Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Aug 21 2005
Ashot emerges sole leader in Abu Dhabi Chess Festival
By A Correspondent
21 August 2005
ABU DHABI – Grandmasters Sergey Volkov of Russia and Ghaem Maghami
Ehsan of Iran were the latest seeds to tumble as the Abu Dhabi Chess
Festival reached its crucial phase at the Khalidya Palace Hotel here
on Friday.
Ashot defeated Grandmater Ghaem Maghami Ehsan in a marathon battle
lasting 72 moves in a Benko Gambit.
Grandmaster Anastasian Ashot of Armenia emerged as the sole leader
with 4.5 points in the Masters section at the end of the fifth round.
Russian Grandmasters Kobalia Mikhail, Potkin Vladimir, Bocharov Dmitry,
Chernyshov Konstantin and Ukraine Grandmaster Goloshchapov Alexander
shared the second spot with 4 points.
Among the UAE players, Fide master Ahmed Ishaq caused a mild flutter
by defeating Bogza Adina-Maria, while Faisal Abdullah managed a draw
against India’s Muralidharan. Marwan Abdul Wahab and Ibrahim Mohammed
Khouri drew their games against teammates Mansour Abbas and Salem
A.R. Saleh respectively.
In the children’s section, Bajarani Ulvi of Azerbaijan, Mohammed
Hamza Abdul Karim of UAE and Dhruv Hingorani of India extended their
winning streak by securing four games in a row.
Hussain Khouri, manager of the festival, expressed his satisfaction
with the performances of all the players. He said: “We invited eight
Grandmasters this time while invitations were also sent to young and
promising players. We look for innovation every year and we are hoping
to introcduce a women’s masters section from next year.”
The chief arbiter Zughair Ahmad said: “The players have adapted well
to the faster time controls, and the quality of grandmaster games
has improved.”