Top local chess players to battle in Fiji Open tournament
Emoni Narawa
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
THE Fiji Chess Federation is expecting tough competition at the Fiji Open this weekend.
Top players such as Candidate Masters Manoj Kumar, Gloria Sukhu, Noel Adricula, Goru Arvind, Ronald Terubea, Hilda Vukikomoala and the in-form CM Calvin Prasad will light up the competition.
The Courts-sponsored event will commence at 9am at the Tappoo City Level four conference room.
FCF president Dr. Virgilio De Asa expects a record turnout from primary, secondary and tertiary students since prizes will be awarded in various categories.
Federation assistant general secretary Teliko Koroi said defending champion Prasad would have a tough time.
“Apart from our top players, we also have others such as Jun Clomera, Aarti Sewak and Keez Terubea who have been playing excellent chess lately,” he said.
“In fact, we won’t be surprised if defending champion Calvin Prasad has a hard time this weekend.”
Junior development officer Gloria Sukhu highlighted, the federation had managed to recruit at least a dozen new younger players through its Sunday coaching sessions.
“Based on the performance of younger players in local tournaments, we can clearly see improvement in the likes of Jacquelyn Masilomani, Menash Fareed, Vinooda Seniwaratane, Austin Koroi, Kelvyn Prasad, Atman Nand and Kabrina Terubea to name a few,” said Gloria. “We hope to develop some of these players to a skill level that is good enough to face opponents in international events like Chess Olympiads and Oceania Zonals.”
FCF applies a merit-based system where players are promoted to Intermediate and elite divisions based on their performance in local tournaments.
Sponsors Courts Fiji have kindly provided 10 prizes for the tournament.
Source: http://www.fijitimes.com
Fantastic.