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by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—International Master Angelo Abundo Young, a consistent winner of the online weekly tournaments, stamped his class again by topping the Jezreel Lopez Birthday Chess Tournament Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at lichess.org.

Young, an 8-time Illinois USA Champion, tallied 8.5 points out of possible 9 to rule the online tilt organized by PCAP’s Zamboanga Sultans chess team.

Young also won the Gerardo Cabellon online birthday chess tournament last April 10, 2021 and Maravril Enterprise Batasan online chess tournament last April 13, 2021 at lichess.org.

The Zamboanga Sultans acquired the services of Young , over-all 8th place in the 2019 World Senior Chess Championship in Bucharest Romania who previously played for the Manila Indios Bravos in the PCAP All Filipino tournament.

Meanwhile, Renie Malupa, one of the top players of PCAP’s Cavite Spartans won the Ka Alex Reyes birthday Arena on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at lichess.org.

The Dasmariñas City, Cavite resident Malupa, a former gold medalist of the NCAA chess league playing for the College of St. Benilde finished with 62 arena points in 20 games  for a win rate of 80 percent and performance rating of 2386 to win the event that drew 34 players.

Syrian FIDE Master Malek Koniahli (2255) upset top seed GM Pouya Idani (2614) of Iran to share early lead with two other players from Jordan and Iran after two rounds of the Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship on Tornelo. Above is the panoramic camera view of the playing venue in Syria.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on twitter @Asianchess.

Tied for the lead at 2 points apiece are Koniahli, Malik Saif of Jordan and GM Aryan Gholami of Iran. Twenty three top players from eight countries are competing in the7-round Swiss. The champion shall qualify into the FIDE World Cup this July in Sochi, Russia.

Koniahli essayed a Queen’s Pawn Game. Idani gave up a Rook for Knight exchange on the 11th move to advance his b-pawn. The Syrian countered by penetrating with his Rook on the seventh rank. Idani resigned on the 31st move facing loss of material to save his beleaguered Queen (see diagram below).

Malik turned back the Trompovsky Attack of FM Ammar Sedrani of the UAE. The Jordanian made a temporary Rook sacrifice on the 28th move but lost his trapped Queen on the 32nd move. Malik attacked the exposed King and Sedrani resigned after 47 moves facing mate or loss of material (see diagram below).

Gholami used the Nimzo Indian Defense to turn back IM Omran Al Hosni of the UAE in only 20 moves as the Emirati resigned facing the loss of his trapped Queen.

Here are the results of round 2:

Zone 3.1 Chess Championships 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 2 on 2021/06/02 at 3:00pm
Bo.		Name	Rtg	Result		Name	Rtg
1	FM	KONIAHLI Malek.	2255	1 – 0	GM	IDANI Pouya	2614
2	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	2547	½ – ½	FM	SALIH Akar Ali Salih	2274
3	IM	AL HOSANI Omran	2197	0 – 1	GM	GHOLAMI Aryan	2513
4	IM	EITI Bashir	2340	½ – ½	FM	AHMED Ali Layth Ahmed	2253
5		Radwan Mahmoud J	0	0 – 1	IM	MANSOUR Sameer	2308
6	FM	Ammar Sedrani	2274	0 – 1	CM	SAIF Malek	2168
7		Chekh Adm Khedr Aram	2147	1 – 0		MOHAMMED Ahmed Said Al Amri	1772
8		Seder Mohamad	1722	0 – 1	CM	ISMAEL Namir Mohammed Ismael	2122
9	IM	Sultan Ibrahim	2076	1 – 0		ALHEJAB Meshal	1681
10		DAWOD Mahmoud.W	1610	1 – 0	FM	Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri	1926
11		AL MAASHANI Abdullah	1831	½ – ½		ALOTHMAN Salem	1558
12		AL-ZAATARI Fares Thamer	0	1		bye

See other news of Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Rd 1: Asian Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship

Eight players of Bangladesh share early lead after two rounds of the SAIF POWERTEC Asian Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021 on Tornelo. The champion shall qualify into the FIDE World Cup next month in Sochi, Russia.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on facebook and twitter @Asianchess. Games are scheduled 3:30 pm daily (Dhaka time).

