| Fadhil Yunus |
AWANGKU Hafidzon bin Pengiran Haji Omar of the Higher Education Institutions (IPT) stole the show with five gold medals and three silver medals in the chess event of the 4th Brunei Darussalam National Games (SKBD) at the Brunei Chess Centre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex yesterday.
The chess player added silver to his growing collection of major tournaments in the domestic scene having already scooped the National Day tournament earlier this year.
Awangku Hafidzon won gold in the Rapid University individual format with Pengiran Hira bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Omar taking silver and Munir Azizi bin Ahmad settling for bronze.
The IPT team were blessed with the combination of Munir Azizi, LCB Institutional Rapid Chess Tournament winner, the tournament’s runner-up Muhd Adib Syauqi bin Muhd Khir Zaki and one of the country’s leading players Awangku Hafidzon, who swept gold in the Rapid University group format.
Awangku Hafidzon teamed up with Ahmad Bukhari bin Haji Emran and linked up with Munir Azizi to win gold in the Blitz University group format adding to his triumph in the Blitz Olympiad individual event.
Awangku Hafidzon also took gold in the Board 1 event while his silver medals came in the Rapid and Blitz Olympiad group event both alongside Munir, Ahmad Bukhari and Muhd Adib and the Board 1 event in Rapid Olympiad.
The SKBD title was the missing piece in the collection for Awangku Hafidzon who is now looking forward for the Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.
“I feel grateful and jubilant to have won and I think this is the first time that I have played in the Brunei Darussalam National Games (SKBD). Last year, the chess event was not contested,” said Awangku Hafidzon in an interview with the Bulletin.
He also won the accolade of the best Bornean player last month in the Borneo International Chess Championship 2018 in Kota Kinabalu and nearly finished in the top three.
“I almost got number three but in the final round I made a mistake. I conquered Borneo but in the overall tournament I was not placed in the top three,” said Awangku Hafidzon.
Awangku Hafidzon drew with the top seed and a highly-rated player and beat an International Master-recognised player during his KK stint.
Acting Director of Youth and Sports Development Zainab binti Haji Morsidi presented the medals.