MARGAO
Goa’s Ethan Vaz won two gold medals at the Western Asia Online Chess Championship 2021 (Under-10 Open) organised by Chess Federation of Sri Lanka under the auspices of Asian Chess Federation and International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Defending his Western Asia Championship title of 2019 (Under-8 Open), where he had won the gold Medal for India, the Goan player earned India both the gold medals up for grabs this time “ the individual gold and the team gold. Bouncing back strongly after an early loss in the second round, Ethan won seven straight matches to emerge as the champion with 8 points of possible 9.
Goa Chess Association (GCA) president and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar congratulated Ethan on his latest achievement. "We congratulate Ethan on his consistent performance, winning two more gold medals for India and making Goa proud yet again. It's a great moment for Goan chess, and we are thrilled at his streak of accomplishments at national and international level,” Tendulkar said.
"Ethan has made everyone proud by winning medals at State, National, Western Asia, Asian Schools, and World Chess Championships. He is a role model for young chess players, and we are proud of him," said Sharendra Naik, the GCA secretary.
In other notable performances by Goan players at the event, Diya Sawal and Edrick Vaz finished in the top-10, in the Under-8 Girls and Under-12 Open categories respectively, both securing the 9th rank in their respective categories, with a creditable score of 6.5 points each. 898 players from 16 West Asian countries participated in the tournament across all categories.
