Doha, February 20 (QNA) - The Katara International Ramadan Open Classical Chess Championship, organized by the Qatar Chess Association, kicked off Friday and will continue until March 1. Eighty-six players of various age groups are participating.

Deputy General Manager of the Katara Cultural Village Foundation Saif Saad Al Dosari made the first move on the first board in the presence of Hamad Al Tamimi, Executive Director of the Qatar Chess Federation Hamad AlTamimi.

The first round of the nine-round classical chess tournament was held according to the Swiss system (45 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move) with the participation of several players ranked on the FIDE (International Chess Federation) list.

The tournament offers a total prize purse of QAR 25,000, with the first-place winner receiving QAR 5,000. Additional prizes are awarded to the top ten finishers, and special prizes are given to the best Qatari players in various age categories, as well as prizes specifically for players from the Qatar Chess Federation's training center.

The tournament features a number of Qatari national team players across all age groups.

Hamad Al Tamimi, Executive Director of the Qatar Chess Association, expressed his delight at the tournament's opening atmosphere and the strong participation from various age groups.

He noted that the competition will be fierce throughout the tournament, providing valuable experience for the participating players, especially given the large number of highly ranked players.

The Katara Chess Championship is one of the most prominent tournaments on the Qatar Chess Association's calendar, held annually during Ramadan.

It has contributed to highlighting many promising talents in previous editions and has provided significant support to the national teams across all age groups. (QNA)