In photos, Bangladesh players face each other over the board as is allowed in hybrid tournaments if players in the same venue are paired with each other.

Tied with 2 points each are GM Ziaur Rahman, GM Enamul Hossain Razib, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, IM Abu Sufian Shakil, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, CM Manon Reja Neer and Anata Choudhury.

Four players trail with 1½ points each, namely CM Mahtab Uddin Ahmed and SWarnavo Choudhury of Bangladesh and FM L M S T De Silva and CM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka.

In 2nd round games: GM Zia beat FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, GM Razib beat Fm Khandaker Aminul Islam, IM Fahad beat CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia, CM Neer beat FM Subrota Biswas, IM Shakil beat CM Md. Sharif Hossain, FM Mahfuz beat CM Sohel Chowdhury, Anata beat CM Nayem Haque, FM Parag beat Prajapati Anshu Dil of Nepal, Swanavo beat Mihir Lal Das, CM Mahtabdrew with IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin and FM De Silva drew with cM Ranindu Dilshan.

Two players (photo below) were paired in Sri Lanka and also chose to play over the board, Ranindu (White) and Susal.

SAIF POWERTEC Asian Zonal 3.2 Chess Championship 2021
Pairings/Results
Round 2 on 2021/06/02 at 3:30 PM (Dhaka
Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	FM	Ahmed Sheikh Nasir	2178	0 – 1	GM	Rahman Ziaur	2434	1
2	2	GM	Hossain Enamul	2402	1 – 0	FM	Islam Khandaker Aminul	2182	11
3	3	IM	Mohammad Fahad Rahman	2314	1 – 0	CM	Zia Tahsin Tajwar	2178	13
4	14	CM	Manon Reja Neer	2130	1 – 0	FM	Subrota Biswas	2268	5
5	6	IM	Abu Sufian Shakil	2242	1 – 0	CM	Md. Sharif Hossain	2122	15
6	16	CM	Chowdhury Sohel	2106	0 – 1	FM	Rahman Syed Mahfuzur	2213	7
7	8	CM	Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan	2203	½ – ½	FM	De Silva L M S T	2085	17
8	18	CM	Nayem Haque	2080	0 – 1		Anata Choudhury	2202	9
9	10	FM	Mehdi Hasan Parag	2187	1 – 0		Prajapati Anshu Dil	0	39
10	4	IM	Mohammad Minhaz Uddin	2278	½ – ½	CM	Ahmed Mahtabuddin	2035	19
11	20		Mihir Lal Das	2013	0 – 1		Swarnavo Choudhury	1966	23
12	30		Prajapati Raj	1749	1 – 0		Kusatha Niken	1984	21
13	24	WFM	Noshin Anjum	1948	1 – 0		Farooq Noor	1706	31
14	34		Wadifa Ahmed	1629	1 – 0	FM	Muhammed Shuaau	1925	25
15	26	CM	Amarasinghe A A C B	1873	1 – 0		Muhammad Haris Rizwan	1633	33
16	36		Anis Ur Rehman Zaidi	0	1 – 0		Ahmad Awais	1838	27
17	28		Musawir Khan	1773	1 – 0		Afzal Shahwani	1443	35
18	38		Muneeb Yaqoob	0	+ – –		Ehtesham Ul Haq	1765	29
19	37		Muhammad Faisal Mughal	0	1		bye

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Rd. 1: Asian Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021

With a superlative performance in the AICF World Cup Qualifier, Grandmaster P Iniyan booked his tickets to Sochi for the World Cup 2021.

The online 17 player round robin tournament at Tornelo platform was organized by All India Chess Federation to select a player for the World Cup 2021 after Asian Continental Hybrid Chess Championship got cancelled at Indian venues due to surge in Covid cases.

