TEAM Fiji continues to make waves at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
On Wednesday, the team’s Open and Women’s players both secured back-to-back two-all draws against Palau and Cameroon in the Olympiad’s fourth round.
The women’s team drew two-all against Cameroon through Woman Fide Master (WFM) Kieran Lyons winning board one against Cameroonian Kouokam Sylviane Magne.
Her performance for Fiji was amplified further with Olympiad debutant Latileta Masau finishing strongly with a win on board four against Kouokam Josiane Maguiafain.
The Open side produced equally stellar results of their own with Candidate Master (CM) Rudr Prasad winning in board two against Tito Cabunagan of Palau.
Prasad’s teammate Yash Krishen Maharaj who earned three earlier wins from four matches held over the weekend had continued his winning run with an endgame victory over Santiago Jnr Tan on board four.
The endgame is the final stage of a chess match where most pieces have already been traded off the board.
Meanwhile, the captain of the Open Team, CM Goru Arvind commended the tireless efforts exerted by his teammates who often laboured late into the night and burnt the midnight oil to prepare for their respective opponents.
“Each day is challenging as our average match stretches between three to four and a half hours with very complex positions in the middle game,” Arvind mentioned.
The Chess Olympiad has now moved into the second half of competition and will finish this Sunday.
