The inaugural Fujairah Global 2025 tournament began with a sensational upset as India’s reigning World Junior Champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh, defeated top seed and recent Asian Individual silver medalist, compatriot GM Nihal Sarin.
Playing Black in the Sicilian, Nihal soon found himself under mounting pressure. Limited with space, his pieces struggled to find activity. On move 29, his bishop became trapped near Pranav’s king, shifting the balance decisively. Although Nihal was given a chance to bounce back after Pranav’s slip on move 45, he missed this opportunity, ultimately resigning after a long 71-move battle.
For Nihal, who is close to the 2700 rating mark, the loss was a major setback, and he appeared visibly dejected after the game. Just last week, Nihal defeated Pranav at the Chennai Grandmasters, but this time Pranav took sweet revenge by leveling the score.
Opening Ceremony & Participation
Yesterday, the city of Fujairah, UAE, hosted the opening and the first round of the 1st Fujairah Global Chess Championship 2025.
With 71 countries and over 530 participants across three sections — Superstars with 44 players, Masters with 239 players, and Open with 250 players — the championship promises top-level action filled with excitement and unexpected results throughout.
Special guests from the UAE Chess Federation, Fujairah Chess & Culture Club, and the Qatar Chess Federation attended the opening, reaffirming international support for the growth of chess in the UAE and underlining the global importance of the event.
Dr. Abdullah Ali Al Barak T, President of the Fujairah Chess & Culture Club, and Mohamed Al-Mudahka, President of the Qatar Chess Federation, made the first ceremonial moves to officially launch the competition in all three sections.
The UAE Chess Federation extended its gratitude to all partners and organizations that made the tournament possible — especially the sponsors, whose support has been instrumental in organizing such a grand event.
Fans can follow the games live on the Fujairah Chess and ChessBase India Hindi YouTube channels, as well as track results on Chess-Results.
Surprises on Day 1
The Superstars event features 44 elite players with an impressive average rating of 2606. The opening round saw several big surprises:
- Second seed GM Raunak Sadhwani was held to a draw by FIDE’s GM Aleksey Grebnev.
- Third seed GM Amin Tabatabaei suffered a shock defeat against Romanian GM Alexander Motylev (pictured below).
- India’s GM S L Narayanan drew with USA’s GM Sam Shankland.
- GM Pranav Anand held UAE’s top star, GM Salem Saleh.
- GM Pranesh M split the point with Mexico’s GM Jose Martinez Alcantara
Meanwhile, Hungary’s GM Sanan Sjugirov defeated compatriot GM Adam Kozak to start with a full point. The first-round upsets were so striking that ninth seed Sjugirov now finds himself on Board 1 for Round 2, 12th seed Cheparinov – on Board 2, and 18th seed Abhimanyu Mishra – on Board 3. In fact, among the top 18 players, as many as 15 either lost or were held to draws — a clear indication of how fiercely competitive this section is.
The tournament boasts a total prize fund of US$ 125,000, with US$ 80,000 allotted to the Superstars section, US$ 30,000 to the Masters (2200–2599), and US$ 15,000 to the Open (<2200). The top three prizes in the Superstars are $23,000, $13,000, and $9,000 respectively.
Masters section
The Masters is itself a very strong Grandmaster tournament. On the top board, USA’s GM Vladimir Akopian received a walkover to get himself on the scoreboard.
On Board 2, India’s reigning National Champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman, started his campaign with a win against compatriot FM Garv Gaur. On Board 3, Turkey’s GM Sanal Vahap defeated India’s Namitbir Singh Walia to secure his first victory.
The Masters section has attracted 202 players, while the Open section has nearly 290 participants. Altogether, the three categories feature 533 players from 71 countries, making Fujairah Global a truly international celebration of chess.
Written by Pavel Dvorkovich & Niklesh Jain
Photos: Aditya Sur Roy, Anna Shtourman and IA Vivek Sohani
Photo gallery: flickr.com/photos/203288106@N04/albums/
Broadcast: youtube.com/watch?v=k6u0lv3DjrU
Results are available HERE