Iniyan registered 12 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw in the process to earn 12 ½ points while Grandmaster D Gukesh also scored identical score but Direct Encounter tie break helped Iniyan to book the only berth for the world cup.   Grandmaster Sethuraman S P finished third with 10½ points while experienced campaigner Surya Sekhar Ganguly finished fourth with 10 points.

All India Chess Federation congratulate P Iniyan for winning the Qualifier and wish him the very best for the World Cup. Further we extend our heartfelt thanks to all the players for their whole hearted support and cooperation for the event following an unprecedented situation.

We congratulate the Arbiters team of Dharmendra Kumar, Gopakumar M S and Vivek Sohani for meticulously conducting the event without any issues.

All India Chess Federation takes this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to Prof Ken Regan for his invaluable contribution for the success of the event.

The final standings:-

Rank		Name	Rtg	Pts	Res.	SB	Vict	Vict
1	GM	P Iniyan	2506	12½	1	91.25	12	5
2	GM	Gukesh D	2578	12½	0	88.00	10	6
3	GM	S.p Sethuraman	2644	10½	0	69.25	8	4
4	GM	Sekhar Ganguly Surya	2625	10	3	78.75	9	4
5	GM	S.L Narayanan	2624	10	1½	69.00	7	2
6	IM	S. Nitin	2381	10	1	65.50	9	4
7	IM	Rithvik R Raja	2408	10	½	67.50	8	4
8	IM	Srivatshav Peddi Rahul	2463	9	0	67.25	8	3
9	GM	Baskaran Adhiban	2660	8½	0	59.00	6	1
10	GM	Sengupta Deep	2527	8	0	51.75	7	3
11	IM	Mittal Aditya	2438	7½	0	53.50	6	1
12	GM	Vasanthan Perumal Vishnu Prasanna	2476	6½	0	48.00	5	3
13	IM	Krishna Crg	2478	6	0	40.75	5	2
14	IM	Swaminathan Soumya	2351	5	0	32.00	3	1
15	FM	Vinay Kumar Matta	2305	4	1	26.50	4	1
16	IM	Krishnan P Saravana	2312	4	0	22.75	3	1
17	FM	Singhania Vatsal	2371	2	0	9.75	1	0

Asian Chess Federation Academy Iraq announces the opening of registration for players wishing to train online with chess platforms according to the special registration form. As promoted on websites the seminar is supervised by trainers from Morocco, Syria and Iraq and according to the latest technology and advanced training methods. The aim is to create a solid chess base in the upcoming international championships.

Attractive prices are set for age groups below 16 years of age for whom there will be a subscription allowance of $20 for a full month while the age groups over 16 will pay a contribution allowance of $40 for the same period of one month. Players will be pleased to know that joining represents an affiliation of the Academy and the player will be a member of the Academy. He will receive all future privileges that promise a bright generation supported and armed with knowledge and early chess maturity. Here is the link of subscription and according to the following electronic for.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0QD-pablzKwJ_bx_aBYQpo5wtIVPeZ_Lcw2Cr4fZemGYxAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

إعلان
تعلن أكاديمية الاتحاد الآسيوي للشطرنج فرع العراق عن فتح باب التسجيل للاعبين الراغبين في التدريب اون لاين وحسب منصات الاتصال المرئي الإلكترونية وفق استمارة التسجيل الخاص والتي تم ترويجها في المواقع الإلكترونية وبإشراف مدربين من المغرب و سوريا والعراق وحسب أحدث التقنيات والطرق التدريبية المتطورة لخلق قاعدة شطرنجية رصينة لتكون رقماً صعباً في البطولات الدولية المقبلة وبأسعار مغرية حيث إن الفئات العمرية لما دون 16 عام سيكون بدل الإشتراك 20$ لمدة شهر كامل بينما الفئات العمرية فوق 16 عام ستدفع بدل إشتراك مقداره 40$ ولذات الفترة الزمنية وهي شهر كامل علماً أن هذا الإنضمام يمثل انتساب للأكاديمية ويصبح عضو فيها وسيشمل بجميع الامتيازات المستقبلية والتي تبشر بجيل زاهر مدعوم ومتسلح بالمعرفة والنضج الشطرنجي المبكر وإليكم لينك الإشتراك وحسب الاستمارة الالكترونية التالية
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0QD-pablzKwJ_bx_aBYQpo5wtIVPeZ_Lcw2Cr4fZemGYxAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

