by Philip Lawer Alimo, International Freelance Sports Journalist
Al-Ain, July 21,2019- The President of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), His Highness Shiekh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Shakhbout Al-Nahayan on Saturday, July 20th, 2019 crowned winners of the Asian Chess Academy Festival to commemorate International Chess Day at the Danat Hotel in Al-Ain, UAE.
20th of July, is the International Day of Chess as declared in 1966 by UNESCO to commemorate the day, the International Chess Federation was founded in 1924. The Asian Chess Federation joined the international chess community in celebrating the International Day of Chess.
The President in his remarks shared more insights on the significance of chess in societal development and the celebrations. “The Asian Chess Federation Academy aims to teach our youth the values of chess – discipline, vision, fortitude. You learn how to discipline yourself, your thought process and study habits. You strengthen your character as an athlete. We follow the motto “Healthy mind in a healthy body”. “Asia is a major partner in the growth of chess worldwide. Asia is proud to have the Chess Olympiad champions, the Women’s World Champion and a number of World Youth and School champions” he added.
The President urged the winners of ACF Academy Festival to continue improving their talents saying “you start with these small steps and grow to become tomorrow’s Grandmasters”. The talented Moafaq Algaddah from the United States of America won the 2019 ACF Academy Festival with six and a half points from seven grueling rounds. Seven year old Moafaq dominated all seven games of the championship to win the tournament convincingly. Mr. Moafaq Ahmed Al Gaddah a proud grandfather of Moafaq expressed his delight at the performance of his grandson and encouraged all parents to use chess as a tool in shaping the values and character of their children to become responsible adults in the future. Rola El Gendy of Egypt was second with six points while Faisal Al-Issa of Jordan took the bronze medal.
In the youth category, Hashem Al-Issa of Jordan took the first place while American born Yousef El Gafy originally from Egypt won the silver medal and Ahmed Al Kabi of the United Arab Emirates went home with the bronze medal. The tournament was supervised by International Arbiter Ahmed Adel.
The Asian Chess Academy festival was attended by the crème de la crème of the continents chess icons and noble personalities of the international business community including the Secretary-General of the ACF Mr. Hisham Al-Taher, Mr. Moafaq Ahmed Al Gaddah a successful business mogul and chairman of the MAG Group, as well as, a host of other dignitaries.