Small Master in game of genius

By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter
Published: December 30, 2008, 23:46

Al Ain: At first sight, you could think that he was accompanying his father or elder brother to watch matches of the Asian Chess Champions League, but this shy, diminutive boy was in fact a tough contestant in the game of genius with some big wins already in his bag.

Ward Al Tarboushi, the FIDE Master of chess and the player of Al Shulah Chess Club in Syria, is one of the youngest participants in the first Asian Championship on club level and have successfully collected 3.5 points from his first five matches which made him advance to 25th on the players ranking list bearing in mind that when the championship started he was ranked 58th.

“Al Tarboushi started playing chess when he was only five years old and soon he began beating counterparts his age. Later he started defeating elder opponents and he surprised every one when he emerged as the Syrian champion before he was nine years old,” Mouaz Al Boushi, the secretary general of the Syria Chess Federation (SCF) and the player’s coach told Gulf News.

Ward continued his brilliant performances and he became the youngest ever Syrian to win a FIDE Master norm when he won the Arab Juniors in 2004 in Doha, Qatar.

“Al Tarboushi continued dominating the Arab Juniors Chess Championship and won its title four times successively from 2005 in Qatar, Morocco and Abu Dhabi collecting full points without losing a single game.

“In 2005 he took part in the World Juniors Chess Championship in France and finished 10th from 124 competitors from all over the world.” Al Boushi added.

“Al Tarboushi represents the Syrian hopes of national chess champion in the near future. All he needs is a qualified coach who can improve his game because now he even beats the local coaches in Syria, but the lack of sufficient financial funds in the SCF prevents us from providing him with quality coaches.

“Taking part in this tournament will surely help him to gain experience and upgrade his game. We are grateful for Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakbout, the President of the Asian Chess Federation, for organising this championship which provide the young players with a good chance to play against some of the world’s best players,” Al Boushi said.

Source: http://www.gulfnews.com

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