اليوم أكاديميه الاتحاد الآسيوي للشطرنج العراق تقييم دوره للتعلم على استخدام برنامج ChessBase وعلى منصه زوم الساعه التاسعه بتوقيت بغداد ويحق للاعبي المنتخب الوطني للرجال والنساء الحضور مع المدربين المشتركين في الدوره التدريبيه

Today the Academy of the Asian Chess Federation Iraq evaluates its role to learn on the use of chessbase program and on the platform zoom at 9 o’clock Baghdad time and the players of the national team of men and women are entitled to attend with the coaches participating in the training session

((( أكاديمية الاتحاد الآسيوي للشطرنج فرع العراق)))
ستنطلق في تمام التاسعة بتوقيت بغداد من مساء اليوم الأربعاء المصادف الثاني من حزيران يونيو الجاري الدورة التدريبية الثانية لعام 2021 عبر تقنية الاتصال المرئي زووم .
محاضرة اليوم تخص برنامج الجيس بيس Chess Base وكيفية استخدامه ومدى فاعليته في تدريب وتطوير المدربين واللاعبين على حد سواء، ويحق للاعبي المنتخب الوطني من الرجال والنساء الحضور مع المدربين المشتركين في الدورة التدريبية الأولى بشكل مجاني ومحاضر هذه الدورة الأستاذ الدولي الكبير إحسان جواد من دولة فلسطين الشقيقة وتستمر هذه الدورة ٣ أيام حسب تصريح مدير الدورة الأستاذ حيدر عبد الغني رئيس لجنة المدربين في اتحاد الشطرنج العراقي المركزي

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines– Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr. awarded Philippine child prodigy Al-Basher “Basty” Buto, hailing from Ditsaan-Ramain, Lanao del Sur, 100,000 pesos and a 10,000 pesos monthly scholarship stipend.

Buto is an 11- year old chess champion who won the gold medal during the 18th ASEAN Age Group Chess Championship. He has consistently placed in various chess tournaments, and is considered by the LDS Provincial Government as a Youth Role Model for Muslim Filipinos. Fondly called “Basty” in the chess world,  he is a grade five pupil of Faith Christian School in Cainta, Rizal.

It shall be recalled that last March 16, 2021, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) passed the Resolution No. 356 commending Al- “Basty” Basher Buto for his outstanding feats in both national and international chess championships, and providing support for his future development, during its Session No. 55 at the Bangsamoro Government Center, in Cotabato City.

The resolution was introduced by principal authors members of the Parliament Atty. Rasol Mitmug, Jr., Atty. Laisa Alamia, Suharto Ambolodto, Engr. Baintan Adil-Ampatuan, Amilbahar Mawallil, Rasul Ismael, and Engr. Don Mustapha Loong.
“One of the goals of the Bangsamoro Sports Commission [BSC] is to actually develop young athletes in the Bangsamoro,” Atty. Mitmug said.

Buto is the the first and youngest Bangsamoro master chess player.

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Eric Labog Jr. dominated the Paul Lauron Birthday Open Chess Tournament (Over The Board) at the Chessmates Headquarters in Pasay City last Sunday, May 30, 2021.

The Solano, Nueva Vizcaya native Labog scored 8.5 points to win the 10 round tournament, being held to celebrate the birthday of Paul Lauron.

Jerry Areque of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental settled for second with 6.5 points while Jhulo Goloran of Meycauayan City, Bulacan wound up third with 6 points.

National Master Eduardo “Egay” Estrella of Pasay City, US national master Arthur Macaspac of San Jose Delmonte, Bulacan, National Master Edmundo Gatus of Tondo, Manila and National Master Darry Bernardo of Angeles City, Pampanga were tied at 4th to 7th places with 4.5 points each.

