Champ Kumar retains Badshah tournament

Candidate Master Manoj Kumar successfully defended the 16th Mohammed Badshah Memorial Tournament in Suva on Sunday.

In the Division One final, the defending champion was paired against veteran Candidate Master Calvin Prasad. The game ended in a draw, and two tiebreaker games had to be played.

Kumar warded off the challenge from Prasad by winning both blitz games.

“It’s good to be playing and winning tournaments again,” said Kumar. “I was cautious for the final but am happy I finished unbeaten.”

Nadi player Avinesh Nadan placed third after defeating Jashnil Narayan. In Division Two, Jai Narayan College student, Jordon Mohr came out top by beating Yash Parmar in the final. Shahil Pravin settled for third place, defeating Ravneel Kumar.

Fiji Chess Federation acting president Kiran Khatri was happy with the tournament and the new format. “We tested out a new knockout format for this tournament to make it more exciting for the players and easier to understand for enthusiasts,” he said.

He said Fiji Chess was planning one tournament per month for the rest of the year.

“The chess calendar is back on track after three months, and we have some matches planned in the Western division as well,” he said. According to Khatri, FCF will be organising tournaments in multiple formats.

“The next few tournaments will be a mix of blitz, rapid, and standard tournaments,” he said.

Khatri said the local tournaments would be used to select the national team, and they were looking to attract 100 new players over the next six months.

“We will be picking squads for the national team shortly and use the new Chess Academy to prepare our representatives for international outings.” The next tournament will be the 35th Brij Lal Open chess tournament.