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India dominated the Western Asia Youth Chess Championships 2019 organised excellently by the Delhi Chess Association on behalf of the All India Chess Federation and the Asian Chess Federation from 4th to 11th September 2019 at the Tivoli Grand Resort Hotel in New Delhi.

A total of 408 players from ten Western Asian countries (FIDE Zones 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.7 federations, namely India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the UAE,participated in 16 different age categories and played under Standard, Rapid and Blitz format.

Mr. Berik Balgabaev, Advisor to the FIDE President inaugurated the championship in the presence of Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Deputy President Asian Chess Federation; Mr. Husan Turdialiev, President Asian Zone 3.4; Mr. Khurshed Vatanov, FIDE Delegate of Tajikistan Federation; Mr. Naresh Sharma, Joint Secretary of All India Chess Federation; Mr. R Hanumantha, Secretary of United Karnataka Chess Association and Mr. AK Verma, Secretary of Delhi Chess Association. During the ceremony Mr. Balgabaev conveyed the good wishes message of FIDE President Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich to all the participants and officials.

In the opening day, 7-round Rapid events were held as expected the host India dominated the medal tally by winning 43 medals, which include 15 gold. Uzbekistan secured Gold in Under-18 Open category while Tajikistan, Bangladesh placed in the medal tally with solitary silver while Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka contented with winning bronze.

In the 9 round Swiss System with standard time control, India once again proved their mettle by winning 41 medals out of 48 in which 14 each were Gold and Silver. Uzbekistan secured one Gold and Two Bronze while Kazakhstan secured single Gold. Tajikistan and Sri Lanka made their presence in medal tally with solitary silver and Kyrgyzstan with a bronze.

On the final day afternoon, Blitz championships were held and India again dominated this format also by winning 41 Medals with 15 Gold. Uzbekistan won 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze while Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka won silver each and Iran completed the medal by solitary bronze.

At the end of championship, India emerged as overall winners with 125 medals out of which 44 were Gold while Uzbekistan secured runner up trophy with 8 medals and Kazakhstan finished as second runner up with 3 medals.

In a colourful closing ceremony, Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Dy President Asian Chess Federation; Mr. Husan Turdialiev, President Asian Zone 3.4; Mr. Dharam Bahadur Lama, Secretary Nepal Chess Association, Mr. Khurshed Vatanov, FIDE Delegate Tajikistan Federation; Mr. R Hanumantha, Secretary United Karnataka Chess Association and Mr. AK Verma, Secretary Delhi Chess Association gave away the prizes and medals to the winners.

 

