Muscat, Feb 25
Salalah’s Musallam al Amri displayed maturity performance to claim his maiden title in the 10th edition of Oman Individual Chess Championship for senior category. He scored creditable eight points from the nine rounds and ended his campaign with no loss.
Unbeaten Musallam was among 126 players representing 31 clubs in this edition of the event which featured presence of top domestic players including national team player Salim al Amri with Fide ranking points of 1,935, AbdulRahman al Zadjali (1,888) and Hamood al Busaidi with 1854 points. As many as 62 ranked players took part in the top domestic individual event while 64 participated players were not ranked internationally.
The eight days championship that was held at the main hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat saw tough competitions among the participants. The Salalah Club champion lifted the title after registering eight points in the Swiss classic format competition. Mohammed al Saidi from Al Khabourah club finished as runner-up as he claimed 7.5 points while Mohammed al Amri from Mirbat club took third place award as he recorded seven points. This year's championship featured attendance of many junior faces who showed top performance beyond their age.
The top local event was played inline to the international Chess Federation (Fide) rules and regulations. The matches were played based on an electronic draw. The event implemented Swiss classic format competition from nine rounds. Each match was given 90 minutes with 30 seconds for each movement.
The championship featured attendance of 31 clubs for first time including: Masirah, Al Khabourah, Al Nahda, Qurayat, Salalah, Oman club, Al Rustaq, Madha, Jaalan, Al Nasr, Ibri, Al Shabab, Taqah, Mirbat, Saham, Nizwa, Al Suwaiq, Ahli Sidab, Majis, Samayel, Al Bashaer, Seeb, Al Salam, Dima W'attayeen, Nakhl, Yanqul, Bausher, Al Taliah, Al Musannah, Izki and Al Kamil W'al Wafi. The local championship was officiated by International referee Musallam al Wadhai, International referee Khalid al Hadidi, besides attendance of umpires Yasser al Raisi, Younis al Rashdi and some local umpires.
At the end of the championship, Hisham bin Juma al Sinani, General Manager of Welfare and Sports Development in Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, presented the awards and cash prizes to the top winners. Salalah’s Musallam al Amri received the champion's trophy besides a cash prize.
With the conclusion of senior category competitions, the Oman Singles Chess Championship reached to its end in this season after completion of singes competitions of women and junior categories recently.
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