Dubai, Sept. 22, 05 (WAM)--Bassem won the Arab Chess Championship and Grandmaster Norm with a draw against team mate Grandmaster Adly Ahmed of Egypt.
A relieved Bassem said, ?I am delighted and this victory will givemy chess career a boost.? The lanky youngster is starting medical curriculam in a few weeks and said he hopes to achieve the grandmastertitle.
Mahdi Abdul Rahim, senior arbiter of UAE and technical manager of theArab Chess Federation said, ?The grandmaster norm is approved by FIDEworld chess association for the winner of the Arab championship,?according to dailies. Five players tied for second place with six points as the ninth and finalround produced dramatic results. IM Al Sayed Mohammed Nasser (Qatar),IM El Taher Fouad (Egypt), GM Adly Ahmed (Egypt), GM Taleb Moussa (UAE)and GM Belkhodia Slim (Tunisia) tied for the silver medal. Al Sayed took the silver medal on tie breaks and El Taher Fouad took bronze. Taleb Moussa was the pick of the UAE players scoring 6 points. Taleb, after one year absence from tournament chess said, ? I had a comfortableposition in all the games. Now it is back to the basics to prepare forforthcoming international events.?Al Sayed Mohamed Nasser, who had been leading from the start, lost toexperienced IM Imad Hakki of Syria. Nasser needed victory in the finalround to clinch the title. He went all out for a complicated middle gamein a queen pawn opening. But Hakki played brilliantly and, when he penetratedthe seventh rank, he worked up a tactical sequence, which led to a finecheckmate. UAE had a fine day when Taleb Moussa, IM Hassan Abdullah and FM JasimA.R. Saleh won their respective games while FM Othman A. Moussa drew hisgame against IM Tissir Mohamed of Morocco.
