The first edition of Qatar Classic Cup – organised by Qatar Chess Association (QCA) – kicks off today at QCA’s Training Center. The tournament will end on September 4.
In a statement, QCA said that 50 male and female players are set to participate in this event and is solely confined to Qatari male and female players, foremost among them international Grandmaster Hussein Aziz, alongside a group of players from the Qatari national teams, namely Khalid al-Jumaat, Irfan Mohamed, Ibrahim al-Janahi, Fahd al-Mansouri, Abdulaziz al-Mohasina, Turki al-Kuwari, and Mohamed al-Qassabi.
Female side comprises a group of players namely Aisha and Ghada al-Khalifi, Rawda and Layan al-Qassabi, Fatima and Asmaa al-Hammadi, Aisha al-Naimi, and Nora al-Sulaiti.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), QCA Executive Director Hamad al-Tamimi on Wednesday said that the event will kick off at 5:00pm. He added chess is surging in popularity among Qatar residents. He explained the new event intends to increase the popularity of chess among Qatari male and female players.
The new tournament comes as part of QCA’s steadfast plans to make a paradigm shift and expand the pace of picking best players to represent Qatar in the coming international tournaments, al-Tamimi explained.
He said efforts to host the tournament are going smoothly as all preparations to kick off the contests have been finalised.
He outlined that the tournament will be included in FIDE’s calendar on yearly basis, as a commitment to enhancing the game system and building a new generation that feeds national teams.
Upon concluding his remarks, al-Tamimi added that all participants will have a chance to check on their performance so as to double down on their concentration to play in the upcoming Arab and international tournaments.
