Rising star Nodirbek Abdusattorov will face Anish Giri and Levon Aronian in first rounds of the $150,000 Airthings Masters online rapid chess tournament beginning on Saturday.
Drawn to play India’s Anish Giri in the opening round, the teen-talent is part of the elite 16-player field at the round-robin league stage.
He is due to face rivals like Anish Giri, Kostenyuk, Lê Quang Liêm and Levon Aronian.
In this first event of the $1.6 million 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the top eight finishers from the league will advance to the knockout stage. The players get 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move to finish the game.
To encourage decisive battles, three points will be awarded for each win as against one for a draw. Considering the shorter time-format and Abdusattorov’s skills in speed chess, he is likely to cause a few upsets.
