by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—The 2nd season of the N1 IIEE National Chess Olympiad will be underway on September 10, 2021.  There will be 24 chapter teams which are bracketed into 4 based on the team average LiChess ratings of its 4 players.  There will also be 10 Regional teams that will play for the Olympiad that comprises of over 200 players.  There are 2 NMs (Robert Arellano and Dennis  Gutierrez) and more than 50 players with above 2000 ratings who will be vying for the individual honors and championship crown to be defended by the IIEE Southern Laguna Chapter.  The tournament will be until November 19, every Friday night and the awarding will be done during the IIEE Annual National Convention on November 27, 2021.

Bracket A: Metro South, Cagayan de Oro (CDO), Southern Laguna (SLC), Central Region CHapter Saudi Arabia (CRCSA), Iloilo and Visayas Team.

Bracket B: Camarines, Metro Central (MCC), Cebu, AUH-UAE (Abu Dhabi/Emirates), Northen Cavite (NCC0 and Southwest Mindanao Team

Bracket C: Metro West (MWC), Bulacan, La Union (CKAB, etc.), Metro East (MEC), Western Region Chapter Saudi Arabia (WRCSA) and Southern Tagalog Team

Bracket D: Eastern Region Chapter Saudi Arabia (ERCSA), Bahrain, Central Laguna (CLC), Bataan and Metro North (MNC).

There are 6 teams from the Foreign Region in the National Chess Olympiad.  This online chess is fostering camaraderie and friendship through among the IIEE members of both local and that of the Foreign Region.  For the Foreign Virtual Olympics, the driving force behind it was initiated by IIEE Foreign Governor Orlando T. Villapaña, Jr. thereby bridging the geographical locations of the participating chapters and counter the restrictions due to the COVID -19 pandemic hence the sports competitions are carried out virtually.

It was open last July 23, 2021 hosted by IIEE-State of Qatar Chapter and the 8-week event drew enthusiasts of Chess, Scrabble, Mobile Legends, Darts, 3-Point Shoot Out, Skill Challenge, Chant/Yell, Pictionary, Name that Tune, Electrical Quiz and Cheer Dance together in one virtual arena to battle it out for the overall championship.

Twelve chapters; IIEE-ERCSA, IIEE-WRCSA, IIEE-CRCSA, IIEE-SQC, IIEE-UAE, IIEE-BAHRAIN, IIEE-SINGAPORE, IIEE-KUWAIT, IIEE-NWRCSA, IIEE-ABU DHABI, IIEE-SOC and IIEE-CIC put their game faces on to uphold team honor and pride under the spirit of friendly competition.

The closing ceremonies will be held on September 10, 2021 with two events yet to be conducted, Electrical Quiz Show and Cheer Dance Competition. Awarding ceremonies will immediately ensue to officially proclaim the winners of individual events and declare the overall champion of the First IIEE Foreign Region Virtual Olympics.  After which, the Olympic torch will be virtually handover to IIEE National for the conduct of the on-line chess via LiChess.

Amir Zahoor Butt won the Serena Azadi Cup Rapid FIDE Rated Chess Championship organized of NM Muhammad Zahid with the support and sponsorship by Kingcrete Builders, under the umbrella of Chess Federation of Pakistan. It was the first ever chess tournament in the country conducted in the 5 Star Pearl-continental Hotel Lahore. Players were provided with all possible facilities including refreshments and lunch. The total tash Prize for the one day event was 150,000/ rp, the biggest to date.

The Event was a 6 Round Swiss league with time control of 15 minutes for the whole game with 5 seconds increment from move 1.

The Event was organized in 3 major categories:

Serena Azadi Cup FIDE Rated Rapid Chess Championship 2021 (Open)

Serena Azadi Cup FIDE Rated Rapid Chess Championship 2021 (Woman)

Serena Azadi Cup FIDE Rated Rapid Chess Championship 2021 (Junior U20, U15 & U10)

Visit chess-results.com for round by round pairings and results.

Total participants in the event were 130, The Chief Guest was Sikandar Minhas.

Amir Zahoor Butt won the championship with a perfect score of 6 out of 6.

