GM Eltaj Safarli snatches tournament’s first point to lead 24th Dubai Open Chess Tournament

Former Azerbaijan national champion and coach Grandmaster (GM) Eltaj Safarli scored the first point of the tournament after a quick 30-move demolition of Greek GM Efstratios Grivas in the opening round of the Dubai Open Chess Tournament Saturday night at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.

While the other matches were still heating up, Safarli was already looking forward to the next day’s second round as he outplayed Grivas from the white side of a Sicilian — Rossolimo Attack.

Safarli, who like the legendary former world champion Garry Kasparov was born in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, pounced on a blunder on the 26th move to win a full piece and force Grivas, a prolific chess author and long-time trainer based in the UAE, to resign four moves later.

The tournament top-seed and Safarli’s countryman GM Teimour Radjabov, another product of Baku, was held to a draw by Al Ain-based Georgian chess coach International Master (IM) Giorgi Sibashvili, who held his own against the former World Cup champion and World Championship Candidates Tournament contender despite a 300-point rating difference.