First phase underway

The Farsons Chess Preliminaries got underway recently with the first round played at the Malta Chess Federation headquarters in Sliema.

This seven-round tournament is the first phase of the National Championship. It is restricted to players with a chess rating below 1,850.

Eighteen players are contesting for six places in the second phase - the Candidates tournament scheduled for late summer.

Results: Ivan Attard-Robert Dingli 1-0; Jean Paul Ebejer-Tony Muscat Baron 0-1; Stephen Attard-Matthew Saliba 0-1; Uwe Lau-Robert Zerafa 0-1; Martin Webster-Oliver Said 0-1; Kevin Attard-Daniel Saliba 1-0; Carmel Francalanza-Ian Refalo 0-1; Patrick Zerafa-Michael Cuschieri 1-0; Noel Grima-Ray Azzopardi postponed.