Junaid Sohail got 1st place in U20 and 5th overall 👍🏻

WCM Mehak Gul Won women category with 5 out of 5

Serena Azadi Cup Rapid FIDE Rated Chess Championship was organized by NM Muhammad Zahid and his dedicated team with the Support and sponsorship by KINGCRETE Builders, under the umbrella of Chess Federation of Pakistan and Asian Chess Federation. It was the First ever chess tournament in country conducted in a 5 Star Pearl-continental Hotel Lahore. Players were provided with all possible facilities including refreshments and Lunch. The Total Cash Prize for the one day event was 150000/ rp, the biggest till date.

The Indian team (left to right) of WGMs V. Varshini and Seshadri Srija and WIMs Mukherjee Arpita and P. Michelle Catherina, won the Asian University Women’s Chess Championship with a total of 25.5 points from 9 rounds.

The event was hosted by the Indonesia University Sports Federation (IUSF) and organized by Universitas Gunadarma under the auspices of the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) and Asian Chess Federation (ACF). 2-12 September 2021 on Tornelo.

The Iranian team (left to right) of Safoura Ghane, WFM Tannaz Azali and WIMs Anahita Gholami Orinmi and Vesal Hamedi Nia scored 25 points for Silver medal.

The Malaysian team (left to right) of WFM Tn i Ting, WCM Sivanesan Nithyalakshmi, WIM Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa Azhar and WFM Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar score 21 points for bronze with a better tie score break over host Indonesia.

WGM V. Varshini of India won the individual championship alone in first place with 7.5 points followed by Safoura Ghani of Iran in second place with 7 points and WFM Tannaz Ghani of Iran in third place with 6.5 points and the better tie break score. Here are the top 8 awardees:

Participating countries are China, Indonesia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Palestine, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

Visit chess-results.com for round by round pairings and standings and to download games.

Watch women’s games on:

 https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

https://www.chess.com/events/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

 https://live.chessbase.com/watch/Asian-University-Chess-ch-Women-2021/

 https://live.followchess.com/#!asian-university-chp-w-2021

The event is hosted by the Indonesia University Sports Federation (IUSF) and organized by Universitas Gunadarma under the auspices of the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation (ACF). The AUSF and ACF had entered into a Memorandum of Agreement last year to promote chess in Universities,

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines —The Philippine Chess Team wound up second overall in the team competition of the Pool A action in Division 2 of the 2021 FIDE Online Olympiad.
Reigning National Champion Woman International Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda outlasted Tanima Parveen in 56 moves of a Scotch Opening to power the Philippines to a 5.5-0.5 win over Bangladesh Saturday.
Grandmaster Darwin Laylo, International Master Michael Concio Jr., Jersey Marticio and Ma. Elayza Villa also provided the wins to help the Filipinos finish No. 2 with 16 match points, the same output of top notcher Indonesia, who trounced Chinese-Taipei, 5-1.
Indonesia grabbed the top spot with 40.5 tie break points better than runner-up place Philippines with 39.5 points.
Laylo subdued Grandmaster Bin-Sattar Reefat in 29 moves of a Catalan Opening, Concio nipped pine Master Rahman Mohammad Fahad in 66 moves of a Queens Indian defense, Marticio crushed Woman FIDE Master Anjum Noshin in 30 moves of a Scotch Opening and Villa trounced Woman International Master Sharmin Shirin Sultana in 73 moves of a Queens Gambit Declined.
Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman split the point with International Master Paulo Bersamina in 30 moves of a Kings Indian defense to prevent a possible shut-out loss of Bangladesh.
The top three finishers will then advance to the four-pool Top Division where the top two move on to the two-set quarterfinals.
The team, which has GM Eugene Torre as coach and GM Jayson Gonzales as delegation head.
” We win as one. Co-Champion, FIDE Online World Chess Olympiad 2021 (Division 2 – Pool A). After 3 days of teamwork and perseverance, Philippine Chess Team has conquered the World stage. We are now ready to fight for the next battle against the Top Divisions on Sept 8-10, 2021. Continue to show your love and utmost support to our Chess Heroes. A big congratulations to Philippine Chess Team,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Senior Deputy Speaker Prospero “Butch” Arreza Pichay J

The Indian team pulls away for the lead as WGMs Seshadri Srija (above left) and V. Varshini (above right) lead 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the individual event after six rounds of the Asian University Chess Championship.

