OCC to host Asian Amateur Chess Championship virtually in 2021 and physically in 2022

Adil Al Balushi

MUSCAT, Nov 6

The Sultanate of Oman, represented by Oman Chess Committee (OCC), will host Muscat Asian Amateur Chess Championship twice as it will be this year virtually and in the following year the Asian will be held physically in Muscat. On Saturday, the technical meeting of Muscat Asian Amateur Chess Championship took place remotely through Zoom platform.

OCC managed to organise series of domestic and aboard chess events during the past two years and that eased the committee to have the permit from the Asian chess governing body to host the top Asian Amateur Chess virtually this year.

The Asian Championship will feature participation of 22 countries in Asia including: Afghanistan, Australia, Brunei, China, Guam, Indonesia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Macau, Mongolia, Yemen and the hosts the Sultanate of Oman. The competition will be for both genders with a total of 159 players including 59 from female gender.

The technical meeting featured participation of all the players and then there was a trial tournament through Tornelo (Web based Platform that makes easy and fast to run a chess event online from your web).

The same web will be used for the championship this year. During the technical meet, several things have been discussed including the games ways, schedules, breaking the draws and how to avoid online cheating. OCC Chairman Ahmed bin Darwish al Balushi attended the meeting beside the technical expert from Asian Chess Federation.

great opportunity

“Obtaining the approval from the Asian Chess Federation to host the Asian Amateur Chess Championship in the Sultanate of Oman virtually this year and physical in the following next year will act as strong point for the Sultanate of Oman. The Asian event is a great opportunity not only for the players, but also for the umpires, coaches and the organisers to learn from this top event. The Asian championship is one of the top annual chess events and will mark OCC as significant destination for hosting different chess events and tournaments. The event will be published for thousands around the world in different media channels. All this will highlight positively in the Sultanate of Oman’s growth in different fields including sporting activities,” OCC chief ended.