MEDAL WINNERS : STANDARD
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U20O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	FM	Abdisalimov Abdimalik	UZB	2409	7.5
	Silver	FM	Rajdeep Sarkar	IND	2364	7.5
	Bronze	IM	Mendonca Leon Luke	IND	2385	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U20G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WIM	Chitlange Sakshi	IND	2159	7
	Silver	WIM	Vantika Agrawal	IND	2304	6.5
	Bronze	WIM	Abdusattorova Bakhora	UZB	2109	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U18O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Srijit Paul	IND	2310	7
	Silver	FM	Thilakarathne G M H	SRI	2397	6
	Bronze	FM	Abdurakhmonov Mukhammadali	UZB	2288	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U18G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WCM	Mrudul Dehankar	IND	2198	8
	Silver		Priyanka K	IND	2169	7.5
	Bronze		Pandey Srishti	IND	1928	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U16O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	FM	Abdilkhair Abilmansur	KAZ	2189	6.5
	Silver		Mohamed Anees M	IND	2038	6
	Bronze		Ajay Karthikeyan	IND	2206	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U16G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Greeshma Anand Dhumal	IND	2042	7
	Silver	WFM	Salonika Saina	IND	2100	6.5
	Bronze	WCM	Chinnam Vyshnavi	IND	1668	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U14O )
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Jain Kashish Manoj	IND	1870	7
	Silver		Karthik Sai Ch	IND	2033	7
	Bronze		Bhavesh Mahajan	IND	2085	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U14G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Bhagyashree Patil	IND	1744	8
	Silver		Abrorova Sabrina	TJK	1687	7
	Bronze		Velpula Sarayu	IND	1692	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U12O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Chilukuri Sai Varshith	IND	1813	6.5
	Silver		Sahib Singh	IND	1556	6
	Bronze		Bagwe Gaurang	IND	1788	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U12G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Tejaswini G	IND	1553	6.5
	Silver		Sai Mahati A	IND	1281	6.5
	Bronze		Kheerthi Ganta	IND	1490	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U10O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Mayank Chakraborty	IND	1751	7.5
	Silver		Daakshin Arun	IND	1691	7
	Bronze		Aakash G	IND	1655	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U10G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Palak Mohapatra	IND	1406	5.5
	Silver		Pournami S	IND	1325	5
	Bronze		Sachi Jain	IND	1282	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U8O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Vivaan Vijay Saraogi	IND	1498	8
	Silver		Rosh Jain	IND	1616	8
	Bronze		Nimay Agrawal	IND	1152	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U8G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Aggarwal Tashna	IND	1110	7
	Silver		Sequeira Jennica	IND	0	6.5
	Bronze		Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi	IND	1066	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U6O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Madhvendra Pratap Sharma	IND	1084	7
	Silver		Nijesh R	IND	0	6.5
	Bronze		Joshi Aditya Shripad	IND	0	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Chess Championship-2019 (U6G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Diya Digamber Sawal	IND	0	8
	Silver		Aadya Ranganath	IND	0	7.5
	Bronze		Sharabidinova Aliia	KGZ	0	6
MEDAL WINNERS : RAPID
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U20O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Sankalp Gupta	IND	2246	6
	Silver	IM	Rahul Srivatshav P	IND	2027	5.5
	Bronze	FM	Anuj Shrivatri	IND	2064	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U20G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WIM	Aakanksha Hagawane	IND	1822	7
	Silver		Bakshi Rutuja	IND	1932	5
	Bronze	WFM	Savitha Shri B	IND	1639	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U18O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	FM	Abdurakhmonov Mukhammadali	UZB	1933	5.5
	Silver		Srijit Paul	IND	1924	5
	Bronze		Arjun Gupta	IND	1644	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U18G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Priyanka K	IND	1778	6.5
	Silver	WCM	Jyothsna L	IND	1749	5.5
	Bronze		Pandey Srishti	IND	1988	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U16O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Jayachandra Srinivas Vellanki	IND	1467	5.5
	Silver		Mohamed Anees M	IND	1567	5.5
	Bronze	FM	Abdilkhair Abilmansur	KAZ	1986	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U16G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WCM	Bristy Mukherjee	IND	1569	6
	Silver	WCM	Chinnam Vyshnavi	IND	1424	5.5
	Bronze		Dahampriya H K T Dewnethmie	SRI	1448	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U14O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Abinandhan R	IND	1718	6
	Silver		Aditya Varun Gampa	IND	1426	5
	Bronze	CM	Nikhil Magizhnan	IND	1855	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U14G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Shivika Rohilla	IND	1363	6
