Dubai: Edmond Andal of the Philippines and Jiya Shah of India finished unbeaten runs to claim the champion’s cup in their respective divisions in the Times Square Center Chess Tournament at Times Square Center on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Andal defeated compatriot Hermie Cagatin in the final round to maintain his perfect slate and rule the Open blitz tournament with nine points, reported Gulf News.
Syria’s Okla Sohib won against the Netherland’s Peter Drost in the final round to hike his tally to 7.5 points and take the runner-up prize. Cagatin managed to salvage third place despite the loss with seven points, the report said.
Filipino players Mark Matutina, who defeated top-seed Jobannie Tabada in the final round, and Jason Orfano, who won over India’s Fasil M, also had seven points each but settled for fourth to fifth places respectively with inferior tiebreak scores, said the news portal.
Bret Michael Portuguese, also of the Philippines and winner over Russia’s Aleksandr Lutsenko in the final round, completed the top six finishers who received various gift items from Time Square Center, it said.
Shah outplayed compatriot Vishal Choudary in the final round to dominate the age-group competition with nine points. Mohammed Fawwaaz of India won over Iran’s Nooralzahra Khezrian to secure the runner-up spot with seven points.
The UAE’s Khalifa Essa Albalooshi stopped India’s Sivadurga Addurialso in the final round to likewise up his tally to seven points, but settled for the bronze with an inferior tiebreak score.
Apart from the winners, all participants also received various gift items from Time Square Center and the tournament benefactors, which include Sharaf DG, Mobilia, Supervision, Adventure HQ, Brain Games, Creativa, Kidz Palooza, Toys R Us and Al Ain Zero.
“We are delighted with the positive response from Dubai’s chess playing community. This activity certainly adds a unique dimension to the shopping experience of our visitors. Time Square Center looks forward to further strengthening our relationship with Dubai Chess and Culture Club, during which time we will be collaborating together to bring more family-oriented chess activities to the mall as well as competitive chess tournaments,” Rebecca Arnold, General Manager, Times Square Center, was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
“The tournament turnout underlines the growing interest in chess across Dubai,” said Yahya Mohammad, Development and Planning Manager of Dubai Chess Club, who served as tournament director.
The Times Square Center Chess Tournament was part of the mall’s back-to-school activities this month.
