after leading the early stage of the competition and finished in second. 

Third Briton Easan G and Indian Anvay T shared third place with four points each. Three players shared places fifth through seventh, including Mahmood Abdulla, Salman Al Mahmood and Abishek Ganesan. The awarding took place directly after the last game. Bahrain Mind Sports Association (BMSA) president Hassan Bukhamas was present. 

Bukhamas also thanked the organising committee and Golden Tulip general manager Abdulraheem Al Sayed and the staff for the great effort in bringing the event to success. The tournament was organised by the BMSA with the support of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and Asian Chess Federation. Players came from India, the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Nepal, the UK, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and hosts Bahrain. Four Fide masters and one Candidate master, in addition to many internationally rated players made this event such a unique opportunity for the local players to try their skills and gain some ELO points. (Gulf Daily News)

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog 
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel