Under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the 21st Sharjah International Chess Championship will start today (Sunday), at 10:30 pm, at the headquarters of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club in Juraina, Sharjah, with the participation of players from 24 countries.

Besides hosts UAE, players from Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Morocco, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Ukraine, France, Germany, Greece, India, Philippines, Iran, Bangladesh, Armenia and Cuba will participate in the six-day long event.

Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, said: “Sharjah International Chess Championship has always been a cultural and sporting extravaganza. Alongside the sporting competitions among players who represent their nations, it acts as a platform for cultural exchange. We have succeeded under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to develop the chess sport to the international levels”.

Al Mualla added: “Organizing this championship during the holy month of Ramadan is a well-timed, providing a unique networking opportunity for players and enthusiasts of this captivating mind sport”. 

Dr. Sarhan Hassan Al Muaini, Head of the Organizing Committee, said that the OC has completed all the preparations for this event. “The players start to arrive in Holiday Inn International - the official accommodation of the delegations. Invitations were sent to sport leaders, and to members of the boards of the sporting clubs, federations and councils to attend the opening ceremony scheduled at 10:30 pm, June 11.  

Wahib Jafar Al Zarouni, Championship Director, said that this year the tournament will be the strongest in terms of technical level, compared to the previous editions, with the participation of 14 grandmasters whose rates are higher than the participants of last years. Uzbekistani grandmasters Alexei Barsov and Marat Doxmiev were the first players to arrive to the UAE. This year 24 countries have confirmed their participation in the competitions. 

Championship system: 
Al Zarouni revealed that the championship will be a Swiss-system tournament, consists of 9 rounds. Each player will have 15 minutes, plus 10 seconds additional time per move. 

A number of international masters and grandmasters will participate in the championship, including GM Salem Abdul Rahman (UAE), GMs Bassim Amin and Ahmed Adeli (Egypt) GM Alexei Barsov (Uzbekistan), GM Dimitri Komarov (Ukraine), GM Gadir Guseinov (Azerbaijan), GM Aleksander Mista and GM Bartlomiej Heberla (Poland), GM Igors Rausis (Czech Republic), GM Efsratios Grivas (Greece), IM Mehrshad Sharif (France), IM Sami Safarini (Jordan) and IM Kamal Al Najili (Tunisa).

The Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club has formed the organising committee of the championship comprising Dr Muaini, Wahib Jafar Al Zarouni, who will serve as championship director, Sultan Ali Al Tahir as chief of arbitrators, Rajae Noman Al Sousi, general coordinator, and Ali Saeed Al Jalaf, who will function as financial director.

The championship arbitrators are the International Arbitrators Elias Khairallah (Lebanon), Husan Turdialiev (Uzbekistan), Hisham Al Adhami (Palestine), Ihsan Jawad (Jordan) and Abdulqadir Raes and Adib Zihrawi (Syria). 

The Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club will also host a Blitz Championship on the sidelines of the tournament. Sharjah Blitz Chess Championship will be played through seven rounds on Thursday and Friday, June 16 and 17. The organizing committee has allocated cash prizes for winners of the Blitz Chess Championship.

Awards: 
A total of $25000 cash prizes will be distributed ($10.000 for the rapid chess tournament, $5000 for blitz championship and $10.000 for age groups). Trophies, medals and certificates will be distributed. First place winner will receive a cash prize of $2000.