	Silver		Abrorova Sabrina	TJK	1222	5.5
	Bronze		Velpula Sarayu	IND	1511	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U12O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Bagwe Gaurang	IND	1473	6.5
	Silver		Sahib Singh	IND	1698	5.5
	Bronze		Shaik Sumer Arsh	IND	1695	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U12G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Tejaswini G	IND	1462	6
	Silver		Ratnapriya K	IND	1591	5.5
	Bronze		Cera Dagaria	IND	1457	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U10O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Daaevik Wadhawan	IND	1562	6
	Silver		Wanjari Krupal	IND	1075	5.5
	Bronze		Daakshin Arun	IND	1441	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U10G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Sachi Jain	IND	1282	6.5
	Silver		Panchal Hiya	IND	1175	6.5
	Bronze		Kukreja Suguna	IND	1148	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U8O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Vaz Ethan	IND	1251	6.5
	Silver		Rosh Jain	IND	1176	6
	Bronze		Aaryaveer Agarwal	IND	0	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U8G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi	IND	1096	6.5
	Silver		Warsia Khusbu	BAN	1237	6
	Bronze		Aggarwal Tashna	IND	1110	5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U6O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Nijesh R	IND	0	5.5
	Silver		Havish Kovidh Tadavarthy	IND	0	5.5
	Bronze		Joshi Aditya Shripad	IND	0	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid Chess Championship-2019 (U6G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Diya Digamber Sawal	IND	0	7
	Silver		Rammadugu Geethika Sri	IND	0	6
	Bronze		Srijita Das	IND	0	5
MEDAL WINNERS : BLITZ
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U20O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	IM	Rahul Srivatshav P	IND	2302	7
	Silver	WIM	Divya Deshmukh	IND	2081	7
	Bronze	FM	Abdisalimov Abdimalik	UZB	2348	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U20G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WFM	Lakshmi C	IND	1689	8.5
	Silver	WIM	Vantika Agrawal	IND	1775	8
	Bronze		Bakshi Rutuja	IND	2022	5.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U18O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Srijit Paul	IND	2077	7
	Silver	FM	Thilakarathne G M H	SRI	1949	6.5
	Bronze	FM	Aaryan Varshney	IND	2215	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U18G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Priyanka K	IND	1893	7
	Silver	WCM	Mrudul Dehankar	IND	1731	7
	Bronze	WCM	Jyothsna L	IND	1818	7
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U16O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	FM	Ajay Karthikeyan	IND	2077	8.5
	Silver	FM	Abdilkhair Abilmansur	KAZ	2076	7
	Bronze		Ayushh Ravikumar	IND	1378	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U16G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold	WFM	Salonika Saina	IND	1784	9
	Silver	WCM	Bristy Mukherjee	IND	1664	7
	Bronze	WCM	Arushi Kotwal	IND	1398	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U14O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Sharipov Davron	UZB	1722	7
	Silver	CM	Nikhil Magizhnan	IND	1965	6.5
	Bronze		Bhavesh Mahajan	IND	2125	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U14G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Bhagyashree Patil	IND	1636	8
	Silver		Bobomurodova Maftuna	UZB	1456	6.5
	Bronze		Shivika Rohilla	IND	1404	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U12O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Adalja Vanssh A	IND	1391	8
	Silver		Mrithyunjay Mahadevan	IND	1314	7.5
	Bronze		Shaik Sumer Arsh	IND	1695	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U12G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Kheerthi Ganta	IND	1490	7.5
	Silver		Rout Yashita	IND	1308	7
	Bronze		Jahnavi Sri Lalita Mareddy	IND	1389	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U10O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Wanjari Krupal	IND	1383	9
	Silver		Md Imran	IND	1666	6.5
	Bronze		Mayank Chakraborty	IND	1592	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U10G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Sachi Jain	IND	1282	8
	Silver		Sanikommu Manasvi	IND	1287	7
	Bronze		Debapriya Manna	IND	1210	6
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U8O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Rosh Jain	IND	1136	8
	Silver		Vaz Ethan	IND	1200	7
	Bronze		Ubaydullaev Mukhammadiso	UZB	0	7
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U8G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi	IND	1068	8.5
	Silver		Sequeira Jennica	IND	0	6.5
	Bronze		Prishita Gupta	IND	1016	6.5
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U6O)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Mithilesh P	IND	0	7.5
	Silver		Madhvendra Pratap Sharma	IND	1084	7.5
	Bronze		Kakavand Ramtin	IRI	1190	7
	Western Asian Youth & Junior Blitz Chess Championship-2019 (U6G)
	Medal		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
	Gold		Diya Digamber Sawal	IND	0	9
	Silver		Aadya Ranganath	IND	0	6
	Bronze		Rammadugu Geethika Sri	IND	0	6

