Four in a row for Manoj
FijiSun - 7/12/10
St Vincent College teacher Manoj Kumar won the National Chess Championship in Suva yesterday.
Kumar’s win has made him the National Champion for the fourth year in a row.
Kumar won on a tie-break against Dr Neel Arora.
He managed a draw to Goru Arvind in his last round of games in the tournament and this gave him 5.5 points to win the title.
Tournament director Krishneel Nair said this year’s championship was the most competitive compared to previous years.
“I think this was contributed by the two who came all the way from overseas just to take part in the competition.”
Taione Sikivou and Candidate Master Dr Sanmogam Goundar came from Malaysia and Australia respectively to take part.
Candidate Master Kumar faced tough competition from the first day where he lost to Dr Goundar and Sikivou gave him a hard time.
“Taione was like a brickwall in the competition and just one mistake from him allowed Manoj to win.
“Manoj is the type of player that capitalises on his opponent’s mistake.”
Kumar came in first place with 5.5points, Dr Arora also had 5.5 points, Calvin Prasad came in third with 5 points, and Dr Goundar comes in fourth with 4.5 points.
Gaurav Raicar won the wooden spoon yesterday for competing in the competition without winning a game.
“This is the second time for Arora and Kumar to end a tournament on a tie-break, the last time Arora won during the FMF Open event.”