Wang Hao Awesome In Al Ain
With a score of 8.0/9 Wang Hao became the convincing winner of the Al Ain Chess Classic in the United Arab Emirates. The Chinese player finished 1.5 points ahead of the pack.
Wang Hao victorious in Al Ain. | Photo WGM Emkhtuul Altan Ulzii courtesy of the Al Ain Chess Classic.
The Chess Classic was held for the fourth time in the Garden City located 120km southeast of Dubai. It took place 23-30 December in the Hili Rayhaan by Rotana Hotel in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
This year 127 players participated from 31 federations, including 52 GMs, 6 WGMs and 17 IMs. The top seeds were Yuriy Kryvoruchko (UKR, 2711), Wang Hao (CHN, 2707), Igor Kovalenko (LAT, 2680), Alexander Areshchenko (UKR, 2677) and Alexei Shirov (LAT, 2676).
There's a link with our previous report, because last year this tournament was won by Gaioz Nigalidze. This year the former Chinese number one (now number eight) Wang Hao emerged victorious.
Five rounds into the tournament Wang was the only player to start with a perfect score. Let's start this report with a puzzle: how did he beat Indian Babu Lalith in round five?
Alexei Shirov was the first to “stop” Wang; the two drew their game in round six. But the Chinese player duly continued winning the next day.
In a game where Georgian grandmaster Mikheil Mchedlishvili was doing more than fine, he grabbed a poisoned pawn just before the time control.
Wang secured first place with a round to spare as he also won in round eight. He defeated another strong Indian grandmaster: Abhijeet Gupta. Again, the material distribution of BN-R was seen, but this time the Chinese player had the two minor pieces.
He won a complicated endgame that might have been holdable for Black.
Wang Hao vs Abhijeet Gupta. | Photo WGM Emkhtuul
Altan Ulzii courtesy of the Al Ain Chess Classic.
The prize fund was $57,000; Wang took home a first prize of $13,000. No less than nine players tied for second place: GMs Kryvoruchko, Shirov, Pashikian, Pantsulaia, Areshchenko, Oleksiyenko, Kravtsiv, Efimenko and Hovhannisyan.
Al Ain Chess Classic 2015 | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Rk. | SNo | Rtg | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | rtg+/- |
| 1 | 2 | GM | Wang Hao | CHN | 2707 | 8 | 41,5 | 40,25 | 21,8 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Shirov Alexei | LAT | 2676 | 6,5 | 44,5 | 34,75 | 10,9 |
| 3 | 21 | GM | Pashikian Arman | ARM | 2606 | 6,5 | 42,5 | 33 | 15,2 |
| 4 | 24 | GM | Pantsulaia Levan | GEO | 2598 | 6,5 | 41,5 | 31 | 15,2 |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Kryvoruchko Yuriy | UKR | 2711 | 6,5 | 40,5 | 34 | 0,4 |
| 6 | 4 | GM | Areshchenko Alexander | UKR | 2677 | 6,5 | 39,5 | 32,5 | 4,3 |
| 7 | 17 | GM | Oleksiyenko Mykhaylo | UKR | 2616 | 6,5 | 38 | 33,25 | 1,8 |
| 8 | 16 | GM | Kravtsiv Martyn | UKR | 2623 | 6,5 | 37,5 | 32,5 | 3,8 |
| 9 | 15 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | ARM | 2624 | 6,5 | 37 | 34,25 | 5,6 |
| 10 | 9 | GM | Efimenko Zahar | UKR | 2647 | 6,5 | 37 | 29,75 | 6,7 |
| 11 | 13 | GM | Mchedlishvili Mikheil | GEO | 2635 | 6 | 42,5 | 31,75 | 4,4 |
| 12 | 19 | GM | Onischuk Vladimir | UKR | 2612 | 6 | 40,5 | 31 | 1,6 |
| 13 | 12 | GM | Rakhmanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2640 | 6 | 39,5 | 29 | 2,3 |
| 14 | 26 | GM | Andriasian Zaven | ARM | 2594 | 6 | 39 | 29,25 | 5,4 |
| 15 | 8 | GM | Motylev Alexander | RUS | 2653 | 6 | 38 | 28,5 | -1,2 |
| 16 | 7 | GM | Zhigalko Sergei | BLR | 2655 | 6 | 38 | 27,5 | 0,3 |
| 17 | 25 | GM | Azarov Sergei | BLR | 2595 | 6 | 37 | 26,75 | 0,5 |
| 18 | 30 | GM | Kulaots Kaido | EST | 2574 | 6 | 35,5 | 26,75 | 3 |
| 19 | 10 | GM | Anton Guijarro David | ESP | 2640 | 6 | 33,5 | 26,75 | -8,3 |
| 20 | 37 | GM | Zeng Chongsheng | CHN | 2530 | 5,5 | 44,5 | 29,5 | 15,7 |
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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