The Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club (ACMG1) team of GMs Vladislav Artemiev and Volodar Murzin emerged victorious at the UAE Cup Rapid Chess Team Championship held over the weekend from March 15-16, 2025 at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Dubai, UAE.
A record 116 teams with players representing 33 countries participated in the 9-round Swiss tournament with rapid time control of ten minutes plus two second increments per move. Each team was composed of two players with fourteen top ranked GMs and ten IM battling for the title. Prizes were sponsored by National Paint and Sidrat Alsalwa Beauty Centre. A large number of fans were in the venue from 9:30pm to midnight following the action live.
The champions, Al Ain team, won seven matches and drew two, scoring 16 points. Artemiev, 27, achieved a perfect score of 9 out of 9 while the reigning World Rapid Chess Champion, Murzin, 19, won seven and lost two games. ACMG1 team won the top prize of AED 12,000 out of a total AED 40,000 prize pool.
Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club, the reigning FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team champions, are set to defend their title at the third edition of this event in London, scheduled for June 10-16, 2025.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings.
The Shams team of GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova and IM Mokhliss El Adnani of Morocco finished second place with 15 match points and took a prize of AED 8,000. Iordachescu registered a 7-2-1 win-draw-loss score while El Adnani won five, drew two and lost two games.
The Sharjah team of GM Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE and GM Bassem Amiin of Egypt finished third netting 14 match-points and received AED 6,000 for their efforts. Salem scored six wins and suffered three losses while Amin notched 7 wins, one draw and one loss. The Sharjah team prevailed in the tie break over Al Ain Chess and Mind Games ACMG2 and Signature Club Master with similar 14 match points apiece.
ACMG2 was composed of GMs Danil Dubov (second from right) and Parham Maghsoodloo (second from left). Dubov, known for his bold attacking style, won seven games but lost to Salem and Artemiev. At left is Tournament Director IA Abdulrahim Mahdi.
Playing for Signature Club Master were GM Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan and GM Asghar Golizadeh of Iran.
Rounding up the top ten teams are We Chess, Sharjah Coaches, Al Ain ACMG3, EKCC1 and Signature Club Nexus finishing with 13 match points each. Fourth to tenth places received AED 2,500, AED 2,000, AED 1,700, AED 1,300, AED 1,100, AED 1,000 and AED 900, respectively.
Special awards were also presented at the event. Gold medal for the greatest number of teams went to Chess Lab Academy as Participating Chess Club/Academy, silver to Chess Signature Academy, and bronze to Master Move Academy.
Ajman Twins won Best Family Team, Tatar Ladies became Best Women’s Team, UAE Ladies won best Emirati Women’s Team, AlQasimia University 1 won Best Emirati Men’s Team, Night Riders won Best Boys’ Team Under 14, The Twins won Best Girls’ Team Under 14 and DCPD won Best Special Needs Team.
UAE Chess Federation president Taryam Matar Taryam graced the closing ceremonies to award prizes together with Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club CEO Hisham Al Taher.
IA Abdulrahim Mahdi (UAE) served as a tournament director. CA Majed Al Abduli (UAE) with a team of eight arbiters officiated the event, while Mohamed Abdull Chief Arbier was a technical director.
Photos: Rayjan Solano
Official website: https://asianchess.com/