Qatar's Hamad Al Kuwari (right) shakes hand with Kuwait's Hussein Suleiman before the start of their second round match.
Doha, Qatar: The Qatari national chess team opened its campaign at the Arab Chess Championship in Kuwait with the first two rounds of the classical competition.
The tournament, which runs until November 25, brings together 87 players from 18 Arab countries under the umbrella of the Arab Chess Federation.
In the men’s event, Hussein Aziz lost his first-round match to Syria’s Aghid Miro, before bouncing back with a win over Kuwait’s Bader Al Hajri in the second round to secure his first point. He is scheduled to meet Emirati player Mohammed Saeed in the third round. Teammate Hamad Al Kuwari also suffered an opening defeat, losing to Morocco’s Yasser Hajji, but responded with victory over Kuwaiti Hussein Suleiman in the second round. He will face Iraq’s Ali Laith Al Othman in the third round.
In the women’s competition, Qatari player Ghada Al Khalifi lost her first match to Egypt’s Jana Zaki and her second to Morocco’s Khadija Al Mutairi. She will meet Oman’s Anah Al Issaie in the third round.
Hamad Al Tamimi, Executive Director of the Qatar Chess Federation, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that participation in the championship is highly significant given the presence of many of the Arab world’s leading players. He said the event offers a strong chance for Qatari players to improve their international ratings.
He added that the championship has become one of the key events on the Arab Chess Federation calendar due to its strong technical level, solid organization, and genuine competitive atmosphere in classical, rapid, and blitz formats, in addition to the awarding of international titles to the champions.
Al Tamimi noted that Qatar is also taking part in the rapid and blitz events, expressing confidence that the players can achieve encouraging results and gain valuable experience by facing opponents from different chess schools.
