Fiji Chess News: Calvin Prasad wins Brijlal Rapid Chess Open

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014

Hello everyone,

Now for some chess news from Fiji: Candidate Master (CM) Calvin Prasad has won the Brijlal Rapid Chess Open despite a loss to defending champion CM Manoj Kumar in the final round by virtue of tie-break. CM Goru Arvind created an upset in the last round by bating Manoj Kumar.

“It is a thrilling finish since it allows me back-to-back wins after the Kundan Singh Open,” states Prasad who is also the reigning National Champion. “Both Manoj and I finished at 5/6 but he had to settle for second place under a Swiss System tie-break due to his loss to Goru Arvind.”

Goru Arvind finished at 4.5/6 alongside CM Noel Adricula to share the third and fourth positions respectively. The Intermediate Division was won by Australia-based Dr. Jashint Maharaj who scored 4.5/6, followed by Aarti Sewak at 3/6.

New Olympiad representative CM Ronald Terubea topped the Tertiary Division with 5/6, while Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) Hilda Vukikomoala came second with 3/6. In the Women’s Division, veteran and Women’s Candidate Master (WCM) Gloria Sukhu held the top position with Kabrina Terubea at 4/6.

“Brijlal Rapid Open attracted players like John Caldeira from as far as Rakiraki,” mentions President Dr. Virgilio De Asa. “We are very pleased to see the perfomance of younger players like Nahapetyan Gor and Keez Terubea who won the Primary and Secondary School’s divisions convincingly. Youngsters like Menash Fareed, Jacquelyn Masilomani, Claudia Koroi, Zen Borg and Vinooda Senewiratne also produced good results.”

With a bulk of the participants coming from primary and secondary schools, the Fiji Chess Federation hopes to see an interesting event in the National Primary and Secondary Schools Chess Championship on Sunday 27 April 2014 at Tappoo City. (Report via fiji.one.tv)

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Fiji Chess Team – Norway Olympiad 2014: Players Invited

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

Effort to popularise chess is always always well-rewarded. Here's a nice note from the Fiji Chess Federation:

The Fiji Chess Federation is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from persons interested in representing Fiji at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway (August 1-14, 2014)

Vacancy exists in BOTH OPEN and WOMEN team for a BOARD 5 player.

Eligibilitya) Current OR Former Fiji citizen OR having resided in Fiji for 3+ years.
b) Keen and competitive chess player.
c) Ability to travel to Tromso at own cost. (Board & Lodge in Norway will be provided by the organisers).

Official Team (Jan 14th, 2014)Open – CM Calvin Prasad, CM Manoj Kumar, CM Sanmogam Goundar, CM Ronald Terubea.
Women – WFM Keiran Lyons, WCM Gloria Sukhu, WFM Hilda Vukikomoala, Cydel Terubea.

Selection Panel: Virgilio De Asa, Calvin Prasad, Teliko Koroi. The Panel reserves the right to accept/refuse any application.

DeadlineAll EOIs must be emailed to Calvin Prasad (cprasad@converge.com.fj) before 5pm, January 31st, 2014. Queries are most welcome.

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Fiji Chess: 12-Year-old Menash Fareed in Fiji Chess Top-10

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

Twelve-year-old chess kid Menash Fareed has become the youngest player to be placed among Fiji's top 10 chess list. The development comes after the World Chess Federation (FIDE) granted him an official rating following his impressive performance at the World Youth Chess championship last week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reports Fiji Times.

Fareed recorded victories against Daniel Roos of Sweden, Mahesh Khadka of Nepal and drew with Tinashe Mapfumo of Zimbabwe and Srinjay Mukhopadhyay of Kenya in the Under 14 category of the competition. And it was enough to move the youngster into Fiji's top 10, ahead of national U20 champion Keez Terubea.

This rounded off a successful year for the Yat Sen Primary School student who was a standout performer in the National Chess Championships last month where he managed three wins and one draw against the country's top players. National champion Calvin Prasad praised Fareed for his performance.

"Menash Fareed is a sensation in the local chess fraternity at the moment," he said.

Meanwhile, Menash's younger brother Meshan proved to be a powerhouse in the under-8 category at the tournament.

Fiji Chess Federation general secretary Goru Arvind said Meshan was a surprise package in the event.

Fiji's lone female representative to the event was ex-Olympiad rep Kabrina Terubea, who competed in the U16 category and won against Sanjana Deshpande of Kenya and drew with Zimbabwe's Cynthia Nyashanu.

