Muscat: The fourth round of the Asian Amateur Chess Championship registered very tough competitions as the participants aimed to raise their points ahead of the final ninth round on Wednesday. At the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and in the open section competitions, third-ranked Pakistani player Junaid Sohail registered his fourth consecutive win in the tournament as he edged Iran’s Majid Bagheri while Iranian Mahmoody M Sadegh defeated India's Velava Ragavesh to claim his third point. Oman’s Mahad al Amri suffered a defeat against Iranian Sobhan Zahmati who made his tally to four points. Kyrgyzstan's Zhanybek Dadabaev managed to register victory over Murad Ba Amir from Yemen.
In the women's category, Qatar’s Salama al Khelaifi won against Amal Fadel from UAE while Oman’s Al Anoud al Ghafri edged Saudi’s Afnan Hassan al Ghubaishi. India's Dakshikaa managed to beat Salma al Dhaffari from UAE. In other interesting fixtures, Oman’s Anat al Aisaee won against her teammate Abrar al Busaidy while Sawsan al Aradi from Bahrain stunned Pakistan's Aayat Asmi.
Record attendance
Saudi Arabian arbiter Abdullah Khayat said that the tournament is going smoothly as it was planned. “I would like to thank all the efforts that have been taken towards hosting this event. The event registered a record in the number of participants as there are more than 200 players representing 23 countries. The event recorded strong competitions in all the previous rounds and many new faces showed top performance despite there not being any rated players,” he added.
The Saudi referee said also that the Asian Amateur Chess Championship featured participation of all the Gulf countries' players. “Attendance of all the Gulf countries' players added technical value for this event. Thanks to Oman and OCC for organising this event. Special thanks for the committee’s efforts to expand and spread the sport in Oman and the region.”
Abdullah Khayat also commented on Omani arbiters' attendance in this tournament. “Oman’s umpires showed a positive presence in this championship. In all the events, the arbiters are learning from each other and these events are great opportunities for them to develop,” he ended.
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