Emirati Grandmaster Crowned Chess Champion in Riyadh

Emirati chess player Salem Saleh, who ranks 59th in the world and is a Grand International Master, has won the Riyadh Calendar Chess Championship.

The competition, which attracted over 100 players, was held by Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA)‎ in ‎cooperation with the Saudi Chess Federation (SCF) over the weekend. 

Saleh, now 30 and started winning professional championships aged only 10, won SAR 300,000 ($80,000), after his victory over nine rounds.

He was named a grandmaster by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 2009 when he was 16.

Coming in the second and third places, Bassem Amin and Fawzi Adham from Egypt, won SAR 200,000 and SAR 100,000, respectively.

Money prizes were awarded for up to the 10th position in the competition, totaling SAR 800,000. 

The winners were handed the prizes by Ahmed Al Mehmadi, vice president for marketing and communication of GEA, and Abdullah Al Wahshi, president of the SCF.

Image source: @RiyadhCitySA Twitter account.