ANASILINI RATUVA
SUVA
Candidate Master (CM) Calvin Prasad won the Brijlal Rapid Open despite a loss to defending champion CM Manoj Kumar in the final round by virtue of tie-break. CM Goru Arvind caused a rattle in the final results as he beat Manoj Kumar in a critical match.
“It is a thrilling finish since it allows me back-to-back wins after the Kundan Singh Open,” Prasad said.
“Both Manoj and I finished at 5/6 but he had to settle for second place under a Swiss System tie-break due to his loss to Goru Arvind.”
Goru Arvind finished at 4.5/6 alongside CM Noel Adricula to share the third and fourth positions respectively. The Intermediate Division was won by Australia-based Dr. Jashint Maharaj who scored 4.5/6, followed by Aarti Sewak at 3/6.
New Olympiad representative CM Ronald Terubea topped the Tertiary Division with 5/6, while Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) Hilda Vukikomoala came second with 3/6. In the women’s division, veteran and women’s Candidate Master (WCM) Gloria Sukhu held the top position with Kabrina Terubea at 4/6.
“The Brijlal Rapid Open attracted players like John Caldeira from as far as Rakiraki,” Fiji Chess president Dr Virgilio De Asa said. “We are very pleased to see the performance of younger players like Nahapetyan Gor and Keez Terubea who won the primary and secondary schools divisions convincingly. Youngsters like Menash Fareed, Jacquelyn Masilomani, Claudia Koroi, Zen Borg and Vinooda Senewiratne also produced good results.”
With a bulk of the participants coming from primary and secondary schools, the Fiji Chess Federation hopes to see an interesting event in the National Primary and Secondary Schools Chess Championship on April 27 at TappooCity in Suva.
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