Young medalists.

Uzbekistan delegation

Kazakhstan dlegation

 

 

 

Talal Alzaim of Syria and Tolegen Nukin of Kazakhstan won the over 50 and over 65 categories, respectively, in the Asian Seniors Chess Championship organized by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation 8-18 September 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Asian senior Championship was held for the first time in Almaty; and more than 70 chess players from 16 countries took part.  In the 65+ category, Kazakhstan took the entire set of medals and in the category over 50  silver and bronze medals.

Elena Ankudinova from Pavlodar won the gold in the women’s section in the 50+ category for the former world champion among seniors. Nadezhda Iskichekova of Almaty took the first place in the category over 65 among women.

In the blitz and rapid championships, Kazakhstan won a full set of medals. In the category over 50 years old, Serikbay Temirbayev took the gold, and in the category over 65 years old – Tolegen Nukin. In the blitz, in the 50+ category, the best result was shown by Jamshed Isaev from Tajikistan, and in the category over 65 years old – Sabyr Syzdykov from Kazakhstan.

“I would like to note the high level of organization of the championship,” said Australian participant Peter Frost, “It was one of the best tournaments of all ten Asian championships among seniors in history. However, we, in turn, will be happy to host Kazakhstan athletes and repay them with the same warm welcome.”

Blitz 50+

Men

1	IM	Isaev Jamshed	TJK	2334
2		Umarbekov Aziz	KGZ	2225
3	GM	Temirbayev Serikbay	KAZ	2360

Women

1	WGM	Ankudinova Yelena	KAZ	1956
2	CM	Milligan Helen	NZL	1968
3		Ilanbekova Nurgul	KAZ	1650

Blitz 65+

Men

1	Syzdykov Sabyr	KAZ	2001
2	Sidorov Sergey	KAZ	0
3	Primbetov Marat	KAZ	2120

Women

1	Iskichekova Nadezhda	KAZ	1730
2	Yagunova Zinaida	KAZ	1790
3	Abdikasova Panu	KAZ	1670

Rapid 50+

Men

1	GM	Temirbayev Serikbay	KAZ	2481
2		Golovchuk Oleg	KAZ	2087
3	IM	Min Valeriy	KAZ	2250

Women

1	WGM	Ankudinova Yelena	KAZ	1933
2	CM	Milligan Helen	NZL	1920
3		Ilanbekova Nurgul	KAZ	1650

Rapid 65+

Men

1	Nukin Tolegen	KAZ	2141
2	Primbetov Marat	KAZ	2143
3	Khusainov Hanif	KAZ	2043

Women

1	Iskichekova Nadezhda	KAZ	1802
2	Yagunova Zinaida	KAZ	1744
3	Abdikasova Panu	KAZ	1394

Standard 50+

Men

1		Alzaim Talal	SYR	2175
2	GM	Temirbayev Serikbay	KAZ	2369
3		Asanov Almaz	KAZ	2037

Women

1	WGM	Ankudinova Yelena	KAZ	2034
2		Ilanbekova Nurgul	KAZ	1650
3	CM	Milligan Helen	NZL	1963

 Standard 65+

Men

1		Nukin Tolegen	KAZ	2093
2	FM	Kashkarov Mikhail	KAZ	1939
3		Khusainov Hanif	KAZ	2070

Women

1	Iskichekova Nadezhda	KAZ	1745
2	Abdikasova Panu	KAZ	1599
3	Yagunova Zinaida	KAZ	1790

Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan solved the impasse in Pakistan chess, merging two groups who have been in litigation these past three years.

Sheikh Sultan met 11th September in Al Ain, UAE with Senator Kalsoom Parveen and Amin Malik of the Pakistan Sports Board recognized group and Abdus Salim and Waqar Ahmed Madni of the FIDE recognized group. Also attending were Rahid Iqbal Khawaja and Asim Shahjehan, assistants to Senator Kalsoom Parveen.

In April 2013, Mr. Abdus Salim was elected President of the Pakistan Chess Federation, but another rival group headed by Mr. Hanif Qureshi claimed the presidency.  In July 2017 elections of the Chess Federation were held under the auspices of the Pakistan Sports Board. Abdus Salim contested the election in court and obtained a favorable verdict. Since then two groups have both been going to court and Pakistan chess has stagnated for three years.

The two groups met last year in Dubai with Asian Chess Federation Deputy President Bharat Singh of India and were awaiting the final ruling of the courts but Pakistan chess was suffering from the stalemate.

At the meeting last week with Sheikh Sultan, lawyers of both groups presented court rulings and supporting documents but Sheikh Sultan, seconded by Asian Chess Federation Secretary General Hisham Al Taher, concentrated instead on finding a mutually agreeable solution.

Sheikh Sultan emphasized the advantage of unity combining the many years of experience of Abdus Salim with the government influence of Senator Kalsoom Parveen. After three hours of discussion, the parties agreed to unite under the FIDE-recognized Pakistan Chess Federation which has been a FIDE member since 1973.

Similarly the Pakistan Football Association was split into factions resulting in the suspension by FIFA of Pakistan. At the FIDE Presidential Board meeting 8 September in Budapest, Hungary, the Board authorized Sheikh Sultan to handle the situation in Pakistan chess.

Sheikh Sultan said “What they were unable to achieve in other sports, we were able to unify in chess because we are one family. Pakistan, with a population of 200 million, has great potential for chess and I am confident that with unity the Pakistan Chess Federation will be active again.”

Unity in Pakistan chess. From left are Raashid Iqbal Khawaja, Asim Shahjehan, Senator Kalsoom Parveen, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan, Abdus Salim, Hisham Al Taher, Waqar Ahmed Madni and Amin Malik.

