(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Doha: Russian World No.45 Andrey Esipenko will face India's pre-tournament favourite Arjun Erigaisi for the Qatar Masters Open 2024 title today.
Esipenko captured the sole lead in the standings with seven points, while India's Erigaisi hung on to the second spot with 6.5 points with victories on the penultimate round at Aspire Zone Hall yesterday.
The winner of the face-off today will decide the champion of the prestigious event, hosted by the Qatar Chess Association.
Playing with white pieces on the first board, the 22-year-old Esipendo, competing under the FIDE flag, defeated Armenia's Shant Sargsyan for his sixth win of the tournament, while top seed Erigaisi beat compatriot Murali Karthikeyan to secure second place, eliminating the latter from the title race.
Speaking after the crucial win, Erigaisi expressed his determination to secure the title despite the stiff competition, and noted the unpredictable nature of the final round due to the narrow point margins among the top six players.
Behind Erigaisi, there are four players who have collected six points each, namely UAE's Saleh Abdulrahman Salem, Uzbekistan's World No.6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov and India's Leon Luke Mendonca as well as Sargsyan.
Abdusattorov, the runner-up in last year's tournament, defeated Russia's David Paravyan to bring his score to 6 points, while the defending champion Nodirbek Yakubboev dropped out of the title race after drawing against Iran's Pouya Idani.
UAE's Abdulrahman, the top-ranked Arab player, beat Uzbekistan's Muhiddin Madaminov to maintain his chances in the title race, while Italy's Lorenzo Lodici (seeded 26th) lost to India's Mendonca.
Uzbekistan's Shamsiddin Vokhidov secured a victory over China's Zhang Yu, raising his score to 5.5 points.
Qatar's International Master Husain Aziz lost to Azerbaijan's Gunay Mammadzada (seeded 61st) as he was left with 3.5 points. Aziz had notable wins in earlier rounds against Poland's Oliwia Kiolbasa and India's Mahendru Jaiveer, but his recent losses against Cuba's Luis Ernesto Quesada and Abdusattorov dampened the Qatar's player's hopes.
Today's ninth and final round, starting at 12 noon, will determine the tournament winner.
In the Qatar Masters Open B Tournament which is run simultaneously, Libya's Yousef Alhassadi is in the lead with 7.5 points, followed by Uzbek Samandar Shermuhammadov (7 points), China's Mingren Hong (6.5) and Algeria's Anis Mohamed Achour (6.5).
Yesterday, Qatar's Ibrahim Al Janahi defeated India's Shailaja Srinivasan Sriram while Mohamad Firdaus Erfan beat UAE's Khamis Essa Saqar. Fahad Al Mansouri prevailed over Neavin Raghunathan while Abdulrahman Al Atas overcame a challenge from Sudharsanan Krish.
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