MUSCAT, July 16 - Defending champions Salalah retained the title of the Clubs Chess Championship after a thrilling performance in all the nine rounds of the tournament. The seven days tournament organised by the Oman Chess Committee (OCC) concluded at the main hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex late on Monday under auspices of Al Zubair Mohammed al Zubair, Deputy Chairman of Al Zubair Corporation in presence of Ahmed Darwish al Balushi, Chairman of OCC and officials. Mirbat club finished second and Majees club came in third position.
Salalah, the top club in the Sultanate in terms of international ranking players, dominated the championship. The team featured top players and most of them from the national team including Ameen al Ansi, Said Qatan, Salim Shammas, Hamed Muslam and Muslam al Amri. The final match which was held at the table no 1 between Salalah and Mirbat was a thrilling one between both teams and finished in a 2-2 draw. Mirbat team also have players with high points of ranking in the Sultanate.
In another results, Salalah Team B beat Samayil team 3-1 while Majees outplayed Al Suwaiq 4-0. Four matches ended in draw between Ibri and Ahli Sidab, Nizwa and Al Bashayer, Al Rustaq and Bahla, Seeb and Masirah which participated for the first time.
Ahmed Darwish al Balushi, Chairman of OCC, stated that the championship achieved all its targets including the high number of clubs participation which reached to 25 clubs. “This is an essential step towards attracting more clubs in the third edition of the tournament. OCC’s plans and strategies are based on the right strategic partnership along with Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Olympic Committee and private sector to spread the chess and organise such big championships and tournaments,” Al Balushi added.
The OCC chairman affirmed that the formation of committee in the last few years had took good space from our time and efforts. He called for giving more interest to national teams, players and featuring the Sultanate name at the top world, continental and regional ranking chess events. Also, he mentioned the importance of schools chess and boosting that to cover more students in coordination with Ministry of Education and Oman Schools Sports Association.
130 players compete
As many as 130 players took part at the Clubs Chess Championship. The second edition of the tournament featured participation of the 25 clubs including: Qurayat, Al Salam, Al Mudhaibi, Salalah (A& B), Al Suwaiq, Seeb, Al Musannah, Al Khabourah, Bausher, Al Nasr, Bahla, Al Bashayer, Mirbat, Rustaq, Ahli Sidab, Sohar, Ibri, Al Shabab, Madha, Masirah and Al Ettihad. The seven days tournament was played in league system (classic chess) for nine rounds. Each round was played for 90 minutes per each player with possibility of adding 30 seconds as extra time after each shifting.
Basheer al Qudaimi, head coach of the national teams, said the championship was a great opportunity for many players to increase their points in the ranking. Also, he said many junior players were able to improve their ranking. “From this edition of tournament, there were some new junior faces who have a bright future. In addition to that, young players got a chance to play with top players and gain the match experience” Al Qudaimi added.
The Yemeni coach affirmed that it is essential to have more classic tournaments to prepare the local players for the upcoming international events including Arab meet in Jordan on July 19 and then travelling to Turkey for youth chess championship by the end of August.
Basheer emphasises that the tournament has helped the players to improve their technical level, resolve the mistakes, raise their mental strength as some matches varied from three to five hours.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
