Bologan bags two titles in Ibri, six Omanis gain rating points

Muscat: Moldovan Grandmaster Viktor Bologan overcame stiff competition to clinch both the titles on offer at Al Dhahira Chess Championships organised by Oman Chess Committee in Ibri recently.
While Bologan bagged both blitz and rapid crowns, the Omanis also benefited from the inaugural championships with as many as six local players gaining FIDE international ratings for the first time.
The championships, which saw participation of 86 players in blitz and 70 in rapid, attracted three Grandmasters including Viktor Bologan (2615 rating), Qatar’s Zhu Chen (2439) and Frenchman Hicham Hamdouchi (2577).
In the nine-round blitz competition, Bologan completed his engagements with 8.5 points and took the top honours beating Zhu Chen (8 points) by half a point.
Hicham settled for third place after beating Syrian Mohamad Imadaldein Zamrik (1608) on tie break after both players finished on seven points each.
In the rapid competition, also a nine-round affair, Bologan (2546) won the title with 8.5 points ahead of Hicham (2607), who finished with eight points.
Bahrain’s FIDE Master Husain Ayyad (2247) and Syria’s Hasan Abtini (2066) ended with seven points each but the former was declared the winner of the third place after applying the tie break method.
Ratings for Omanis
Among the Omanis who gained from their participation in the championships are Amer Al Ghafri, Adnan Mohammed Al Jahwari and Said Salim Al Kathiri in the blitz category and Mohammed Sultan Al Shabibi, Said Al Mazroui and Issa Al Shabibi - all are set to receive their first rating points when the next list is released by the FIDE.
Al Ghafri will get 1967 points, Al Jahwari 1613, Al Kathiri 1689 in their category while Al Mazroui will get 1620 points, Isa Al Shabibi 1556 and Mohammed Al Shabibi 1763.
Shaham bin Rashid bin Saif Al Shouhomi, member of Majlis A’Shura from wilyat of Ibri, presided over the closing ceremony and handed over the prizes.
In the blitz category, Oman Club’s Emad Abdulkarim Al Balushi was declared the best Omani player in the under-18 category and his club mate Hood Mohammed Al Hooti was adjudged the best Omani player of the championship.
In the rapid event, Seeb Club’s Ahmed bin Khalid Al Hadid was best Omani junior player and Ibri Club’s Said bin Mohammed Al Mazroui best Omani under-18 player.
UAE’s International Arbitrator Mahdi Abdulrahim presented a special gift to Muscat-based Indian Mezban Anwar the youngest player to take part in the championships.