140 chess whiz kids from 18 countries to meet in Dubai

Dubai will play host to some 140 youth players from 18 countries as the 15th Dubai Juniors Chess Tournament - Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup rolls off on Wednesday at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club. 

Players from the UAE and India have sent the biggest number of participants with 73 and 29 players, respectively, while other participants have come from as far as Canada and the US and Thailand and the Philippines in Southeast Asia.

Fide Masters (FM) Sadhwani Raunak, currently one of the fast-rising prodigies from India, and Ahmad Ahmadzada of Azerbaijan are the two highest-rated players of the tournament with World Chess Federation (Fide) ratings of 2409 and 2321, respectively.

Essam Hamad (1793) spearheads the local contingent as the seventh-seed and highest-rated Emirati.

Mohammed Al Husseini, the club's executive director and general coordinator of the tournament, led a briefing Tuesday morning with the players, coaches and guardians.

A technical meeting was also conducted by tournament director Saeed Yousuf.

No mobile phones

According to the organisers, players will not be allowed to use mobile phones or electronic devices while their games are in progress — such a regulation has been in place in international tournaments as part of anti-cheating measures.

The nine-round tournament is open to players aged 14 and under.

Wednesday’s opening round will start at 6pm at the Shaikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Hall of the club.

A total cash purse of of $10,000 will be up for grabs with the top 10 finishers taking home cash prizes, along with the top UAE players.