Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: To promote the game of chess among students, The Zubair Corporation (Z-Corp) in association with Oman Chess Committee organised a chess tournament and training programme for students in Nizwa.
The closing ceremony of the training camp and championship organised at the Zubair chess centre was held in the presence of Yahya bin Darwish Al Balushi, General Manager of INMA, real estate development company.
The camp which was held for two consecutive days in Nizwa followed the successful organising of a similar programme in Zubair chess centres in Sohar, Muscat and Ibri recently. The next training camp and tournament will be held in the Zubair chess centre in Dhofar.
The chess tournaments and training camps were designed to help young players to enhance their game standards and help local talents to improve their games. It is also part of Zubair’s commitment to encourage Omani youth to train, participate, qualify and represent the Sultanate in international sports platforms. The Zubair chess centres has seen a huge response from people of all age group to learn chess and participate in tournaments across different governorates.
In under the general category, Hamood bin Mohammed Al Busaidi was the winner.
In the ‘under 16-year category’, Anas bin Masood Al Darwishi won the first place, Ahmed bin Khalid Al Hadidi took the second place and Zakarya bin Khamis Al Nofli secured the third place.
In the ‘under 14-year category’, Abdul Rahmanbin Khalid Al Zedjali won first place, Suhaibbin Faisl Al Rubaei second place and Hamood bin Younis Al Rashdi the third place.
In the ‘under 12-year category’, Wisam bin Mohammed Al Muqbali captured the first place, Hasan bin Khalil Al Balushi secured second spot and Abdulraman bin Tariq Al Yahmadi won the third place.
In the ‘under 10-year category’, Abdullah bin Bashir Al Qudaimi won the first place, Mohammed bin Hamed Al Mahrooqi secured second spot and Jihad bin Hamed Al Harassi won the third place.
The competition followed the principles of the Swiss System and each category had to play nine rounds of chess, at 20 minutes plus 10 seconds per move.
Yahya bin Darwish Al Balushi said, “The chess tournaments and training camps organised in Nizwa witnessed a high level of competition which reflected the efforts that has gone into popularising the game of chess in Oman. As a member of the private sector, The Zubair Corporation is keen on supporting the country’s sports development since it believes it is an area of vital importance in the national development process.”
He pointed out that through partnership with many of its strategic associates from the public and private sectors and civil society organisations, Z-Corp has endeavoured to implement many sports, cultural and community programmes and activities in various governorates.
He stressed that these programmes come within the framework of institution’s strategy that is aimed at strengthening and developing community talents and equipping them with various skills and practices.
Yahya bin Darwish Al Balushi added, “Z-Corp’s support to Oman Chess Committee has contributed significantly to the develop the talents of young people in the chess game. This has helped in discovering a generation capable of competing in local and international championships. The tournaments have contributed to achieving many of the goals of the Omani Chess Committee.”
Praising the achievements of Zubair Chess Centre, Ahmed bin Darwish Al Balushi, Chairman of the Oman Chess Committee said, “The Zubair Chess Centres have established a high reputation in their respective areas and have seen great demand from interested players. We are pleased with the response from the participants and players in all the governorates. We would also like to appreciate the efforts exerted by the referees and trainers in these centres.The efforts of Z-Corp has helped in finding a new generation of players who are ready to represent the Sultanate in international platforms.”
The Zubair Corporations’ decision to establish training centres across Oman.
The training sessions and matches were held under the framework of sponsorship agreement Z-Corp signed with OCC in 2017 to support the activities of OCC to enable it to spread the popularity of the chess among people especially youth.
Demonstrating its continuous commitment to all kinds of sports, Z-Corp has been a partner and sponsor of different sports activities including football, handball, ice sports, volleyball for many years.