 

 

Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan (center) leads the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement. Clockwise from left are Raashid Iqbal Khawaja, Waqar Ahmed Madni, Hisham Al Taher, Senator Kalsoom Parveen, Sheikh Sultan, Abdus Salim, Casto Abundo, Amin Malik and Asim Shahjehan.

 

Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan (center) with Senator Kalsoom Parveen and Abdus Salim, president and chairman, respectively, of the united Pakistan Chess Federation.

Manila, Philippines, 29 July —Former FIDE Secretary General Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino was elected Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president at elections yesterday held at the Century Park Hotel in Manila.

Tolentino got 24 of the 44 possible votes made up of national sports associations, two Olympians from the athletes commission and the International Olympic Committee representative.

Photo: Tolentino being interviewed by the Press after his election as POC president.

 

“Now that this is over, we can move forward and focus on the SEA Games,” said Tolentino, a Congressman, Secretary General of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and PhilCycling president. Tolentino is chairman of PHISGOC, the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee which includes chess among the official sports.

Steve Hontiveros of handball was elected the new chairman. Tolentino defeated track and field head Philip Ella Juico, 24-20, in a tight race at the special elections.

Tolentino, 55, takes over the position vacated by former POC president Ricky Vargas, who resigned last June 18. Tolentino, former POC chairman, will fulfill the rest of Vargas’s tenure, and will hold office until November 2020.

“Thank you very much to my supporters. Hopefully, this finishes the POC squabble. So I think, as the saying goes, set aside the differences, and move forward. Let us all be united, because we are preparing (and) focused on the SEA Games, and next year Para Games and Olympics,” Tolentino said following his election.

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.

Our National Champion, Harshana achieved the most Popular Emerging Sportsmen in Sri Lanka at the Presidential Sports Awards held at BMICH Yesterday. Congratulations! Harshana.

Mrs. Suneetha Wijesuriya, the Chess Olympiad Gold Medalist of Manila Chess Olympiad received the Kreeda Rathne award which is a life time award for her performance in the past. Congratulations! Mrs.Suneetha.

Sayuni Gihansa, the Women’s National Champion was in the nominees list for Popular Emerging Sportsmen in Sri Lanka. Congratulations! Gihansa.

This is a proud achievement not only for them, But also for Chess as a Sport in the country.

Luxman Wijesuriya

For and on behalf of The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka.

GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami and WGM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat, both of Iran, won the Men’s and Women’s Zone 3.1 Zonal Championships, respectively, organized by the Royal Jordanian Chess Federation under the auspices of FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation from 18 to 27 June 2019 in Amman, Jordan.

Thirty players from ten countries competed in the Men’s Zonal championship in a 9-round Swiss while ten players from four countries competed in a round robin in the Women’s zonal. Visit chess-results.com for results and standings, and to download games.

Maghami finished alone undefeated with 8 points, beating, in order of rounds, CM Loay Sameer and FM Mansour Samee of Jordan, IM Nezad Husein Aziz of Qatar, drawing with IM Gholami Aryan of Iran and FM Issa Rafat of Jordan, followed by four straight wins against GM Pourramezanali Amirreza of Iran, FM Salih Akar Ali Salih of Jordan, FM Alhuqar Jasem of the UAE and FM Abdulwahhab Ahmed Abdul Sattar of Iraq.

Photo: GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami receiving his trophy. From left are: Zone 3.1 President Sami Khader, Asian Chess Federation Secretary General Hisham Al Taher of the UAE, Jordanian Minister of culture and Youth Dr. Mohammad Abu Rumman and Royal Jordanian Chess Federation president Nawaf Irshedat.

 

IM Sarasadat finished in a tie with compatriot WIM Alinasah Mobina at 8.5 points each. They beat all other participants and drew with each other. They had the same tie break scores but Sarasadat won both games in the Rapid chess playoff.

Photo: WGM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat receiving the women’s championship trophy.

 

The tournament was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Talal who was represented by His Excellency  Dr. Mohammad Abu Rumman, the Minister of culture and Youth. Asian Chess Federation Secretary General Hisham Al Taher and Royal Jordanian Chess Federation president Nawaf Irshedat attended the awards ceremonies.

Photo: Dignitaries at the closing ceremony.

 

FIDE Zone 3.1 President Sami Khader organized the tournament in the 4-star MENA Tyche Hotel in Amman. Chief Arbiter was Iran Chess Federation president Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh. Winners shared a total of $5,000 in cash prizes. The men’s and women’s champions qualified to the respective World Cups.