The talented 11-year-old Safin Safarullakhan becomes FIDE Master
Safin Safarullakhan earned the FIDE Master title after his performance at the IM-3 RR 102 Putnik Tournament. He scored 5/9 points and finished fourth in the standings. He entered the event with a rating of 2107, performed at a rating of 2319 and gained 98 Elo points. During the tournament, he defeated two grandmasters, Evgeniy Podolchenko and Handszar Odeev. Safin is training under GM Viorel Iordachescu and GM Stany. IM Jubin Jimmy worked as a mentor for the 11-year-old talent. Read the full article for more details on his performance. Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar
Safin Safarullakhan becomes FIDE Master
Safin Safarullakhan has earned the FIDE Master (FM) title following his performance at the IM-3 RR 102 Putnik Tournament. He scored 5 out of 9 points and finished fourth in the standings. He entered the tournament with a rating of 2107 and performed at a rating of 2319. He gained 98 Elo points from the event. His current standard rating is 2236. What made Safin’s performance particularly remarkable was his victory against two grandmasters during the event: GM Evgeniy Podolchenko and GM Odeev Handszar.
Let’s take a look at Safin’s two memorable wins from the tournament.
Safin Safarullakhan vs Evgeniy Podolchenko
IM-3 RR 102 Putnik, Round 6
Instead of 12…Re8, Black could have played 12…Na4. After 13 d5 Bxe3 14 Rxe3 c6, Black would have had better control over the centre. However, after Black chose 12…Re8, White pushed 13. d5, which changed the nature of the position. Following 13…Ne7 14. Bxb6 cxb6 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Na3 Qa5 18. Nc2, White established very strong control in the centre. Black had no effective way to challenge this structure. As a result, the bishop on b7 became passive and had little influence on the game. Later in the game, Black parted with a knight to get rid of the pawns on e4 and d5, but this plan was all the worse. These attempts instead increased White’s advantage.
Safin Safarullakhan vs Odeev Handszar
IM-3 RR 102 Putnik, Round 8
Safin received training under GM Viorel Iordachescu of the Sharjah Chess Club and GM Stany. In addition, IM Jubin Jimmy has played an important role as his mentor.
Safin is currently a student of Delhi Public School, Sharjah, and is studying in the 5th grade. His father has been working in the UAE for the past 22 years. The Sharjah Chess Club has supported Safin’s development over the years. While he was representing India earlier in his career, as he is originally from Kerala, the club provided financial assistance and free training sessions under GM Viorel Iordachescu. This support allowed him to focus on training and tournament play. Sharjah Chess Club is known to provide quality coaching and valuable exposure to young talents.