Saturday / 26 / Shaban / 1444 AH – 01:17 – Saturday 18 March 2023 01:17
Today, Friday, the chess tournament opened in Riyadh City Boulevard, and its competitions will continue for two days, with the participation of more than 100 male and female players from various Arab countries. The tournament is organized by the General Entertainment Authority in coordination with the Saudi Chess Federation. The first day of the tournament included five rounds that the contestants played in the midst of competition and high concentration, relying on their skills and experience to collect the points of the first stage in the tournament, and there are four rounds left for the competitors to play tomorrow in the second stage, then the winners are determined according to the arrangement of the first three places with the highest points, according to the final ranking. to break even. The opening ceremony of the chess tournament began by Dr. Abdullah Al-Wahshi, President of the Saudi Chess Federation and CEO of the Asian Chess Federation, and after the first five rounds competitions, Ahmed Adly from Egypt and Emirati Saleh Salem, who ranks 59th in the world, participate in achieving first place without losing. The third is the Egyptian Bassem Amin, who ranks 44th in the world. The prizes for the chess tournament are among the largest prizes in the Middle East, with a total of about 800,000 Saudi riyals, where the first winner of the tournament is given a cash prize of 300,000 riyals, while the second winner gets a prize of 200,000 riyals, and the third winner gets an amount of 100,000. Real, and cash prizes will be distributed up to the tenth place. The contestants participating in the tournament have achieved international levels in the game of chess through several other tournaments, including: Qatari Muhammad Al-Madhahka, who holds the title of Grand Master (GM), and Moroccan Muhammad Tayseer, who holds the title of International Professor ‘IM’, in addition to the Jordanian player Bushra Al-Shuaibi, who holds the title of Grand Master (GM). The title of International Professor ‘WIM’, and the Saudi Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, who achieved the title of Professor Candidate ‘CM’. The youngest competitor and chess player at the age of 9 years, the Saudi Saleh Al-Bulayhi, also participates in the tournament.