Dubai: Dubai picked up eight gold medals as top junior players from the emirate dominated their respective categories in the recent UAE National Age Group Chess Championship held in Sharjah.
Woman International Master (WIM) Amna Nouman and International Master (IM) Ebrahim Sultan reasserted their claim as the best youth players of the country after topping the premier girls and open under-20 categories respectively.
Nouman scored seven points to finish two points ahead of second and third placers Nora Mohammad Saleh and Abeer Ali of Sharjah.
Sultan, meanwhile, led a one-two finished by Dubai in the open division with his Dubai Chess and Culture Club teammate Fide Master (FM) Ahmad Fareed placing second, followed by Sharjah’s Fahad Al Zaruoni at third.
Ebrahim Al Bannai, chairman of the Dubai Chess and Culture Club, said the impressive results were a result of the long hours of training of the players under the guidance of the club’s coaches.
“We are really pushing forward with our training and development programme and will continue to improve and look for better ways to enhance the skills of our youth players,” said Al Bannai. “Najib Saleh, who heads the club’s technical committee, and his deputy Abdul Karim Al Marzouqi have done great wonders in maintaining the high level of our training activities.”
Dubai’s girls team also pocketed the overall girls’ title, with Nouman leading the way. Other individual winners from Dubai were Shaima Noman and Ali Abdul Aziz in the girls and open under-18, Yasmin Ali in the girls under-16 and Ahlam Rashed in the girls under-12.
Also picking up a medal for Dubai was Salem Ahmad Salem, who won a silver in the open under-16. Saleh said many of the junior champions from Dubai will join the club’s top players as they see action in the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, which starts today until August 22, as part of their preparations for the Asian Chess Championships – Dubai Cup to be held in India from August 25 to September 2.
The winners of the other age categories were Omran Al Hosani of Abu Dhabi in the boys under-16, Rayan Mohammad Ali Hassan of Sharjah in the girls under-14, Mohamed Saeed Laily of Fujairah in the boys under-12, Al Shamsi Hamad Naseer of Al Ain in the boys under-10 and Mohamad Khalifa Alhammadi of Sharjah in the boys under-8.
