Islamabad : In connection with the Independence Day celebrations, Islamabad Chess Association and Chess Association of the Punjab organized a two-day Rapid and Blitz category chess tournament was organized at Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad. In the children (u-14), women and open categories, more than 250 Chess Players from all four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir showed off their talent.  Addressing the inaugural function of the tournament, Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad,  Rana Waqas Anwar said that chess can play a vital role in enhancing the mental capacity of the young generation by engaging them in such tournaments and activities. In addition he said that the district administration of Islamabad will continue to fully support such initiatives of the Islamabad Chess  Association in the future. On this occasion, the Director General of Pakistan Sports Board,  Col. (Retd) Muhammad Asif Zaman congratulated the Tournament directors for organizing the largest chess tournament in the history of the country. He added that the next year will be declared as the “Year of Sports” by the government of Pakistan to fulfilling it’s mission of bringing youth in playing fields.

Players from Chitral, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad, Swat, Peshawar and surrounding districts, Balochistan, Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and other districts of Punjab competed in this historic Azadi Cup 2021. The players displayed their mental abilities to the fullest. In the Azadi Cup 2021, Pakistan’s youngest, Nyme Murad who is only 6 years old, defeated two players and the 85-year-old Players also clinched young brains with their experience. In the two-day competitions, National Master Wahid Hussain became the champion in the rapid open category. The second position was won by Ehtesham-ul-Haq from Gujranwala, while the third position was won by Muhammad Aslam of Mandi Bahauddin. In Under-14 Category, Ijtaba Amer from Lahore got first position, Raja Hasham ur Rahman from Islamabad got second position and Imtisal ur Rehman Hassan from Quetta won the third position. In Islamabad category, first position was won by Chaudhry Arqam Haroon, second position by Muhammad Yaqub Ahmed and third position by Muhammad Waqar Hussain. Hafsa Hamid of Islamabad, Noor Fatima Rashid of Lahore and Rabia Hashmi of Islamabad bagged the first, second and third positions respectively in the women’s category. In open blitz category first position was won by National Master Liaqat Ali of Islamabad. CM Wasim Akram of Lahore stood second  and Dr. Sadim Lodhi of Multan bagged the third position.

At the closing ceremony of the tournament, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce Sardar Yasir Ilyas distributed cash prizes, trophies and medals among the winners. Addressing the function, Sardar Yasir Ilyas emphasized on promotion of Mind Games for the youth as an important need of the hour and assured all possible support from the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of chess in Pakistan. The President of ICA Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Abbasi, Secretary ICA  Raja Gauhar Iqbal, President CAP Mr. Hanif Qureshi, Secretary CAP, Amer Karim announced to organized similar tournaments across the country. Former Chairman Chess  Federation of Pakistan  Saleem Khan, President KPK Chess  Association  Umar Khan and President Balochistan Chess  Association  Masood Zaman also assured all possible cooperation for the promotion of chess in future.

The tournament was co-organized by Islamabad Sports Board, Pakistan Sports Board, AEO Pakistan, Marcom Communications and Hashoo Foundation.