du announces support of Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2011

Press release

Published July 6th, 2011 - 12:00 GMT

Al Bawaba

Under the patronage of HH Shaikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and in the presence of Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Bin Shakhbout Al-Nahyan, the President of the Asian Chess Federation and Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla
President of the UAE Chess Federation and Chairman of Sharjah Chess Club, the Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2011 Men & Women was inaugurated yesterday, with the support of du. The competition, organised by the Sharjah Chess Club, will run until 13 July, and is an example of the perfect alignment of the UAE’s forward-thinking telecom company with like-minded, strategy-driven chess masters.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ahmad Aburahima, Vice President, Government Relations, du, on behalf of the company.

All Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) -affiliated National Chess Federations within Zone 3.1 are participating in this exciting event, which sees the coming together of both local and regional champions.

Present at the event and participating in the Men’s competition will be Iranian Grandmaster and Guinness World Record holder, Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami, Qatari Grandmaster and Arab Champion 2010 Naser Al-Sayed, UAE Grandmaster and Arab Champion 2009 Salem Abdulrahman, among other contestants from West Asia.

Playing in the women’s division will be Arab Champion, Knarik Mouradian from Lebanon and Iran’s Qader-Pour Shayesteh, in addition to several other contestants from within Zone 3.1, who will be battling it out for the chance to enter the World Cup Finals held from 26 August – 20 September in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.

“We are proud to have the UAE host this prestigious event, and a great honour for us to be associated with it. The UAE is already internationally recognised for promoting various sports and we believe this event will further strengthen this position,” commented Hala Badri, EVP Brand and Communications, du “Our partnership with the Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2011 demonstrates our commitment to encouraging forward-thinking across the UAE, and we are proud of the Emirati representation in both the Men and Women’s tournaments.”

Representing the UAE are UAE Champion Salem Abdulrahman and UAE President Cup 2011 winner Omar Numan under the men’s division, with Noora Mohammad Saleh, UAE Champion, Kholoud Al Zarouni of the UAE Chess Team and Amna Nouman participating in the women’s competition.

Background Information

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du)

Ever since we opened for business in 2006, we have worked hard to enhance and expand our bouquet of services in an industry that is at the heart of economic and social transformation. Bringing people and businesses together is what we do best, offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to people, homes and businesses all over the UAE. We also provide carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities and satellite services for broadcasters.