Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the 29th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival is set to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, until 25th August at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Abu Dhabi, with a total prize fund of AED 300,000.
The festival is held under the supervision of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and organised and conducted by the Abu Dhabi Chess and Mental Games Club. The competitions are divided into 14 different championships commensurate with the levels and age groups of the participants, led by the Master’s Championship.
Participating in the festival are the top seeded Dommaraju Gukesh, and Arjun Erigaisi, the defending champion, and the third seeded Vladislav Artemiev.
The local challenge will be spearheaded by the Emirati champion Salem Abdul Rahman, who has won the greatest number of individual chess tournaments in the UAE since 1991.
The UAE’s Imran Al Hosani, winner of the West Asian Youth Championship, the Arab Youth Championship, the UAE Men’s Championship, and the President’s Cup, will also participate in the event.
The Referees Committee in the tournament is chaired by Mahdi Abdel Rahim, Chairman of the Referees Committee of the International Chess Federation, and a group of Emirati international referees, including Majid Al Abdouli, Salman Al Taher, Maryam Jihad, Al Arabi Bin Yahya from Algeria, Mehrdad Pahlawanzadeh, Bogdan Garbia, Maha Mahmoud, and Marlon Conan.
Hussein Abdullah Al Khoury, Chairman of both the Board of Directors of the Club and the Higher Organising Committee, confirmed that the festival is one of the most important sporting events on the international chess calendar. “It enters its 29th year in this session, having gained international attention befitting Abu Dhabi’s expertise in organising sports tournaments on such a grand scale.”
He said, “What we witnessed through our position in the organising committee is a great demand for participation in the festival from the first-class players in the world this year. It makes us firmly convinced that we are on the right track, and it is expected that the number of participants will exceed 1,600 male and female players from 67 different nationalities across 14 different tournaments.”
Al Khoury praised the vision of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and its prominent supportive role in organising international sporting events.
Aref Hamad Al Awani, Secretary-General of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, emphasised the wise leadership’s interest in supporting all sports and advancing its path towards success.
He emphasised this as the main impetus for Abu Dhabi hosting and organising several major events and tournaments, including Chess.
“We at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council renew our support for this important and prominent annual event on the agenda of sporting events hosted by the capital, Abu Dhabi, and are proud of its great global value, as it has become the focus of attention of international players from all over the world. We wish success to all,” he added.
