US champ Alex Shabavo spearheads foreign challenge at Blue and Gold chess

by Leslie FERNANDO

CHESS: A record number of eighty chess players, including 30 foreign competitors will compete at the Inaugural International Chess Tournament conducted by the Blue and Gold Chess Club _ an affiliate of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, to be held from Sunday 13 September to 19 at the Ceylon Inter Continental Hotel.

According to Muditha Hettigama, the chief organiser of the tournament, this championship has been endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism and the Presidential Secretariat.

Among the 30 foreign players in the tourny, there is the four times United States champion Alex Shabavo, Niyaz Murshed _ the first grand master in South Asia from Bangladesh, two women grand masters from India _ Sawmaya Swaminathan, S. Meenakshi together with 14 other grand masters from Georgia, Khasakastan, Armenia, Bulgeria and Makedonia.

Sri Lanka will field 50 players, both men and women including the two national champions M. Athula Russel and Sahshini Ranasinghe.

The total prize money for the championships will be fifteen thousand US dollars. The champion will receive three thousand US dollars.

The main sponsor of the championships will be Tigo.The first round matches will commence on Sunday 13 September from 9 a.m. and the last matches will be on September 19 from 9 a.m. onwards. The closing ceremony and the awards presentation will be around 6 p.m.