Fiji Chess Federation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chess has been played in Fiji for a long time, but it was the 1972 World Championship, between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spasky, that provided the impetus for chess competitions in the country with the formation of the Suva Chess Club. Other chess clubs soon sprang up, like the Fiji School of Medicine Chess Club and the University of the South Pacific Chess Club. In 1979 it was decided to form the Fiji Chess Federation, to enable participation in international tournaments and to get international support and recognition. The founding members included Som Prakash and Nazim Khan.
The Fiji Chess Federation obtained sponsorship for regular tournaments and players were given chess rating. In 1986 the Federation sent its first team to the 27th Chess Olympiad in Dubai with help from the organising committee of the olympiad, and one of its members, Jasvinder Singh, obtaining international rating.
The military coup of 1987 put restrictions on chess games on Sundays and by the end of the year the president and treasurer had resigned due to work commitments. The leadership of the Federation passed onto Surjeet Singh who reorganised it with the establishment of a number of new chess clubs. These included the Lautoka Chess Club and Nausori Chess Club.
The Federation organised fund raising activities to send a team to the 28th Chess Olympiad in 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was captained by Surjeet Singh.
Singh resigned as president in 1989. Virgilio De Asa was elected President from 1990 - 1994, and was succeeded by professor David Jenkins of the University of the South Pacific.De Asa was re-elected in 1996 and continued until his retirement in 2014.
