Sunday saw the end of the excellently organized Open Tournament in Menorca. In the final spurt, Arjun Erigaisi secured tournament victory thanks to his superior tiebreak score. With this triumph, Arjun climbed to number seven in the live ratings list. Kirill Alekseenko and Maksim Chigaev grabbed second and third place, respectively. | Photos: ChessBase India, Menorca Open
The Jeddah Youth Chess Festival was held from 24 to 30 January in this Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia. It was a celebration of youth, chess and friendship. In the Young Masters tournament, a 10-players single round-robin for rising stars aged 18 or younger, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus from Turkey finished first with 6½ points. Volodar Murzin (FIDE), Raunak Sadhwani (India) and Andy Woodward (United States) obtained 6 points each.
Two tournaments focused on attracting the strongest promising talents in the world are devised, organised and sponsored by Chokri Saidi, an entrepreneur in love with chess, arts, travel, philosophy, psychology and spirituality. In an interview conducted by Diana Mihajlova, the chess enthusiast asserted: “I like to believe that God invented chess”
The Jeddah Youth Chess Festival was held from 24 to 30 January in this Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia. It was a celebration of youth, chess and friendship while soaking the culture and hospitality of a welcoming nation that is opening its doors and hearts to chess and all sports. Diana Mihajlova reports.
13-year-old Andy Woodward earned his third and final GM norm in Saudi Arabia with his 6/9 performance at the Jeddah Chess Festival’s Young Masters invitational Round Robin. Woodward finished in a three-way tie for second place, a half-point behind IM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (who beat Woodward in the first round).