It's time for the ChessBase India Group Tour to Dubai Open and Sharjah Masters 2020

by Sagar Shah - 02/02/2020

The ChessBase India Group Tour will be going to the Dubai Open 2020 and Sharjah Masters 2020 from 28th of March to 16th April. The managers of the tour are ChessBase India Hindi head Niklesh Jain and his better half WIM Angela Franco. The main advantage of being part of the group tour is that parents do not need to accompany their kids and can entrust the youngsters in the responsible hands of the ChessBase India team. There are eight spots available for the group tour. The Dubai Open and Sharjah Masters are excellent events with good chances to gain ratings and make norms. The information about the tournaments as well as the cost of the package has been mentioned in the article below.

One of the key ingredients to improve as a chess player is to play in International tournaments. It's not just about fighting it out against players of other countries, it is also about travelling to a new location, getting adjusted to the new weather conditions, time zones, food and so much more. Travelling to another country helps you grow as an individual. While many players compete in tournaments all across India, when it comes to playing in a foreign country, they find it highly uncomfortable. Travelling to an unknown destination is never easy. Add to it the planning of the travel, accommodation, entry fees, visa etc. and it becomes quite a big task. We, at ChessBase India, have always wanted to ease the life of a chess player. It is with this intention that we conducted three group tours in the past. In 2018 and 2019, we had group tours to the Catalan circuit in Spain where players fought it out in multiple tournaments over a period of couple of months. And in 2019 we had the group to the Dubai and Sharjah Masters.

Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco were the group tour managers in 2019 for Sharjah and Dubai and will also be managing the 2020 tour as well |

Niklesh Jain is a FIDE Instructor and was the head coach of SYNA International school for 11 years. He has travelled to innumerable countries all across the world, playing chess tournaments, covering them and was also the manager of Indian squads when they went to World Schools in 2017 as well as Aeroflot Open in 2018. He is the head of ChessBase India Hindi. Angela Franco is a WIM and has represented Colombian national team on multiple occasions.

What is a group tour?

ChessBase India will have Group Tour Managers - Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco who will guide the members at the Dubai and Sharjah tournaments. First of all ChessBase India will take care of your accommodation, flight tickets, visa and insurance like it always does. If you are a part of the ChessBase India Group tour then Niklesh and Angela will guide you with:

1. Food options,

2. Airport transfers

3. Finding the best way for internal travel

4. Entry for the tournaments

5. Sight seeing, in case you would like to

6. Not to forget, Niklesh and Angela are pretty strong players and, if time permits, they can help you with the preparation for your games!

Niklesh and Angela would be doing everything that a guardian does! In this way, parents who usually have to travel with their kids will be saved from spending their 20 days in UAE away from home and work. Also it is cost effective because the cost of parent's travel, stay and food is saved. The kids also get to travel independently which makes them more responsible.

A glimpse of the 2019 tour

In 2019 we had the Group tour to Sharjah and Dubai with Niklesh, Angela and five players.

Five players who were part of the Group tour along with Niklesh and Angela were Souradip Deb, Sanskriti Goyal, Mrudul Dehankar, Rakshith Srinivas and Kaushik Iyer

The tour began from the Mumbai airport. As it was the festival of Holi, the staff on the Indigo flight smeared some colour on the faces of the players!

Each player was given comfortable room to stay in

A glimpse of their performance. A total gain of 171 Elo points

A proud moment for the group was when Mrudul Dehankar won the best female player prize at the Sharjah Masters!

In front of the Sharjah Chess Club

On one of the days Niklesh and Angela took the youngsters out for a sight seeing tour to see the Dubai Mall and Burj Al Khalifa

Angela not only took care of the girls, but being a strong WIM helped them with psychological tips and preparation!

It goes without saying that if you are travelling with Niklesh and Angela, you are in safe hands

A video that gives you the feel of the arrangements of the Group Tour in 2019

The Dubai and Sharjah tournaments in 2020

The Dubai Open is happening before Sharjah Masters this year. The dates of the tournaments are:

1. Dubai Open from 28th March to 7th April

2. Sharjah Masters from 8th to 16th April.

More info about the Dubai Open:

Dubai Open: No double rounds this year! Every day you have a single round with a rest day on 3rd of April 2020. The closing ceremony will be held on the same night as the last round.

