Top FIDE official all praise for Oman

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The CEO of world chess governing body FIDE Geoffrey Borg has said that the successful hosting of the Asian Zonal Chess Championship (Zone 3.1) for men and women by the Oman Chess Committee (OCC) has sent a clear signal of the intent to develop the game in the sultanate.

Borg who flew in to attend the final rounds of the event which concluded on Sunday said 'Oman has chalked out a clear development map for the game and the hosting of the Asian zonal event has been a positive step in the direction. The eagerness to promote the game by the committee that has been formed only about a year and a half is praiseworthy.'

Borg met Laila bint Ahmed al Najjar OCC chairwoman and said that the meeting was fruitful. 'We plan to sign a deal with the Ministry of Education in August to train schoolchildren across the sultanate. It is the right way to move forward as the key to popularise the game is to develop at grassroots. The age-group that will be targeted is between seven to 12 years old.'

'FIDE has launched a programme for school students in two phases The first stage 'chess programme for schools' attempts to discover talent while the second phase is to develop players for chess school practitioners' said Borg.

The FIDE official said that schools should try to establish chess clubs to promote the game and the agreement between OCC and the Ministry of Education will go a long way in developing chess in the country. He said that chess helps the students develop mental and time management skills and also helps in better analysis and decision-making.

'The recently signed Memorandum of Cooperation between OCC and FIDE will give a chance to hold a number of specialised courses to develop players referees coaches and administrators' said Borg.

'With chess being played in 168 countries FIDE now aims to spread the game to 200 countries by the end of the year' he said.

Borg said that the participating overseas players had expressed satisfaction at the arrangements made for the event and were thankful to the warm Omani hospitality.

Earlier on Saturday OCC chief Laila al Najjar and Hesham ElGendy president of the Egyptian Chess Federation also signed an agreement to boost bilateral relations.