EYES observing intently on the chessboard, moves made with careful thought, and once the timer has ticked off at the end, its back to smiles and friendly banter for them.
Meet Adi Latileta Masau and Tanvi Prasad, the only two female chess players out of six representing Fiji to the 2025 Oceania Youth Chess Championship in Brisbane, Australia next month.
Masau is 14-years-old and Prasad is 18-years-old, and since Times Sport caught up with them at a chess competition last month, preparations for the regional meet have been progressing well.
This, according to the president of the Fiji Chess Federation, Hilda Kunau, who shared the team of two female and four male players meet every Saturday to prepare for the competition.
Masau, like any young girl heading through her adolescent years, has the same interests as other girls her age, however her foray into chess sets her apart from the rest.
The Oceania meet will be her first international competition since taking up the sport.
Prasad has been a part of the chess fraternity since a young age and currently holds the position of Women Candidate Master (WCM).
Adi Latileta Masau
When this newspaper caught up with Masau and requested for an opportunity to interview her, her initial reaction was hesitant, however as she spoke, her confidence grew and from it, a portrait of determination was formed.
Masau is a year nine student at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Suva and began playing chess when she was in year five, at 10-years-old.
Besides having an interest in the game, at school, her subject combination in the formative years of secondary school at Waimanu Road are English, Mathematics, Home Economics, Commercial Studies, Basic Science and Social Science.
She also hails from the village of Ekubu on the island of Vatulele in the province of Nadroga and aspires to become a surgeon.
Like some young players in various sports, her foray into chess was possible through the guidance of an older sibling.
“I learned how to play chess in year five, but my first tournament was in year seven,” Masau recalled while seated on the blue chair in the brightly lit classroom at the USP Laucala Campus.
“My sister, she used to play chess and then she taught me how to play.”
She added her older sibling still plays the game to this day.
At the age of ten, while most young girls her age tend to showcase their talent on the court in netball or on the pitch in rugby and football, she took a less charted path and sat herself in front of a chess board when she was schooling at Dudley Intermediate School.
Taking part in early chess competitions, she said doing so was a great opportunity and described it as a “nice” experience.
Family support for Masau has always been immense and she said her family has always backed her with a simple yet driving message for her.
“They have always told me to work hard and to do my best,” she mentioned.
As she moves further in secondary school, her intentions to continue playing chess remain and even at an older level, after secondary school.
Masau relayed her enthusiasm for next month’s outing as she goes head-to-head with other formidable chess players from around the region.
“I’m really excited to go because it will be my first (international) competition and it’s a big opportunity,” she said.
Tanvi Radha Prasad
Prasad, at the age of 18, already has a lot going for her in the present and for the future.
She is a first year medical student at the Fiji National University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in medicine and in surgery (MBBS).
The rest was history for Tanvi Radha Prasad when her older brother introduced her to chess between the ages of four and five.
She took part in her first competitive match in a tournament when she was six, then a student at Deenbandoo Primary School in Suva before she went next door to Jai Narayan College for secondary school.
As is the case with new journeys, it was a rocky start for her however once she found her footing, it was all systems go from that point, as she relayed in a 2021 interview with Times Sport.
“At first, I didn’t perform well in tournaments, but after a while, I got the hang of the game and at the age of nine, I was selected to represent my country in very first Chess Olympiad,” she said at the time.
Once the journey became smoother albeit challenges along the way, a wave of success came her way.
The first Olympiad she played in was the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan and prior to their upcoming Australia outing, she was in Budapest, Hungary for another chess meet.
The competitive spirit of the sport and the emotions it came with was not lost on Prasad.
“I think it was, overall, a very surreal experience,” the current WCM recalled.
“I would say it was very competitive and I had a lot of fun there.”
While she needs to balance her studies and her commitment to chess like Masau, being a medical student however, is an entirely different ballpark that calls for balance.
“I’m a first-year medical student so it has been really overwhelming,” Prasad said.
Times Sport spoke to her at a competition held prior to her final exams and she said the competition meant she could not focus on studying until after it ended.
Regardless, her progressing journey in the field of medicine stems from following in the footsteps of a family with a firm inclination in the field.
Her father is a dentist and her mother a radiologist, a doctor who uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases through ultrasound scans, x-rays, CT scans and MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging).
While she is as excited as her teammate Masau to head to Australia, she has a firm message for younger female players taking up the sport in the future.
“I think the number of female participants has increased since I was nine. (At the time), I think I was one of the female players around, now there’s quite a bit and I’m quite happy with that,” she noted.
“I would strongly encourage you to come and play, I think it’s really fun.
“Chess can open up a lot of opportunities for you to visit other countries and represent Fiji.”
The competition
The 2025 Oceania Youth Chess Championship will be held from December 13-17 at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane.
The invitation to this competition was sent out by Churchie Chess on behalf of the Oceania Chess Federation and the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to all chess federations and associated members.
The competition will have 14 divisions with seven in each for the open and female category for the grades Under-8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 and U20.
The participating countries are Fiji, Australia, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
