Sikivou tops chess meet
Provisional Candidate Master (CM) Taione Sikivou brought out the best of his game at the Damodar City Centre National Blitz over the weekend by winning the event with a score of 11/12. CM Goru Arvind was the next closest rival in second place with 9.5/12, while top seed CM Manoj Kumar and Prashant Sarup settled for third and fourth place at 9/12. Ex-National rep CM Noel Adricula finished fifth with 8.5/12, CM Ronald Terubea was sixth with 8/12 while debutante Ashish Raj impressed with a solid 7/12 to become the seventh-place winner in the Open Division.
“It was a very competitive and unpredictable event,” said Deputy Arbiter Hilda Vukikomoala.
“All the top players dropped a game or two along the way and it is encouraging to see a new winner to start off the year.”
The event was played in a 5-minute plus 3-second increment format, meaning that players had very little time to calculate positions and games were even won via flag-fall in time control.
14-year old Rudr Prasad continued his fine form from 2019 by winning the Secondary School’s Division with 8/12, while the Primary School’s Division was topped by Phillip Sukhu at 6/12.
“We would like to thank Div Damodar and Damodar City Centre for kindly supporting a growing sport
in Fiji,” said Tournament Arbiter Krishneel Nair.
“All the winners were given movie passes from Damodar Cinemas so that players could chill out after 6 hours of intensive chess.
“It is hoped that our partnership with Damodar Group of Companies will continue to flourish when it comes to the annual National Blitz event.”
Women’s Candidate Master (WCM) Gloria Sukhu played solid games to win the Women’s Division over Cydel Terubea via tie-break as both players had ended with 7/12.
A record number of participants showed up at the event, and multiple consolation prizes from Damodar Cinemas were awarded to Primary and Secondary School participants. The next tournament for Fiji Chess Federation is scheduled for Sunday March 8, 2020 at the FASANOC Olympic House in Suva, with Learn to Play Chess Classes for beginners to commence under the experienced helm of WCM Gloria Sukhu later in the month.
More introductory sessions for beginners will be announced by the Federation via Facebook and the media in due course.