As many as 140 players will take part in the National Club Chess Championship for seniors category which will be held at the main indoor hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex from Thursday onwards and will run for seven days under the organisation of Oman Chess Committee (OCC).
A total of 28 teams from 22 clubs across the Sultanate of Oman have confirmed their presence in senior category including: Salalah, Masirah, Saham, Qurayat, Taqah, Ibri, Mirbat, Al Rustaq, Al Salam, Al Shabab, Samayil, Al Suwaiq, Dima W'attayeen, Al Seeb, Nizwa, Al Nahdha, Al Ittifaq, Al Ittihad, Al Kamil W'al Wafi, Bidiya and Nakhl. The top domestic chess event will feature for first time participation of the newly established club namely: Nakhl, Dima W'attayeen, Taqah and Izki.
Masirah club broke the domination of Salalah club last year as Dhofar-based team were the champion for four times while Masirah club managed to overcome by ending as defending champion in 2022. It is expected this year championship will feature strong competitions among the participants as some foreign players will join the national clubs.
The seven-day chess event will be conducted on latest Fide (world chess governing body) rules and regulations and will be played on a classic chess league format from nine rounds with 90 minutes for each player and additional of 30 seconds after each movement. Each team comprises four main players and one substitute.
The national clubs have been informed by the OCC to participate with two teams in case if they have 10 qualified players. Moreover, one expatriate player is allowed to join the domestic club if he is a classified player in classic chess. This step was taken by the OCC to increase the technical performance of the tournament. A total of 14 international players will play with the local clubs including seven Indian players, two players from Egypt and Jordan and one player each from the Philippines, Turkiye and Yemen.
The championship will act as a suitable opportunity for the national players to prepare for the forthcoming regional and international chess championships like the 2023 World Amateur Chess Championship which will be held in Muscat next November. The local tournament will help the national players to build up their experience, increase the technical performance and shape their readiness for the international assignment. The Omani players will look to improve their international ranking.
The championship will be technically officiated by a group of national umpires under the chairmanship of international referee Musallam al Wadahi in presence of Ruqaiya al Balushi, Khalid al Wadahi and with assistant national umpires.
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