The Polgar Challenge, the first event of the new $100,000 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, got underway today with a series of fighting games that ended in a three-way tie for the lead.
Top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov grabbed the first win of the five-month tour with a convincing victory over Bulgarian teen Nurgyul Salimova. Abdusattorov, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, famously beat two Grandmasters in a tournament when aged only nine.
The ambitious 16-year-old aims to be World Champion one day and showed his class by finishing joint-top of the table on day one of four after scoring an unbeaten 4/5. Abdusattorov shares the lead with India's exciting prodigy R Praggnanandhaa and the youngest International Master in American history, 14-year-old Christopher Yoo.
Round 1 finished with eight decisive outcomes and only two draws. Round 2 followed the pattern with only two more draws. In total, there were only 14 draws in 50 games played over the first five rounds – a stat that demonstrated the fighting chess on display.
The 20 young talents on the show are divided into two teams, Team Kramnik and Team Polgar. The overall day 1 score is 25-25.
Going into the final round of the day China's Lei Tingjie was the leader after beating America's top-ranked female player, 17-year-old Carissa Yip. However, Lei was caught by Abdusattorov after a final-round loss to Praggnanandhaa that allowed both of them to leap-frog her.
The young stars of chess represent 12 nations and are competing for a prize pot totalling $100,000 and places on the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. They are receiving coaching and support from teams of coaches, which include world champions and legends of the game.
The Polgar Challenge, named after Judit Polgar, is the first of four tournaments before a tour final in September organised by the Play Magnus Group.
The team that wins the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour overall will also get a trip to this year’s World Chess Championship in Dubai.
For further information, please contact:
Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tour
leon@chessable.com
+44 7786 078 770
About the Tour:
Fronted by the strongest female player of all time, Judit Polgar, and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour will run alongside the hugely popular Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
The Tour is organised by the Play Magnus Group and is designed to tackle head-on the lack of female role models competing in top events and promote emerging talent. More information here.
Team Kramnik:
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (aged, 16, Uzbekistan); Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (15, India); Dinara Saduakassova (24, Kazakhstan); Jonas Bjerre (16, Denmark); Leon Mendonca (15, India); Lei Tingjie (24, China); Christopher Yoo (14, United States); Olga Badelka (18, Belarus); Carissa Yip (17, United States); Nurgyul Salimova (17, Bulgaria)
Team Polgar:
Nihal Sarin (aged 16, India); Awonder Liang (17, United States); Vincent Keymer (16, Germany); Gukesh D (14, India); Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (24, Iran); Volodar Murzin (14, Russia); Polina Shuvalova (20, Russia); Zhansaya Abdumalik (21, Kazakhstan); Jiner Zhu (18, China); Gunay Mammadzada (20, Azerbaijan)