A total of US$50,000 with the first prize of US$13,000

Quite a few special prizes with a hefty cash sum of US$500 each

The entry fee for the players

Players list at the Dubai Open 2019:

The players list of 2019 gives you an idea about the strength of the field that you can expect this year:

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg
1	GM	Le Quang Liem	12401137	VIE	2711
2	GM	Matlakov Maxim	4168003	RUS	2692
3	GM	Kuzubov Yuriy	14112906	UKR	2653
4	GM	Mareco Sandro	112275	ARG	2651
5	GM	Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo	3901211	VEN	2633
6	GM	Yilmaz Mustafa	6302718	TUR	2631
7	GM	Safarli Eltaj	13402129	AZE	2624
8	GM	Sethuraman S.P.	5021596	IND	2624
9	GM	Adly Ahmed	10601619	EGY	2620
10	GM	Tabatabaei M.Amin	12521213	IRI	2612
11	GM	Mchedlishvili Mikheil	13600966	GEO	2610
12	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	5072786	IND	2602
13	GM	Can Emre	6302181	TUR	2599
14	GM	Indjic Aleksandar	911925	SRB	2592
15	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	14204118	UZB	2578
16	GM	Pichot Alan	110973	ARG	2566
17	GM	Santos Ruiz Miguel	22291482	ESP	2555
18	GM	Bellahcene Bilel	696358	ALG	2538
19	GM	Debashis Das	5024854	IND	2538
20	GM	Deepan Chakkravarthy J.	5011132	IND	2534

Complete players list

More info about the Sharjah Masters:

Sharjah Masters: You have one double round on the 11th of April, but apart from that, all single rounds!

Prizes at the Sharjah Masters 2020

The entry fee for the Sharjah Masters

Players list at the Sharjah Masters in 2019

The players list of 2019 gives you an idea about the strength of the field that you can expect this year:

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg	RtgI	sex	Typ
1	GM	Wang Hao	8602883	CHN	2718	2718
2	GM	Fedoseev Vladimir	24130737	RUS	2715	2715
3	GM	Le Quang Liem	12401137	VIE	2715	2715
4	GM	Inarkiev Ernesto	4162722	RUS	2692	2692
5	GM	Matlakov Maxim	4168003	RUS	2692	2692
6	GM	Sargissian Gabriel	13300881	ARM	2689	2689
7	GM	Kryvoruchko Yuriy	14109182	UKR	2680	2680
8	GM	Maghsoodloo Parham	12539929	IRI	2673	2673
9	GM	Sjugirov Sanan	4189302	RUS	2667	2667
10	GM	Mareco Sandro	112275	ARG	2666	2666
11	GM	Firouzja Alireza	12573981	IRI	2657	2657		U16
12	GM	Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo	3901211	VEN	2639	2639
13	GM	Ganguly Surya Shekhar	5002150	IND	2633	2633
14	GM	Adly Ahmed	10601619	EGY	2611	2611
15	GM	Zubov Alexander	14109409	UKR	2605	2605
16	GM	Idani Pouya	12510130	IRI	2604	2604
17	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	5010608	IND	2602	2602
18	GM	Pichot Alan	110973	ARG	2584	2584
19	GM	Nihal Sarin	25092340	IND	2578	2578		U16
20	IM	Yakubboev Nodirbek	14203987	UZB	2569	2569

Cost of the Group Tour

Total Cost: Rs. 1,10,000 for a player

Inclusions:-

* Flights
* Airport Transfers
* Hotel Apartment stay (twin sharing)
* Insurance
* Visa fees
* Transfers from the venue to the hotel every day
* ChessBase India gift pack (includes book, pen, t-shirt, and more)

Exclusions:-

* Food
* Dubai and Sharjah Entry Fee
* Domestic Flights
* Sight Seeings

Contact:

Hotline: 8815325895 (10 a.m to 8 p.m.)
Secondary number: 07304087464
Email: chessbaseindia@gmail.com

Please make sure that you contact us as soon as possible because there are only 8 spots available

FAQS:

1. What about the food?

A: Food is not included in the package. However, there are several restaurants near the place where players would be staying for non vegetarians. Vegetarians can order food from the nearest Saravana Bhavan restaurant. Niklesh and Angela can help if required.

2. What about the visa?

A: Once you confirm that you are travelling with ChessBase India and pay the amount, you have to send us your scanned passport as well as a photograph and some other documents which would be required. We will take care of the visa.

3. What about groceries?

A: There are two supermarkets, 100 metres from the distance of the hotel and you can buy fruits, vegetables or any item of daily use from there.

4. Tell us more about the Group Tour managers.

A: Apart from the introduction already given in the article, here are three videos that tell you more about the Group Tour managers and their life!

An unusual proposal at the Batumi Olympiad 2020

The wedding of Angela and Niklesh

Get to know the story of Angela and Niklesh

5. Do I need a jacket?

A: The weather in Dubai and Sharjah would be pretty hot, but when you enter the playing hall, it would be quite cold and good to have a jacket.

6. Every participant gets a ChessBase India gift pack. What is included in it?

A: Every member will get a special ChessBase India gift pack which involves a t-shirt, a ChessBase India Notebook, a ChessBase India pen, and some more surprise goodies.

7. Can I get a refund of the amount I have paid in case of non travel?

A: The money paid is non-refundable. So please make the payment and enroll into the group tour only if you are 100% sure.

Download circulars from the ChessBase India Calendar:

Dubai Open 2020

Sharjah Masters 2020

Group Tour to Barcelona in 2018

Gaining 4359 Elo points in Spain

Please note: ChessBase India Power is no longer in existence. This group tour is solely organized by the core ChessBase India team.

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