It was an intense competition among Fiji elite chess players during the 2020 National Championship at Fiji Olympic House on the weekend.
Candidate master (CM) Taione Sikivou was crowned the winner with a score of 7/9 where he defeated top-seed CM Manoj Kumar in a nail-biting encounter. It was one of the most competitive national championships where none of the players had a perfect score.
After the stunning loss, CM Kumar pulled back to second position with an equal score of 7/9 but it was not enough as Sikivou won via direct encounter on tie-break.
Nadi-based Avinesh Nadan had a magnificent tournament where he managed to amass 6.5/9, ahead of CM Ronald Terubea who had 6/9 and the duo settled for third and fourth overall positions. The fifth and sixth positions for the elite division were secured by Prashil Prakash and CM Noel Adricula of Nadi with 4/9.
The Women’s National Chess Champion title was secured by former national rep Cydel Terubea with a score of 4/9 in the elite division. Fiji Chess Federation general secretary Goru Arvind said it was technically a tournament of upsets because everyone was so closely matched in the elite division.
“A chain of upsets occurred where Taione Sikivou beat Manoj Kumar, Avinesh Nadan beat Taione Sikivou, Prashil Prakash won against Manoj Kumar and Noel Adricula defeated Taione Sikivou in the final round,” Arvind said. “Until the end, we could not predict who would take the title due to the fierceness of our chess players.”
In the intermediate division, Yash Maharaj was first overall with a score of 7.5/9 while Shiveel Chand finished second with a score of 6/9.
The secondary school’s division was won by Phillip Sukhu of Marist Brothers High School with 7.5/9 followed by Ayush Chand of Jai Narayan College in second place at 5.5/9.
In the primary schools division, Arnav Lal Deenbandhoo Memorial Primary School took top honours with 6/9, while Anush Chand of Gospel Primary School finished second overall.
Federation president Hilda Kunau thanked their sponsors for assisting Fiji Chess Federation with a $3000 sponsorship.
“After five days of gruelling chess, a lot of players went home with smiles on their faces, thanks to APCO. We hope to continue our partnership with them for many more years to come,”Kunau said.
Other special award winners were Navisheel Prasad for best beginner in the elite division, Morgan Issa for best beginner in the intermediate division and Prashil Prakash bagging the best upset award for beating CM Kumar in a position that looked technically locked out in a stunning middle-game.
Fiji’s online reps are scheduled to play Queen Mary’s Chess Club of England on Saturday, January 23 in round three of the Global Chess League which will continue to the final quarter of the year with about 120 international chess teams.