Rounding up to the top 10 were 8th place Jade Nicdao (3 points),  9th place Florel Cruz (1.5 points) and 10th place Domingo Libay (1 point).

Meanwhile, Noel Jay Estacio of Quezon City scored 6.5 points in 10 games of play to romp home with the Challenger Category title.

Favorites Win in Opening Round

Top players from eight countries are cometing in the FIDE Middle East Zone 3.1 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship on Tornelo, namely Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on twitter @Asianchess.

In the opening round on 1st June, top seed GM Idani Pouya of Iran (photo above) used the Nimzovitch-Rossolimo Attack against the Sicilian Defense of Aram Chekh Adm Khedr of Syria. Pouya distracted his opponent with preventing pawn promotion on the queenside to weave a mating net on the kingside and force resignation on the 42^nd move.

Front and rear views of the playing venue at the Iran Chess Federation headquarters in Tehran.

Second seed GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran accepted the Queen’s Gambit of Namir Mohammed Ismael of Iraq and maneuvered in the Queen and Rook endgame to emerge 2 pawns up and force resignation in 56 moves.

Panoramic view of the Iraq playing venue in Baghdad.

GM Aryan Gholami of Iran essayed the Reti opening against Ibrahim Sultan of the UAE, transposing into a Queen’s Bishop Game. The Iranian sacrificed a Bishop on the 12^th move and Sultan resigned on the following move.

Panoramic view of the playing venue in Palestine,

IM Bashir Eiti of Syria used the Center Counter Defense against FM Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri of Oman. The Syrian won a Rook for Knight exchange on the 36^th move and delivered checkmate three moves later.

Zone 3.1 Chess Championships 2021
Rank after Round 1
Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	1	GM	IDANI Pouya	IRI	2614	1	0	0	0
	2	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	IRI	2547	1	0	0	0
	3	GM	GHOLAMI Aryan	IRI	2513	1	0	0	0
	4	IM	EITI Bashir	SYR	2340	1	0	0	0
	5	IM	MANSOUR Sameer	JOR	2308	1	0	0	0
	6	FM	Ammar Sedrani	UAE	2274	1	0	0	0
	7	FM	SALIH Akar Ali Salih	IRQ	2274	1	0	0	0
	8	FM	KONIAHLI Malek.	SYR	2255	1	0	0	0
	9	FM	AHMED Ali Layth Ahmed	IRQ	2253	1	0	0	0
	10	IM	AL HOSANI Omran	UAE	2197	1	0	0	0
	11	CM	SAIF Malek	JOR	2168	1	0	0	0
	23		Radwan Mahmoud J	PLE	0	1	0	0	0
13	12		Chekh Adm Khedr Aram	SYR	2147	0	0	0	1
	13	CM	ISMAEL Namir Mohammed Ismael	IRQ	2122	0	0	0	1
	14	IM	Sultan Ibrahim	UAE	2076	0	0	0	1
	15	FM	Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri	OMA	1926	0	0	0	1
	16		AL MAASHANI Abdullah	OMA	1831	0	0	0	1
	17		MOHAMMED Ahmed Said Al Amri	OMA	1772	0	0	0	1
	18		Seder Mohamad	PLE	1722	0	0	0	1
	19		ALHEJAB Meshal	KUW	1681	0	0	0	1
	20		DAWOD Mahmoud.W	PLE	1610	0	0	0	1
	21		ALOTHMAN Salem	KUW	1558	0	0	0	1
	22		AL-ZAATARI Fares Thamer	KUW	0	0	0	0	1

 

The Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2021, Hybrid Chess, qualifying for the FIDE World Cup Chess 2021, sponsored by SAIF POWERTEC Limited, began Tuesday afternoon at the Crown hall of the Hotel Asia Hotel at Topkhana Road.

