DOHA: The second edition of the Open Blitz Chess Championship -  organised by the Qatar Chess Training Center concluded with the participation of 66 players.
The title was won by Mauritanian player Sidi Beide with 6 and a half points, leaving the second place for the Ryan Mendoza of the Phillippines, while the third place was secured by Egyptian player Asaad Abu al-Atta.
In the fourth place Indian Irfan Suleiman, while the fifth spot went to Joya Florin.
The sixth place was secured by Secretary-General of the Qatar Chess Federation (QCF) Youssef Mohamed al-Mutawa.
Qatar player Youssef Ahmed al-Abdullah also succeeded in achieving the award for the best Qatari player.
In the under-16 category, Indian player Sajjan al-Ben won first place and in the same category, Saad al-Sulaiti grabbed the award for the best Qatari player (U16).
At the end of the competitions, held under the supervision of the Qatar Game Federation,  Yousef Mohamed al-Mutawa,
Secretary-General of QCF, crowned the winners with medals and trophies.
He said yesterday: “The tournament witnessed great excitement among the participants and this started clearly with the convergence of points at the end of the competitions. The tournament received a great deal of interest from all participants. I expect an increase in participants in the upcoming tournaments.”
He added: “The Qatar Chess Federation is keen to hold various activities and events on a continuous basis, especially since this helps us engage with chess fans in the country. Hosting such events brings us several positives, including expanding the game further in line with Qatar’s Vision 2030 by preparing a conscious chess generation that will be able to represent our national teams in international events.”