2nd Annual Asian Chess Excellence Awards
The Asian Chess Federation announced awardees of the 2nd Annual Asian Chess Excellence Awards at a press conference last week at the Hilton Hotel in Al Ain, UAE. The prestigious Man of the Year Award goes to President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan in recognition of his inspiration to build the “National Specialized Youth Chess School of Olympic Reserve”, a massive $35 million complex for chess education in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“As the supervising body for Asian chess, we give well deserved recognition to the achievements of Asians in world championships of the previous year and to the unsung chess organizers of national chess federations. The Chess Excellence Award honors Asian players who have earned medals as the best among Asian representatives in their events,” Sheikh Sultan said as he named the 23 Awardees.
Player of the Year went to GM Yu Yangyi of China who was undefeated in last year`s Chess Olympiad and the highest scorer in the champion Chinese team. Woman Player of the Year is his compatriot Hou Yifan, overall winner of the FIDE Women`s Grand Prix.
Junior Player of the Year is Lu Shanglei of China who won the 2014 World Junior Championship in Pune, India. Girl Player of the Year is Khademalsharieh Sarasadat of Iran, silver medalist in the concurrent World Girls Championship in Pune.
Youth Player of the Year is Liu Yan of China for his victory in the World Youth Under-14 championship in Durban, South Africa. Youth Girl Player of the Year is Vaishali Ramesh Babu of India, bronze medalist in the World Girls Under-14 in Durban.
Organizer of the Year Award goes to Ko-Fei Lu, Secretary General of the Chinese Taipei Chess Association, for his exemplary organization of the 2014 Asian Schools in Taichung, Chinese Taipei. Event of the Year Award goes to the UAE Chess Federation for their excellent organization of the Asian Continental Championship in Sharjah.
Coach of the Year is GM Xu Jun of China who coached the Olympiad champion Chinese team. The Team of the Year Award goes to Chinese Chess Association as well as the Women`s Team of the Year for the runner-up finish of the Chinese team in the Women`s Olympiad.
Youth Coach of the Year is GM R.B. Ramesh of India who coached the world champion youth team. The All India Chess Federation gets the Youth Team of the Year Award for their victory in the 2014 World Under-16 Olympiad in Gyor, Hungary. The All India Chess Federation deservedly won the Most Active Federation Award for their numerous international and national tournaments.
The Nepal Chess Federation will receive the Chess Movement of the Year Award in recognition of their international activity while the Palestine Chess Federation is recognized for their National Chess Movement.
The Meritorious Service Award is given to Jose Silveirinho of Macau for his long tenure from 1991-2014 as President of the Macau Chess Federation and as organizer of the chess competition of the 2nd Asian Indoor Games in Macau.
Dr. Mohammed Obeid Ghobash of the UAE, former FIDE Deputy President for Asia and President of the UAE Chess Federation, is honored with the Meritorious Service Award, together with Sheikh Mohamed bin Khaled Al Thani of Qatar, former FIDE Deputy President for Asia and previous President of the Qatar Chess Association.
Posthumous Plaques of Appreciation are bestowed on the late FIDE President Florencio Campomanes of the Philippines and his Secretary General Dr. Lim Kok Ann of Singapore.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to Casto Abundo of the Philippines for three decades of service to chess in various FIDE positions as Secretary General, Executive Director, Rating Administrator, Constitutional Commission Chairman and former Deputy President of the Asian Chess Federation.
The Awards ceremonies shall be held at a gala dinner on 6th September with members of the FIDE Presidential Board and top officials in attendance.