Dubai, UAE: Romania’s International Master (IM) Irina Bulmaga has built a full-point lead following an unbeaten run of three wins and a draw after four rounds in the 2nd Dubai Closed Tournament organised by the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.
UAE national team player Saeed Ishaq trails at solo second place with 2.5 points in the six-player round robin event. Bulmaga defeated the Philippines’ Fide Master (FM) Julius De Ramos in the fourth round, while Ishaq outplayed Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Adriana Nikolova of Bulgaria.
The loss dropped Nikolova to joint third place with IM Julijan Plenca of Croatia with two points each. Plenca won his fourth-round match against Bulgaria’s IM Nanko Dobrev, who brings up the rear end of the standings along with De Ramos with one point apiece.
The event, played under the standard time control of one hour and 30 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move to complete a game, pits six players from five countries in a single round robin format.
“We have been organising round robin events as part of our program to provide our players valuable tournament experience,” said Yahya Mohammad, Development and Planning Manager of Dubai Chess Club.
“We have invited five strong masters from different countries to compete against our own Saeed Ishaq, who recently signed a contract with the club. Such events are integral in the continued development of our key players and we are pleased that Ishaq has responded with a solid performance so far in the tournament.”
