The first Dubai Police Global Chess Challenge took place in Dubai from May 4–12, with GM Pranav V emerging victorious in the tough Masters division. In a tiebreak, with seven points apiece, the 17-year-old grandmaster from Bangalore defeated GM Aravindh Chithambaram to take home the trophy and $16,000.
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk and GM Hans Niemann were among the six players who had an identical score of 6.5 points, which placed GM Pranesh M third on the tiebreak.
The Masters competition was fiercely contested to the conclusion. GM Pranav and Aravindh were the only players with victories on Sunday out of the five players with six points entering the championship round. In the end, GM Pranav, who finished third, beat one of his numerous fellow Indian grandmasters, who was 17 years old at the time (he was ranked 75 in 2022!). That the Center Game, an antiquated opener enjoying a slight renaissance, was one example of this was pleasing.
Aravindh, a 24-year-old player from Thirunagar, Tamil Nadu, is already quite experienced having won consecutive national titles in 2018 and 2019. With the black pieces, he defeated the formidable German grandmaster Alexander Donchenko by employing an unconventional opening that appeared to be played for a victory. After a perplexing move 15 by Donchenko, who would subsequently lose many opportunities to draw the game, Black was superior.
In an amazing match, the 55-year-old great Ivanchuk defeated the number one seed in the championship round, demonstrating his unwavering class. He took an early theoretical break while playing the Najdorf/Scheveningen in “Kasparov-style,” and he went on to outplay his formidable opponent in the middle and endgame.
Niemann, the champion of the Grenke Open, was a pawn ahead and finally had to settle for a draw in the last round, but he still had opportunities to finish in joint first place. He emerged victorious in round eight of a 6.Rg1 Najdorf, using the black pieces.
With a $125,000 prize pool, the Dubai Police Global Chess Challenge was held in the Dubai Police Officers Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from May 4 to 12. There were nine rounds of the Masters, the major event. Each player had 90 minutes to complete every move, with an additional 30 seconds added at the end of each round.