Prasad Maintains Unbeaten Run
Provisional FIDE Master (FM) Rudr Ravi Prasad of the University of the South Pacific (USP) stood firm as the winner of the Fiji Chess Federation Rapid Chess Championship with an unbeaten score of 6.5/7. This included a draw with ex-Olympiad rep Prashil Prakash.
Monday 08 May 2023 | 15:30
More primary and secondary school students are playing chess and are now participating regularly, says the Fiji Chess Federation. Photo: Fiji Chess Federation
Provisional FIDE Master (FM) Rudr Ravi Prasad of the University of the South Pacific (USP) stood firm as the winner of the Fiji Chess Federation Rapid Chess Championship with an unbeaten score of 6.5/7. This included a draw with ex-Olympiad rep Prashil Prakash.
Candidate Master (CM) Ronald Terubea came second overall with a solid 6/7, after defeating top-seed CM Manoj Kumar.
CM Manoj Kumar and Prashil Prakash finished third and fourth in the Open Division with 5.5/7, while USP student Yash Krishen Maharaj came fifth with 4.5/7.
“Young players are a highlight for the year with all tournaments won by USP students Rudr Prasad and Yash Maharaj,” said Fiji Chess Federation general secretary Goru Arvind.
“Our team is also keeping an eye on other younger players who have the potential to become stronger chess players and we hope to introduce someone new in the 2024 World Chess Olympiad team as part of our strategy to encourage new players.”
Women’s division
The women’s division was convincingly won by Women’s National Blitz champion Cydel Terubea with 5/7.
The Under-12 national rep from the 2023 Oceania Youth Zonal Chess Championship, Latileta Masau of Dudley Intermediate School came second with 4/7, while U16 national rep from the 2023 Oceania Youth Zonal Chess Championship,
Makayla Sukhu of Suva Grammar School finished third with 3/7.
The Secondary School’s division was dominated by students from Jai Narayan College in the top four positions.
Zayne Elmond Keshwan, women’s national champion Tanvi Radha Prasad, and U14 national rep from the 2023 Oceania Youth Zonal Chess Championship Arnav Lal. They all scored 4/7 to determine their tie-breaks.
Young players
Ayush Chand of Jai Narayan College and Phillip Sukhu of Marist Brothers High School secured the fourth and fifth positions with 3.5/7.
“We are glad to see that more than 75 per cent of our participants are from primary and secondary schools,” said Arvind.
“Younger players from the new generation are fast learners since they have access to a lot of free online training videos in YouTube and chess.com for time-control practice.”
The Primary Schools division was won by the talented Lionel Vaurasi of Yat Sen Primary School with 4.5/7.
Anush Chand of Gospel Primary School and Yash Prasad of Deenbandhoo Memorial Primary School came second and third with 3/7.
The fourth and fifth positions were secured by Kairav Anand of Home School and Abhiru Herath of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Primary School.
Anand of Home School also bagged the Best Beginner Award for scoring a solid 3/7 in his first-ever chess championship in Fiji, while USP student Yash Krishen Maharaj (1471) earned the Best Upset Award for holding off top-seed CM Manoj Kumar (1904) to a draw against a significant FIDE Rating difference.
What’s next
The next tournament will be announced in via Fiji Chess Federation Facebook page and media channels in due course.
