Prozap CHESS : A successful debut for FIS
The 2025 edition of the ProZap Chess tournament for the Asia-Pacific Zone took place in Bangkok on January 15 and 16. For the first time, a delegation of 8 students from the LFI of Hong Kong participated :
- Mofei PHAM (1ère)
- Lea TANG (1ère)
- Emrys MESLI (1ère)
- Antoine ALTHERR (3ème)
- Nathalie STEG (3ème)
- Chloé TANG (5ème)
- Chen You PHAM (5ème)
- Alexandre PODEVIN (5ème)
More than a hundred participants, divided into about a dozen delegations, gathered for two days around the famous square grid of 64 alternating light and dark squares. In total, participants played a dozen matches in a 15-minute-per-player format with no increment.
The first day was dedicated to individual competition. Starting at eight in the morning, players took their assigned seats indicated by FIDE arbiters (specially requested to oversee this event) and successively played six rounds based on pairings organized through the Swiss tournament system, chosen to manage the event. Our delegation delivered a top-tier performance, earning not only high rankings but also winning the awards for "Best Girl Lycée" and "Best Girl Collège."
The results can be viewed via the following links:
Results for the Middle School Category (Individual)
Results for the High School Category (Individual)
The second day was dedicated to the team competition. Each team had to consist of four players whose combined scores from the previous day did not exceed 16 points. Thus, Mofei, Emrys, Chen You, and Alexandre formed the team named "Smurfs" for the occasion, while Lea, Antoine, Nathalie, and Chloé became the "Minions" team. Once again, six rounds were scheduled, and our two teams quickly climbed to the top of the rankings among the 16 competing teams. By the end of the fourth round, the pairing system assigned them to face each other in the fifth round. A quick decision was needed to determine a strategy to optimize the chances of both teams reaching the podium. Considering our scores and those of the other teams, it was agreed to organize a draw. The agreement paid off, as by the start of the sixth and final round, our Smurfs and Minions were already guaranteed a spot on the podium. But our students didn’t stop there—they managed to maintain their lead during this final round and went on to secure first and second place in the team tournament.
Results for the Secondary Category (Team)
Congratulations to our champions!
