GM Aleksey Grebnev wins Dubai Open on tiebreak

Aleksey Grebnev won this year’s Dubai Open on tiebreak. French Grandmaster Alan Pichot scored the same number of points but finished second. Rating favorite Nihal Sarin had to settle for sixth place after losing to Ivan Zemlyanskii in the seventh round. | Photos: Dubai Chess & Culture Club The Dubai Chess & Culture Club held its traditional Dubai Open from May 27 to June 5 at its venue, with the tournament played in two rating categories. The A-Open featured 83 players, almost all of them titleholders. Once again, India sent the largest contingent, with 33 participants. The top seed, Nihal Sarin (Elo 2693), also came from India. He started strongly with 3.5 points from the first four rounds but then drew his games in rounds five and six. In round seven, Nihal lost to Ivan Zemlyanskii, falling further behind the tournament leaders and dropping to ninth place. After seven rounds, Aleksey Grebnev—playing under the FIDE flag—led the field with six points, having scored five wins and two draws. He was followed by fellow Russian Ivan Zemlyanskii. In the final two rounds, Grebnev drew both games, allowing Alan Pichot—who won his last two games—to catch up on points. Thanks to his better tiebreak, however, the tournament victory went to Grebnev. Nihal Sarin scored 1.5 points in the final two rounds, but it was only enough for sixth place. Six women also took part in the tournament. Hungary’s Zsoka Gaal and India’s Ravi Rakshitta each scored 3.5 points, while Eline Roebers finished with three points.