GM Murali Karthikeyan
Jobava in Sole Lead, Karthikeyan Murali trails a point behind
The Georgian super grandmaster, Baadur Jobova took the sole lead with the full score at the end of round 5 of the Master’s section of Abu Dhabi Chess Festival in progress here at Hotel Sofitel.

Jobova, who has lost a good number of rating points, started as the 26th seed but his class is evident the way he demolished his opponents. He is followed by Iran’s GM Parham Maghsoodloo on the second place. Tied for third place are ten players including Indian GM Karthikeyan Murali.
Pairings of the next round for IND
| Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
| 6 | 3 | 14 | GM | Karthikeyan Murali | 2612 | 4 | 4 | GM | Volokitin Andrei | 2636 | 7 | |||
| 6 | 8 | 36 | GM | Aryan Chopra | 2553 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Onischuk Vladimir | 2640 | 6 | |||
| 6 | 11 | 74 | FM | Assaubayeva Bibisara | 2375 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. | 2607 | 15 | |||
| 6 | 13 | 18 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | 2599 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2569 | 32 | |||
| 6 | 15 | 78 | FM | Rathanvel V S | 2367 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Abdusattorov Nodirbek | 2594 | 21 | |||
| 6 | 17 | 24 | GM | Vaibhav Suri | 2591 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Xu Yi | 2531 | 39 | |||
| 6 | 19 | 57 | IM | Krishna C R G | 2444 | 3 | 3 | GM | Akopian Vladimir | 2650 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 20 | 8 | GM | Ter-Sahakyan Samvel | 2632 | 3 | 3 | IM | Aditya Mittal | 2429 | 61 | |||
| 6 | 21 | 19 | GM | Bai Jinshi | 2599 | 3 | 3 | GM | Laxman R.R. | 2426 | 62 |
The participation of the Indian contingent in this US $ 70,000 prize money tournament is to provide exposure to young Indian talents in strong international events.


FINAL Report :Senior National Arbiter Seminar, Mohali on 03 & 04 October 2026
Final Report:Senior National Arbiter Seminar & Examination in Guwahati – 02 & 03 September 2026
FIDE World Junior Rapid & Blitz (Open & Girls Under 20)Chess Championships – 2026 in Al Ain, U.A.E. from 1st to 7th November, 2026
Final Report of SNA Seminar & Exam at The Heritage School, Tarapith, West Bengal on 02 & 03 October 2026
Senior National Arbiter (SNA) Seminar & Exam on October 24 & 25, 2026, at the Rotary Club, The Mall, Shimla.
Western Asian Junior/ Girls Chess Championship – 2026 from 22nd to 31st October 2026 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat