30 years on – success for FCF
AMIT RAJ
Monday, January 04, 2010
The Fiji Chess Federation (FCF) has come a long way since it was formed 30 years ago.
From humble beginnings, the sport has greatly flourished and is enjoying fame and recognition at international level now.
It was in 1979 when a group of frustrated yet highly motivated chess enthusiasts formed a social network to promote the sport under the auspices of the Fiji Chess Federation.
After several slow years, the sport was on the brink of collapse, but a new revival inspired by its past secretary Dr. Virgilio De Asa helped FCF get affiliated to both FASANOC and FIDE (the world governing body of chess).
This led to national chess teams attending World Olympiads in 1990, 1992 and 1994.
The sport experienced an exodus of talented players in the late 1990s forcing FCF to embark on an ambitious drive to rejuvenate itself by targeting schools to identify the chess-masters of the future.
Considered by many to be a minor sport, the search was duly answered when FCF managed to host the 2002 Oceania Zonal Chess Championships in Sigatoka.
Here is the full article.
Nice job by the federation.
It’s always inspiring to see a federation so determined to promote its sport. You’ll produce GMs in the future, no doubt. Btw, the name Virgilio de Asa sounds very Filipino. I have a hunch he was.