The “Western Asian Junior Chess Championship 2022” has begun.

Hussain Shiyan, the president of Maldives Chess Association attended the ceremony to inaugurate the championship as the guest of honor, on Thursday morning.

The nine-day championship was organized by the Maldives Chess Association.

The championship will be held at the Convention Center in Ukulhas island of Alif Alif atoll, from June 16 – 23.

The first day of the championship will see rapid round matches held between the participants. Additionally, standard chess rounds and beach blitz rounds will also proceed.

Thursday’s ceremony was also joined by the president of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, Executive Director of the Chess Association of Kyrgyzstan, Vice President of the Chess Federation of Uzbekistan and General Secretary of the Chess Association of Bangladesh.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Shiyan expressed pride in having the opportunity to host the international championship in the Maldives. He also expressed gratitude to everyone involved in managing and organizing the championship.

Shiyan also highlighted that the championship will pave the path for participants to succeed in national and international levels.

 All of the teams competing in the “Western Asian Junior Chess Championship 2022” arrived in the Maldives by Wednesday’s end.

A total of nine countries will be joining the championship, deemed the biggest international championship to be hosted by the Maldives, to date.

Teams from Maldives, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be competing.

On Tuesday, teams from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan arrived in the Maldives for the first-ever international chess championship to be hosted by the Maldives.

The team from Uzbekistan comprises of 31 players, with the Kyrgyzstan team being comprised of 29 players. The Maldivian team comprises of 35 players.

Further, two players from the Pakistani team also arrived on Tuesday. All of the players were accompanied by their family members as well as officials.

The last team to arrive was the one from Sri Lanka.

The championship is on the theme “Smart kids – use only non-violent solutions to problems”.

The championship will proceed under six age groups, in both male and female divisions and will see more than 180 participants competing for the champions title.

Privately-run television station, RaajjeTV is the media partner for the Western Asian Junior Chess Championship.