Vladimir Fedoseev (Russia) and A.R. Saleh Salem (UAE) came as the winners of rapid and blitz tournaments of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Cup. The event organized by Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Dubai was held in honour of the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the former Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry.

The Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Cup took place from 6–9 December 2021 at the Expo 2020 Dubai Exhibition Centre. During the first three days of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Cup, players compete in the nine-round Swiss System tournament with 15 minutes for the entire game, plus a 10-second increment starting from move one. On Thursday, December 09, 11 rounds of blitz event  (3 min + 2 sec/move) were played.

A total of 24 invited grandmasters battled for a $30,000 prize fund at the venue of the world’s most significant events taking place this year: the FIDE World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi and the Expo 2020 in Dubai.

After six rounds of play in the rapid event, Hans Moke Niemann (USA) and Vladimir Fedoseev (pictured above) were sharing first place with five points each. The leaders clashed in Round 7: the Russian prevailed over the American in a long, gruelling ending and pulled away. Despite drawing his last two games, Fedoseev comfortably took clear first, a full point ahead of Denis Kadric, Nieman and Rinat Jumabayev, who tied for the second position in the final standings.  

Final standings rapid:

The blitz event, featuring the same lineup, was a very close race. It all came down to the wire in the final, eleventh round, to which A.R. Saleh Salem (pictured below) and Bassem Amin (EGY) were heading as joint leaders with 7½ points each. Much to the delight of local fans, Salem beat Mikheil Mchedlishvili and came out on top as his main rival managed only a draw in a game with Denis Kadric. Nihal Sarin caught up with Amin and tied for second place after defeating Rinat Jumabayev.

Final standings blitz:

Photo: Eric Rosen