Nine Fiji chess players will be representing the country to the 2021 FIDE Online Olympiad beginning next weekend.

Womens FIDE Master Hilda Kunau and Candidate Master Goru Arvind have non-playing captain roles to manage board order, offer draws in tactical situations and keep the team technically intact.

Fiji is a part of 155 countries registered for the tournament.

Team captain Goru Arvind says Fiji had a decent outing last year and had recorded wins against Somalia, Macau, Bhutan, Guam and Laos.

He adds the duo are hopeful for a successful outing this year.

Board 1 will feature CM Manoj Kumar and Fiji’s Online Captain from the 2020-2021 Global Chess League, Avinesh Nadan where Fiji finished in the Top 50 off 127 Amateur Chess Teams from around the world, while Board 2 will be manned by CM Taione Sikivou and CM Noel Adricula.

For Board 3, WFM Kieran Lyons has been recalled to the squad after her last outing in the 2014 World Chess Olympiad at Norway.

On Board 4 is a strong player rotation of ex-Olympiad rep Aarti Sewak from the 2014 World Chess Olympiad and ex-Olympiad rep Cydel Terubea from the 2016 World Chess Olympiad at Azerbaijan.

The Under-18 Category is reinforced by chess siblings Rudr Prasad on Board 5 and Tanvi Prasad on Board 6.

Fiji’s Online Chess Team is also gearing for Season 3 of the 2021-2022 Global Chess League hosted by Peter Hornsby of the United Kingdom which is expected to feature other Pacific Island teams like Nauru and Kiribati from September 2021.