(MENAFN- Gulf Times) World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway kept his reputation of never losing a play-off game intact yesterday, when he defeated defending champion Yu Yangyi of china in blitz playoff games to claim the Qatar Masters, the biggest-ever open tournament.
The 25-year-old Carlsen drew with former world champion Vladimir Kramnik in the final round game, while Yangyi defeated US-based Filipino GM Wesley So to finish tied for the first spot, as the pair took the fight to a playoff.
Yangyi failed to repeat his feat of 2014, when he magically won the title after trailing half a point before the last round as the Carlsen dominated the blitz playoff, winning two straight games and the winner's purse of $27,000.
"I am happy with the way year ended. It was a tough tournament, especially last four or five rounds were very competitive," the Carlsen said. "The playoff is always thrilling. It was never easy against Yangyi. I was just concentrating to keep my moves right," the World No 1 added.
Carlsen had won the London Classic and the three-tournament Grand Tour, coming from behind in the final round and in a tie-break earlier this month.
The Qatar Open - the strongest ever of its kind € attracted 77 grandmasters, while Carslen was the first reigning world champion to compete in such an event since Boris Spassky at Vancouver 1971. The tournament started with a massive shock, as Carlsen was held to a history-making draw in the opening round by the Georgian women's champion Nino Batsiashvili.
However, Carlsen showed his class act, as the Norwegian soon became the sole leader with 6.5 points, while Kramnik and Yangyi shared the second place with six points apiece after the penultimate round. Carlsen eased past GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, then Kramnik and Yu scored important wins against Russia's GM Sanan Sjugirov and Sweden's GM Nils Grandelius, respectively.
Talking about his performance during the year, which many believe was a difficult year for the Norwegian, Carlsen said: "There were many highs during the year and few forgettable performances as well, but I am overall happy with my performance. The reason why they say I had a bad year because the fans set high standards, and I take that as a compliment."
Serjey Karjakin, Sjugirov Sanan, Vassily Ivanchuk, Ni Hua and Kramnik finished joint third. World No 2 Anish Giri, who started with three wins but then had six consecutive draws, finished joint fourth.
China's Hou Yifan clinched the best woman player prize with a last round win against compatriot Li Di. She went home richer by $8000. India's Harika Dronavalli came third.
UAE's Salem AR Saleh claimed the best Arab player trophy, while Qatar's GM Mohamed al-Sayed came second in the category.
Twelve-year-old Firouzja Alireza of Iran, who had already secured his IM norm on Monday, ended the tournament on a winning note defeating GM Neelotpal Das of India.
IMs Shardul Gagare and Vignesh NR of India, IM Daniil Yuffa of Russia, IM Lin Chen and Xu Yinglun of China achieved grandmaster norms during the tournament. President of Qatar Chess Federation and FIDE vice-president Khalifa Mohamad al-Hitmi distributed the prizes.
Promotional activities launched for Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Tareq Zeinal (left), Secretary General Assistant of Qatar Tennis Federation, Karim Alami (right) Tournament Director and Saleh al-Mana, Vice
President and Director of Government and Public Affairs for ExxonMobil Qatar take a selfie in front of the giant tennis ball located at Souk Waqif
to kick off the selfie competition leading up to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2016.
By Sports Reporter
Doha
ExxonMobil Qatar and the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) have kick-started a series of promotional activities leading up to the launch of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2016, which will take place at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on January 4-9, 2016.
As the first ATP World Tour tennis tournament of the year, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open is a much-anticipated sporting event that hosts some of the world's top tennis players, and attracts thousands of tennis enthusiasts from the region and beyond.
Although several exciting activities have been lined up ahead of the tournament, the main attraction is the Giant Selfie Ball Competition. Under this particular activity, a number of oversized tennis balls have been placed at key locations including Souq Waqif, the Corniche and Katara for visitors and residents of Doha to see and access. Followers of ExxonMobil Qatar's Instagram and Twitter accounts will be invited to photograph themselves with these oversized tennis balls and post their images on either platforms using the hashtag #EMtennis. By doing so, participants have the opportunity to win a number of valuable prizes.
Earlier this week, a ribbon cutting event was held at the site of one of the oversized tennis balls located on the Corniche, marking the official launch of the promotional activities. Saleh al-Mana, Vice President and Director of Government and Public Affairs for ExxonMobil Qatar; Tareq Zeinal, Secretary General Assistant of QTF; and Karim Alami, Tournament Director attended the ceremony.
"We are extremely pleased to begin promotional activities for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2016 together with our valued partner the Qatar Tennis Federation, and to inform the residents of Qatar and the country's visitors that this annual world-class sporting events is fast approaching," said Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar.
"Much thought and planning has gone into the multitude of activities we have organized with the Qatar Tennis Federation this year ahead of the tournament. We are proud of the efforts that have transpired and what promises to be yet another thrilling tournament to add to Qatar's long list of exceptional, world-class sporting events that showcase the bright energy of the country," he added.
Tareq Zeinal said, "We are thrilled to go through this promotional plan with our loyal title partner ExxonMobil Qatar! We have been working hand in hand with ExxonMobil for 22 years and through this cooperation we could prove that Qatar is a leader in hosting such world-class events."
"This initiative aims to highlight the success that the tournament has gained, we are so proud of what we have reached and the best is yet to come. We promise to introduce all our fans to another edition of great tennis," he added.
Karim Alami also said of the event, "We are proud to get the support of a Qatari and International company, and we hope they will continue to support us in the future so that we can turn our plans and projects into real achievements. We also look forward to building strong local relations. We are putting the final touches to our preparations for the tournament in its 24th edition, and are ready for the all tennis fans who are coming to enjoy its world-class atmosphere."
Aside from the Giant Selfie Ball Competition, ExxonMobil Qatar will use its Twitter and Instagram accounts to introduce a tennis trivia competition, giving its social media followers more chances to win exciting prizes by posting their answers using the hashtag #GetReadyEMtennis.
ExxonMobil Qatar and QTF will also place mini courts at Gulf Mall and Villaggio for people to compete against one another in three-minute tennis matches. Winners of these matches will receive valuable prizes.
Marking the 24th anniversary of the tournament, this year's Qatar ExxonMobil Open will run from January 4 € 9, 2016, bringing some of the world's top players together to compete for the trophy and a share of the prize money. Confirmed tournament participants include world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, the Matador Rafael Nadal, world no. 6 Tomas Berdych and defending Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2015 champion David Ferrer.
Tickets for the six-day event are available to the public online at www.qatartennis.org, as well as at various locations across Doha.
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