At the top of the leaderboard is world number one and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen is making his third appearance at the Qatar Masters, having previously competed in 2014 and 2015. Other notable participants include Japanese-born American Hikaru Nakamura, Dutchman Anish Giri, Jorden van Foreest, Indian Domaro Gogsha and Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo. The women’s competition is also stacked with talent, including world blitz chess champion Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) and Indian Woman Grandmasters Ramesh Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal.
Magnus Carlsen: The world’s best chess player is making his third appearance at the Qatar Masters. Carlsen is a five-time world champion and one of the most dominant chess players of all time.
Hikaru Nakamura: The American star is ranked third in the world and is known for his aggressive style of play. Nakamura is a crowd favourite and is always entertaining to watch.
Anish Giri: The Dutch Grandmaster is ranked seventh in the world and is known for his deep understanding of the game. Giri is a very versatile player and can compete at a high level in all types of tournaments.
Dommaraju Gukesh: The Indian Grandmaster is ranked eighth in the world and is known for his solid positional play. Gogsha is a very consistent player and is always a threat to win any tournament he enters.
Parham Maghsoodloo: The Iranian Grandmaster is ranked ninth in the world and is known for his sharp tactical skills. Maqsoudloo is a very dangerous player and can win games in a variety of ways.
Bibisara Assaubayeva : The Kazakh Grandmaster is the world champion in blitz chess and is also a very strong classical player. Asaobayeva is a very aggressive player and is always looking for the win.
Ramesh Vaishali: The Indian Grandmaster is one of the top female chess players in the world. Vaishali is known for her solid positional play and her ability to grind out wins.
Vantika Agrawal: The Indian Grandmaster is one of the rising stars of women’s chess. Agrawal is known for her aggressive style of play and her ability to win games quickly.
