The Executive Committee members attend a virtual meeting.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Executive Committee of the Arab Chess Federation thanked UAE Chess Federation for its unwavering support during its virtual meeting headed by Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, President of the Arab Chess Federation.

Also present in the meeting were First Deputy Sami Khader Saffarini from Jordan, Second Deputy Mustafa Amzal from Morocco, and members Ibrahim Ezz El-Din Jalloul from Algeria, Dhafer Abdel-Amir Mazloum from Iraq, and Fayez Al Shamri from Kuwait, Al Shazly Al Rahmani from Tunisia, Khaled Ezz Al Din from Palestine, Hussein Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Arab Union, and Raja’i Noman Al-Sousi, Assistant Secretary-General.

The Executive Committee extended its thanks and appreciation to the President and Secretary-General of the Arab Chess Federation for their support and organization of chess events, especially for the years 2018 and 2019; and for completing the activity programmes for the years 2020 and 2021 by implementing it remotely, holding training courses for coaches and referees, following up on the activities and meetings of the International Federation and their support for all Arab federations, both in terms of financial and technical support.

The Executive Committee also extended its thanks and appreciation to the UAE Chess Federation for its ideal organization of the Arab Championship for men and women held in December 2021.

65 players from 19 Arab countries, a record Arab participation, took part in the competition which was attended by Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation FIDE, his deputy, and staff from the International Chess Federation for the opening and closing ceremonies of the tournament.

The UAE Chess also hosted the meeting of the heads of Arab chess federations with the FIDE President.

The Executive Committee expressed its regret over the absence of Saudi Arabian representatives at the meeting. The committee.

They hoped the Saudi delegation and players would participate in the upcoming championships, which will lead to the development of the Kingdom's chess in the future.

In order to ensure the successful organization of the Arab Championship for the age groups of 14, 16, 18, and 20 years, during the period from March 8 to 18, 2022 in Baghdad, the President of the Arab Chess Federation announced the support.

He also offered to sponsor three additional players for each Arab country, with an additional player and two male players to encourage an increase in the number of players.

Participating countries and an increase in the number of Arab players will take part in the tournament, which will be held in Iraq following the return of sports activities.

The Executive Committee also adopted the procedures for organizing the elections for the executive committee of the Arab Chess Federation.

The names of the candidates for the elections were approved according to the stature of the Arab Chess Federation, and it was decided to circulate them to all Arab federations and to invite a representative from the General Secretariat of the Federation of Arab Sports Federations to attend the General Assembly meeting.

The meeting will be held on February 14.

It was also decided to work on honoring the Arab players who won the continental and international championships in an initiative to encourage the Arab players in a way that supports the development and advancement of the game in the Arab world.