Indian chess legend Anand to arrive in Oman on Thursday

Muscat: Two students each from the Indian School Muscat (ISM) and Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir (ISWK) won the right to challenge five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand in a simultaneous exhibition match on Friday. The third and fourth rounds of a series of ‘Play Anand’ Qualifiers were organised at the ISM and ISWK respectively with the International Chess Academy of Oman (ICAO) spotting the four young contenders — one boy and one girl from each school, after stiff competitions. The players who topped their respective categories and qualified to challenge Anand from ISM are Vishal Ram and Amoolya Subhash and from ISWK are Jijo Joy and Sharlene Wadhwa. A total of 120 students competed in each of the qualifiers at ISM and ISWK. Ismael Karim thanked both ISM Principal Srinivas K. Naidu and ISWK Principal D. N. Rao and their team of teachers for the success of the qualifying rounds in their respective schools. Four players — two each from Indian School Al Seeb and Indian School Al Ghubra — have already qualified for the simultaneous match with Anand. They are ISG’s Somil Rawat and Aishwarya Sen and ISAS’s Jenal Pereira and Nyan Raj. Ismael Karim said the response to Play Anand Qualifications has so far been huge and already 508 players have taken part in the tournaments held in various schools. “There is another Qualifier exclusively for Omani players. We will be hosting this on Thursday evening at our academy, from which the top 10 will get the chance to challenge Anand,” he said. Speaking about 11-year-old Jijo Joy, who had already taken part in various national and international tournaments including those in Sharjah, Dubai and Ibri, Ismael Kairm said: “Jijo has so far performed above his rating, against strong opponents. Back in 2014, he was just nine years old when he played in a similar simultaneous match against Garry Kasparov and it will be interesting to see how he will be performing against Viswanathan Anand.” The ICAO has been organising ‘Play Anand’ Qualification tournaments in different schools to select the best who will be challenging Anand in a simultaneous exhibition match to be played at the Avenues Mall on Friday. The qualifying events are being organised by ICAO chief coach and International Master Ismael Karim and Arbiters of International Chess Federation Anas Al Raisi and Afraa Al Balushi. Vishy to arrive Meanwhile, Ismael Karim said Anand will arrive in Muscat on Thursday morning for a series of activities aimed at promoting chess durign his visit which lasts till May 17. The five-time world champion, who will be arriving here on an invitation from International Chess Academy of Oman (ICAO) and under the sponsorship of Al Zawawi Group’s Al Alawi Enterprises, is scheduled to play an exhibition match simultaneously with 40 selected players, including Oman national players and expatriate schoolchildren. During his six-day stay, Anand is also scheduled to deliver a lecture at ICAO and visit some of the schools.