Qatar Chess Association (QCA) president Mohamed al-Mudahka expressed his confidence on successful hosting of this year’s Qatar Masters, a premier chess tournament which will return to the country after eight years. The event will be see elite players take part, including Norway’s Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion, four-time World Rapid Chess Champion and six-time World Blitz Chess Champion.
The event, scheduled for October 10-20, will carry a total prize fund of $110,000 with $25,000 for the winner. In an interview with Qatar New Agency (QNA), al-Mudahka said QCA managed to bring the tournament back after great effort due to busy International Chess Federation (FIDE)’s calendar.
Al-Mudahka said this year’s tournament will be held on a larger scale than the 2014 and 2015 editions of Qatar Masters, hoping the presence of top players will make it a highly successful event.
He said the preparations are underway organisationally, logistically and technically, saying QCA will leave no stone unturned to make this event an unprecedented success. He said there are many options for the venue including Aspire Zone and Lusail Multipurpose Hall that may host the eagerly-awaited competition.
The QCA president said that the Qatar Masters is considered one of the most competitive open tournaments in the world as the line-up includes some of the best players in the world.
“Everyone witnessed the great success of Qatar in organising the 2022 World Cup for the first time in the Arab region and the Middle East. So other sports will certainly follow the same path of success, and we are discussing various projects besides the Qatar Masters tournament. But for me now this is an extremely important event,” he said.
Al-Mudahka added that Qatar Masters will grab a lot of attention as the event will take place after the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 and will be followed by the launch of the European Chess Clubs Cup and the FIDE Grand Prix, which carry points for World Championship qualification.
The QCA has been hosting several tournaments this season and al-Mudahka said the staging of such tournaments is part of association’s specific strategy, aiming to developing the game at the Arab, Asian and international levels.
Optimistic about the future of the game in Qatar, al-Mudahka said the Qatar national chess team will compete in the Arab Chess Championship in Khartoum from Feb. 25 to March 5, followed by an international tournament in Iraq.
Al-Mudahka, who first took over the presidency of the QCA in the General Assembly elections for the 2018-2020 term, said that Qatar maintained its presence in the FIDE Executive Office, with Jo Shen holding the position of financial secretary. Al-Mudahka was elected as Executive Director for International Relations and Hamad al-Tamimi as a Competitions Committee member.
He also unveiled a national plan to develop the game within schools in a bid to inject new blood in the near future, highlighting the recent local tournaments held in co-operation with some partners, especially the Public Cultural Village (Katara), and Abdullah Abdul Ghani Company.
The Qatar Masters Open was first held in 2014 and won by Chinese Grandmaster Yu Yangyi, while Norwegian Carlsen defeated Yangyi in a play-off to win the next edition in 2015.
Carlsen said he was excited to return to Qatar. “I am very happy to play in the Qatar Masters again. This tournament is very important. All means of comfort are available to all the participants, thanks to the wonderful support provided by the organisers.
“The atmosphere will certainly be fine and the participation is in large numbers and the competitions will be strong. I can’t wait for the start of the tournament and play in it,” the defending champions said.