Al Ain: The first ever Asian Chess Champions League will be held here on Wednesday, under the patronage of Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
This was announced by Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakbout Al Nahyan, the president of the Asian Chess Confederation (ACC), at a press conference in the Inter Continental Hotel here.
Hosts Al Ain Chess and Culture Club will be one of the UAE representatives at the tournament, while the UAE Chess Federation will select one more team based on the performance of local clubs in competitions this season.
"It is our pleasure to announce that the first ever Asian Chess Champions League will be hosted by Al Ain Chess and Culture Club, with the cooperation of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, from December 24–31.
"We are hopeful that the new championship will help in spreading and improving the game in our continent," said Shaikh Sultan at the press conference.
The Asian Chess Champions League is the brainchild of Shaikh Sultan. It is part of his quest to spread the game in the continent, by organising new competitions at all levels.
"We have many more competitions brewing and in due time we will announce them. We aim to keep the Asian players busy all through the year, making them compete against each other. This will allow the players the chance to gain experience and improve their standards," Shaikh Sultan said.
Hosham Al Taher, the secretary general of the ACC, Mohammad Saleh Al Zarounie, the tournament director, Mehrdad Bahlavan, the director of the competition halls, and Saleh Abazaid, the coordinator of the tournament, attended the press conference.
Players from more than 20 countries, including India, Iran, Vietnam, China, hosts UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, will be in the fray. The competition will involve seven rounds of contests, based on the Swiss system of points and pairing.
"Each club can bring in five players. Four players will take part in the matches, while one will be a reserve. The clubs are free to choose men's, women's or mixed teams," said Al Taher, explaining the rules of the competition.
The winners will earn $20,000 (Dh73,560) while the runners-up, third and fourth–placed teams will be richer by $12,000, $8,000 and $5,000, respectively.