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Fiji Chess News: Manoj Kumar Wins Parmeshwar Memorial

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

Here is some latest chess from Fiji. Candidate Master (CM) Manoj Kumar successfully retained the Rajnesh Parmeshwar Memorial Chess Championship. Kumar and CM Calvin Prasad went into the final round that was played at the Fiji Club with 4.5 points from the six rounds played last week at Tappoo City.

The last round had to be postponed after competition was played late into the night on July 6. Fiji Chess Federation president Dr Virgilio de Asa said Kumar beat Keez Terubea in the final round to finish with 5.5 points.

"Prasad lost to new CM, Ronald Terubea in the last round to finish third as Ronald's win allowed him to finish second with five points," he said. "Prasad and Noel Adricula were tied for third place with 4.5 points but Prasad won the tie-break."

Dr de Asa praised national junior champion, Ronald for his performance in the competition.

"He just recently became a CM but he has been performing consistently this whole season."

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Fiji Chess: Urgent Appeal for Women Players

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

The Fiji Chess Federation has issued an urgent appeal for more women chess players so that they can ready a strong team for the 2014 Chess Olympiad to be held in Norway. The Chess Olympiad is held every two years and was created in the wake of a failed attempt to include chess as an Olympic sport. At the 2012 event in Istanbul, more than 1700 players from 152 nations competed.

Teenager Hilda Vukikomoala, one of the rising stars of Fiji chess, has told Pacific Beat the women's team needs at least four players to take part in Norway. "Many people in Fiji know how to play chess, but those who are actually competing, is not so many," she said.

"Many of my friends know how to play — they're not very committed, or 'good' players — but they do know how to move the pieces around."
"There's way more men than women but I'm sure we'll get someone."

Fiji's Chess Federation says although most of the players in the country are over 30, it is hoping to capitalise on young competitors like Hilda to open new opportunities for the game. In May, the 17-year-old became the first local player to attain the Women's FIDE Master Title, a title based on performance in competitions.

Hilda has represented Fiji in numerous international events, including the last Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, and the Oceania Zonal in Nadi last month. She says although it can sometimes be hard to find strong opponents in Fiji, technology has opened up new avenues to improve her game.

"I play online chess, but mainly against the computer," she said.

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A 25-Year-Old Chess Tradition from Fiji

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

A simple chess tradition, but an expression of great love of chess. Such is this story by Arin Kumar from Fiji. One of the chess players who introduced and took part in every Mohammed Badshah Memorial Open Chess Tournament will not feature in this year's chess tournament.

 

Australia-based Dr Sanmogan Goundar is a notable exclusion from this year's Mohammed Badshah Memorial Open. Dr Goundar, who has been sponsoring the tournament since its inception 25 years, was also one of those players who had competed in the tournament for 25 years.

Fiji Chess Federation president Dr Virgilio de Asa said Dr Goundar was not able to get leave for the event. "He is working in Australia and he did not get leave for this event," De Asa said.

"But he has not lost interest in the tournament. In fact, he has increased the prize money to $1500."

De Asa said Mohammed Badshah was Dr Goundar's classmate and the two players were the pioneers of chess clubs at the Fiji School Medicine in Suva. "Unfortunately, Mohammed Badshah was involved in a tragic accident in Canada that claimed his life and his classmate and friend, Dr Goundar and Dr Singh started this tournament in his memory. And ever since then, Dr Goundar has been the major sponsor for the tournament," he said. FCF general secretary Teliko Koroi said the tournament was rapidly becoming the most hyped local tournament in the sport as the prize pool is one of the largest.

"We are hoping to see a huge turnout since prizes will be allocated in all categories, with concentration on rewarding younger and intermediate players to encourage long-term growth of chess as a professional sport in Fiji," Koroi said.

The 2012 Mohammed Badshah Open will be held this Sunday at the Pasifika Campus of the Fiji School of Medicine in Suva.

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Fiji set to prepare women chess player for international compeitions

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

An interesting chess news report from the Fiji Chess Federation (FCF) states that they would be  hold weekly chess clinics to try and help the national women's team which is preparing for international competition this year.

 

FCF president Dr Virgilio de Asa said the main focus of the training clinics was to prepare the women's squad. "The aim of the sessions is to prepare our women's squad for the first Fiji International Open Championship that will be held from May 5 to May 11 and eventually prepare the four-member women's team that will be named after the Fiji International for the Istanbul Chess Olympiad in August."

"Starting this Sunday, FCF will be conducting two separate chess clinics for beginners (young and old) and Advanced Chess Sessions for our Women's Olympiad squad of 12 players," he said.

We think, it would be good to see the Fiji women's chess squad add to the glory of women's chess in international meets.

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