The Indian team of WGMs Seshadri Srija and V Varshini, and WIMs Mukerjee Arpita and Michelle Catherina lead the team standings with 185 points. Iran follows with 16.5 in second slot and Indonesia wqith 15 points for 3rd slot.

Here are the top players in the individual event:

Here are the leading teams:

Visit chess-results.com for round by round pairings and standings and to download games.

Watch women’s games live on:

 https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

https://www.chess.com/events/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

 https://live.chessbase.com/watch/Asian-University-Chess-ch-Women-2021/

 https://live.followchess.com/#!asian-university-chp-w-2021

The event is hosted by the Indonesia University Sports Federation (IUSF) and organized by Universitas Gunadarma under the auspices of the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation (ACF). The AUSF and ACF had enetered into a Memorandum of Agreement last year to promote chess in Universities,

Organized by Chess club ChessBomb – Plovdiv and KIM 2003 Ltd. under the auspices of FIDE and in cooperation with the Bulgarian Chess Federation 1928, Plovdiv Municipality and with the sponsorship of Club Round Table Plovdiv.  Visit chessbomb.bg for details.

The 2021 Asian University Chess Championship has started with the first 3 rounds Friday. Watch the opening ceremony on youtube by host Universitas Gunadarma UGtv.

Participating countries are China, Indonesia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Palestine, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

The Women’s event is scheduled over the weekend of 3-5 September while the Men’s event is scheduled 10-12 September. Games start 10am with three rounds per day in the 9-round Swiss.

Tumiurbaatar Nomindalai of Mongolia (above left) and WFM Tannaz Azali of Iran (above right) share the lead with 3 points each after as many rounds in the individual event of the Asian University Women’s Chess Championship on Tornelo.

The Indian women’s team of (above, left to right) WGM Seshadri Srua, WGM V. Varshini, WIM Mukerjee Arpita and WIM PO. Michelle Catherina lead the team competition with 9 points. Malaysia and Iran teams follow with 8.5 points each.

Visit chess-results.com for round by round pairings and standings and to download games.

Watch women’s games live on:

 https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

https://www.chess.com/events/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

 https://live.chessbase.com/watch/Asian-University-Chess-ch-Women-2021/

 https://live.followchess.com/#!asian-university-chp-w-2021

The event is hosted by the Indonesia University Sports Federation (IUSF) and organized by Universitas Gunadarma under the auspices of the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation (ACF). The AUSF and ACF had enetered into a Memorandum of Agreement last year to promote chess in Universities,

The 2021 Asian University Chess Championship started with the opening ceremony today and Technical Meeting of participants. Watch the introduction of teams on facebook.

Participating countries are China, Indonesia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Palestine, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

The Women’s event is scheduled over the weekend of 3-5 September while the Men’s event is scheduled 10-12 September. Games start 10am with three rounds per day in the 9-round Swiss.”

Visit chess-results.com for list of participants and round by round pairings and standings.

Watch women’s games live on:

 https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

https://www.chess.com/events/2021-asian-university-womens-chess-championship

 https://live.chessbase.com/watch/Asian-University-Chess-ch-Women-2021/

 https://live.followchess.com/#!asian-university-chp-w-2021

The event is hosted by the Indonesia University Sports Federation (IUSF) and organized by Universitas Gunadarma under the auspices of the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation (ACF). The AUSF and ACF had enetered into a Memorandum of Agreement last year to promote chess in Universities,

Oman Chess Committee has registered a full delegation to the Western Asia Youth Chess Championships hosted by Sri Lanka Chess Federation 18-20 September 2021 on Tornelo.

Anas Al Darwashi, BU18 * Al Busaidi Hamood, BU18 * Al Zadjali Abdul Rahman, BU16

Mohammed Al Rashdi, BU16 * Al Rabbi Ahmed, BU14 * Fadhil Ahmed Salim, BU14

Al Mahrouqi Mohammed, BU12  *   Al Maawali Yousuf, BU8          *  Al Bulushi Rawan, GU16

Shahad Al Balushi, GU16 *  Al Balushi  Shmookh, GU14 * Al Hinai Zinah, GU14

Al Maamari Hebah, GU14 * Al Thuhli Fatima, GU12 * Al Maamari Asayel, GU10 * Al Khayari  Dima, GU8