Mahammad Muradli wins Dubai Open 2024

Grandmaster Mahammad Muradli of Azerbaijan emerged as the undisputed champion of the 24th Dubai Open Chess Tournament, held from May 25 to June 2, 2024, at the Dubai Chess & Culture Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The prestigious event, one of the Middle East’s premier chess competitions, saw fierce battles among 200 players from 28 countries, but it was Muradli who claimed the crown with an unbeaten performance, solidifying his reputation as a rising star in the chess world.

A Dominant Performance

The 24th Dubai Open, a 9-round Swiss system tournament, featured a strong field in Category A, including grandmasters like Teymur Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Raunak Sadhwani (India), and Lu Miaoyi (China). Muradli, with a FIDE rating of 2650, navigated the competition with remarkable composure, finishing undefeated with 7 points (five wins and four draws). His decisive moment came in the final round on June 2, 2024, where a draw against China’s GM Changren Dai secured the title, as Dai needed a win to challenge for the championship.

Muradli’s path to victory was marked by consistent excellence. After a draw in the top-board clash between India’s GM Raunak Sadhwani and China’s GM Di Li ended quickly, the spotlight turned to Muradli’s match against Dai. Holding his nerve under pressure, Muradli clinched the half-point needed to finish a clear half-point ahead of the chasing pack, which included Dai and five other players tied at 6.5 points: GM Yuanhe Zhao, GM Raunak Sadhwani, IM Sina Movahed, GM Eltaj Safarli, and GM Di Li.

Final standings

1	GM	Muradli, Mahammad	AZE	2560	7
2	GM	Dai, Changren	CHN	2510	6.5
3	IM	Zhao, Yuanhe	CHN	2463	6.5
4	GM	Sadhwani, Raunak	IND	2654	6.5
5	IM	Movahed, Sina	IRI	2463	6.5
6	GM	Safarli, Eltaj	AZE	2594	6.5
7	GM	Li, Di	CHN	2563	6.5
8	FM	Hakobyan, Erik	ARM	2335	6
9	IM	Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan	TUR	2553	6
10	GM	Sethuraman, S.P.	IND	2588	6
11	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	IND	2528	5.5
12	GM	Iniyan, Pa	IND	2493	5.5
13	GM	Ivic, Velimir	SRB	2595	5.5
14	IM	Pang, Tao	CHN	2496	5.5
15	IM	Gholami Orimi, Mahdi	IRI	2470	5
16	IM	Durak, Can	TUR	2434	5
17	IM	Srihari, L R	IND	2485	5
18		Wang, Yanbin	CHN	2415	5
19	GM	Sanikidze, Tornike	GEO	2453	5
20	IM	Celik, Hasan Huseyin	TUR	2421	5
21	GM	Indjic, Aleksandar	SRB	2603	5
22	IM	Rathanvel, V S	IND	2471	5
23	GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	IND	2640	5
24	IM	Muthaiah, Al	IND	2493	5
25	GM	Ioannidis, Evgenios	GRE	2518	5
26	GM	Zhu, Jiner	CHN	2476	5
27	IM	Lee, Junhyeok	KOR	2381	5
28	IM	Sibashvili, Giorgi	GEO	2423	4.5
29	IM	Balajayeva, Khanim	AZE	2376	4.5
30	GM	Jumabayev, Rinat	KAZ	2595	4.5
31	IM	Liyanage, Ranindu Dilshan	SRI	2352	4.5
32	IM	Mammadzada, Gunay	AZE	2436	4.5
33	WGM	Zhai, Mo	CHN	2348	4.5
34	GM	Can, Emre	TUR	2549	4.5
35	FM	Aliyev, Ravan	AZE	2352	4.5
36	FM	Ahmad, Khagan	AZE	2375	4.5
37	CM	Xie, Kaifan	CHN	2376	4.5
38	GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	UZB	2599	4.5
39	FM	Manon, Reja Neer	BAN	2423	4.5
40	IM	Dimakiling, Oliver	PHI	2425	4
41	FM	Piliposyan, Robert	ARM	2364	4
42	IM	Poormosavi, Seyed Kian	IRI	2388	4
43	GM	Moroni, Luca Jr	ITA	2580	4
44	GM	Stella, Andrea	ITA	2397	4
45	FM	Khripachenko, Alexander	FID	2371	4
46	WGM	Beydullayeva, Govhar	AZE	2411	4
47	WGM	Heinemann, Josefine	GER	2303	4
48	FM	Mendes, Aaron Reeve	CAN	2306	4
49	FM	Xie, Felix	NZL	2359	4
50	IM	Sultan, Ibrahim	UAE	2171	3.5
51	FM	Goh, Zi Han	SGP	2306	3.5
52	IM	Ezat, Mohamed	EGY	2340	3.5
53	IM	Mammadova, Gulnar	AZE	2359	3.5
54	IM	Buksa, Nataliya	UKR	2383	3.5
55	GM	Ahmad, Al Khatib	JOR	2380	3.5
56	FM	Laddha, Shubh Jayesh	USA	2324	3.5
57	GM	Sanal, Vahap	TUR	2566	3
58	CM	Krawczyk, Flawian	POL	2315	3
59	IM	Injac, Teodora	SRB	2422	3
60	GM	Hossain, Enamul	BAN	2365	3
61		Ali, Abdulaziz	UAE	1995	3
62	IM	George Micheal, Kevin	EGY	2258	2.5
63		Rayes, Abdul Kader	SYR	2068	2.5
64	GM	Grivas, Efstratios	GRE	2396	2.5
65	GM	Vignesh, N R	IND	2526	2
66		Khalifa Essa, Albalooshi	UAE	2135	2
67	FM	Zherebtsova, Alexandra	MNE	2302	1.5
68	IM	Garifullina, Leya	FID	2430	1
69	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2723	0.5
70	IM	Uskov, Artem	FID	2433	0
71	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	KAZ	2481	0