The Qatar Chess Association (QCA) celebrated the achievements of its players at recent international tournaments by honouring the champions. The list of honourees included the team that won silver medal at the World Chess Olympiad held in Hungary in September last year. It comprised International Master Hussein Aziz, Hamad al-Kuwari, Turki al-Kuwari, Mohammed Mansour al-Qasabi and Irfan Mohammed Fardous.
The Qatar team at the Gulf Youth Games hosted by the UAE in April of last year was also felicitated. It included Hamad Saeed al-Kuwari, who won the gold medal in blitz chess under-14, in addition to winning the silver medal in the team competition; Khaled Hudhaifa al-Jumaat, who won the gold medal in rapid chess under-14, and Ibrahim Waleed al-Janahi, who won silver in blitz chess under-14.
A number of national team players such as Lian Mansour al-Qasabi, who won the silver medal in the girls’ under-14 singles blitz chess category, and silver medal in the under-18 teams category, and Fatima Salah al-Hammadi won silver medal in the under-18 teams blitz along with Rawda Mansour Al Qasabi, who won bronze medal in the under-18 rapid chess, and silver medal in under-18 teams blitz, were also honoured.
The felicitation ceremony was attended by Mohammed Al Mudhahka, President of QCA, Dr. Ghanem Al Sulaiti, Member of QCA’s Board of Directors, and Hamad al-Tamimi, Executive Director of QCA.
The QCA President expressed delight with the positive results achieved by the national team especially at the World Chess Olympiad, where the national team won the silver medal in Group Five, as well as medals that the national team won at the Gulf Youth Championship.
Al-Mudahka stressed the importance of the national teams’ overseas participation and its role in raising the level of male and female players and honing their skills through interaction with different schools. He also noted the importance of the local championships for age groups, which are organized by QCA throughout the year and have become a major part of the its agenda as they help finding talent, in addition to the fact that the association’s strategy aims to build a generation that supports the national teams.
The QCA President thanked all the players and technical staff at the training center supervising the national teams, expressing his great confidence in continuing to achieve positive results.