Watch games live in chessbomb,  chess.com,  followchess,  chess24 and chessbase. Visit chess-results.com to download games and for round by round results and standings. Follow Asian Chess Federation on facebook and twitter @Asianchess. Games are scheduled 3:30 pm daily (Dhaka time).

Dr. Benazir Ahmed, BPM (Bar), President of Bangladesh Chess Federation and Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, officially inaugurated the championship virtually present as the chief guest.

Mr. Tarafder Md. Ruhul Amin (photo above), Managing Director of Saif Powertech Limited and Vice President of Bangladesh Chess Federation was virtually present as the special guest.

Mr. K M Shahidullah, Vice President of Bangladesh Chess Federation presided over the ceremony. Mr. Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim (photo above), General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation and President of FIDE Zone 3.2, Mr. Abundo Casto, Executive Director of Asian Chess Federation, Dr. Shoeb Reaz Alam, Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation and ADIG of Bangladesh Police, Chief Arbiter IA Md. Haroon Or Rashid, IA Luxman Wejesuria President of Sri Lanka Chess Federation, IO Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly and Sajol Mahmud Executive Members of Bangladesh Chess Federation, participating players were present in the Inauguration ceremony.

A total of 39 players are participating with 21 players from Bangladesh including Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, Grandmaster Enamul Hossain Razib, International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman, International Master Mohammad Minhazuddin, International Master Abu Sufian Shakil, two players from Maldives, three players from Nepal, ten players from Pakistan and three players from Sri Lanka.

In first round game: GM Zia beat Mihir LAl Das, GM Razi beat Kusatha Niken of Nepal, IM Fahad beat Muhammad Ayoub, FM Subrota Biswas beat WFM Noshin Anjum, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman beat CM Amarasinghe of Sri Lanka, Anata Choudhury beat Musawir Khan of Pakistan, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag beat Ehtesham Ul Haq of Pakistan, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam beat Prajapati Raj of Nepal, CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat Mahmood Nasir of Pakistan, CM Md Sharif Hossain beat Wadifa Ahmed, CM Manon Reja Neer beat Muhammad Haris Rezwan of Pakistan, CM Sohel Chowdhury beat Afzal Shahwani, CM Nayem Haque beat Muhammad Faisal Mughal of Pakista and CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed beat Muneeb Yaqoob of Pakistan. IM Minhaz played with Swarnavo Choudhury, IM Shakil played with Muhammed Shuaau of Maldives and FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed played with Farooq Noor of Maldives and three games were continued.

The championship will be held in 9-round Swiss-League system and champion of the event will have the opportunity to participate in the FIDE World Cup Chess 2021 in Sochi, Russia from July 10. The winners of the competition will be awarded a cash prize of $3,000.

The 2nd round games will start tomorrow (Wednesday) from 3:30 PM at same venue.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich congratulated the winners of the Asian Continental Hybrid Chess Championship at closing ceremonies the other day.

Asian Chess Federation Deputy President Bharat Singh of India welcomed participants to the closing ceremony and thanked the FIDE President for his support. Bharat Singh thanked the national federations for participating during this difficult time of pandemic.

The President praised the smooth organization and the many exciting games. He congratulated the winners and said he was pleased to see qualifiers from many countries. He thanked the Arbiters, Media and Technical Staff and added that hybrid chess is a completely new experience of which we are learning.

Also present were Asian Chess Federation General Secretary Hisham Al Taher of the UAE, Treasurer Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh of Iran, Executive Director Casto Abundo of the Philippines and Chief Arbiter Abdulrahim Mahdi of the UAE, Zone 3.1 President IM Sami Khader of Jordan, Zone 3.2 President Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim of Bangladesh, Australian Chess Federation President Gary Wastell, Sri Lanka Chess Federation President Luxman Wijesuriya, Hong Kong Chess Federation President K.K. Chan and other officials.

Champion GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov of Uzbekistan and runner-up IM Tin Jingyao of Singapore, who finished in a tie at 7 points each, gave their victory speeches, thanking the FIDE President and the Asian Chess Federation.