Mauritius Chess Federation

Flash Back on the Chess Equipment donation ceremony at the Ministry of Education, Phoenix on the 26th June 2026. The MCF donated 125 chess sets/clocks to 15 Primary schools and 10 Secondary colleges to promote the game in the Education field.
Dr Neeshti Reetoo and Mary Joyce Liu Yuk Pat-Agathe, senior executives at the Ministry of Education collected the equipment from Mr Hurrynarain Bhowany, President of the Mauritius Chess Federation.MCF Assistant Treasurer Rama Baloonuck and Administrative Secretary Khushboo Emerith were also in attendance.
We expect that this initiative from the MCF will boost interest in Chess from the students of these 25 schools and colleges.
The MCF is confident that this investment will bear its fruits in the future by widening the pool of chess talents across the island.

Another Excellent chess report in L'Express newspaper today by their chess correspondent Stephane Benoit.

The 6th edition of the Francophonie Online Teams Championship took place over this week-end 4/5 July 2026. Mauritius 2 produced a fine performance to finish 12th out of 44 teams on 12 points whereas Mauritius 1 underperformed to end in 31st place on 10 points.
Mauritius 2 led by talented youngster Kovid Burthun on first board, Bavish Sunassee on Board 2,Daven Mootin on Board 3 and Manusha Aubeeluck on Board 4 scored 4 wins 4 draws and 3 losses over the 11 rounds.They held the strong Madagascar 1 team to a 2-2 draw.
Kovid Burthun was the best performer with 7 points, followed by Bavish Sunassee on 6 points, Manusha Aubeeluck on 5.5 points and Daven Mootin on 5 points. For a first participation in this event the talented youngsters did very well and no doubt we will have to watch closely Kovid and Bavish in the Masters Finals and Manusha Aubeeluck in the forthcoming Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan.
The more experienced Mauritius 1 team led by Bhavish Ramtale, Benitot Ah Kye, Stephane Lam Kin Cheung and Chethanah Andhin had a very good first day with 3 wins and 2 losses on the first day but on the second day of competition they crumbled as their players missed the conversion of multiple winning positions, especially Stephane Lam Kin Cheung. Chethanah Andhin was the best performer of the team with 5.5 points, followed by Bhavish Ramtale and Stephane Lam on 4.5 points and Benitot Ah Kye on 4 points.
Standings
https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1449609.aspx?lan=1&SNode=S0

The Indian Ocean Chess Association Online Blitz tournament held on 28th June 2026 saw the participation of 74 players from various islands of the Indian Ocean such as Mauritius, Reunion Island, Madagascar and the Comoros. There were around 10 local players in the competition and two of them made it in the Top ten. Brunel Burbach the U18 winner of last year's Youth Championship took third place on 7 points while Stephane Lam Kin Cheung finished 9th on 6 points out of 9 games. The 2026 Réunion Island Champion, Etienne Riviere, took 1st place on 8 points.Junon Benaich and Anya Burbach the current Women Masters Champion took the first two places in the Women's category.Jules Benaich won the U14 category.
Today there will be the 6th edition of the Online Francophonie Teams Championship.
Mauritius has fielded two strong teams to the event that will be held on the Tornelo platform. MRI Team 1 will consist of Bhavish Ramtale, Benitot Ah Kye, Stephane Lam Kin Cheung and Chethanah Andhin. Our Second team will see Kovid Burthun, Bavish Sunassee, Daven Mootin and Manusha Aubeeluck on board. There are 44 teams from 25 countries in the competition and the 11 rounds Rapid play (15 mins/5 seconds) will be held over the 4-5 July 2026 weekend.First round will start at 5.00 p.m Mauritian time today.
A tough first round awaits our teams as MRI 1 faces France 1 and MRI 2 faces the strong Madagascar 1 team.
Teams Composition
https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1449609.aspx?lan=1&art=8&turdet=YES&SNode=S0

REGISTRATION OPEN
Registration is open to the Young Stars Rapid Championship 2026 for MCF Juniors who have not reached the age of 18 years old as at 1st January 2026 and hold a valid MCF 2026 licence
Date-Sunday 19th of July 2026
Venue-Ocean Villas (Grand Bay)
Start Time-9.30 a.m
Prize Giving-3.30 p.m
Swiss System - 5 Rounds
Time control - 15 minutes +5 seconds increment
80 Slots Available
SPONSORS-Ocean Villas/Grand Bay Corinthians /SWAN Group
Registration will close on 18th July 2026 (5.00 p.m) or if the number of 80 participants is reached before that date
Entry fee - Rs 400
Tie-Break - Sonneborn Berger /Progressive Score/Direct Encounter in that order
Prizes - Trophies to Winner and Runner Up /Boys and Girls in the following categories U18, U14, U12 (12 trophies in All)
Gold/Silver and Bronze Medals to first three of General Standings
First 4 players in General Standings will win additional Special Prizes
1st placed-A Star Prize of one day stay on full board at Ocean Villas for 2 persons
2nd Placed-A lunch for 2 persons at Ocean Villas Beach restaurant
3rd place-Chess Book Magnus Carlsen 60 memorable games by GM Soltis
4th Place-The 100 Endgames you must know work book by Jesus De La Villa
Registration must be done through MCF mail
[email protected]
With the following details, player's name, Date of birth, Gender and proof of payment of the entry fee of Rs 400
Non Members can participate by paying the annual Junior license fee of Rs 200 +the Rs 400 entry fee
Payment to be made by bank transfer or MCB Juice transfer to the account of the Mauritius Chess Federation, Account number 000011597372 at the Mauritius Commercial Bank
Participants will benefit from complimentary snacks and drinks at lunch break

OBITUARY - It is with great sadness that we have been informed of the passing away on 26th June 2026 of Nandkeshwar Sunkur at the age of 67 years old.He was one of our oldest members and was the father of Luvlesh Sunkur another well-known player.
Mr Nandkeshwar Sunkur was a regular player to our events and he liked to enliven the atmosphere with witty comments even after a loss. The last encounter we had with him was at the Swan Masters Qualifiers 2026 and when he made a remark on the rise of the youngsters in this tournament we replied that they "had been knocking at the door". He tremendously enjoyed this reply and had a big laugh.
The MCF sends its deepest condolences to his son Luvlesh Sunkur and family.

The World Youth Chess Championship 2026 has come to a close in Montesilvano (Italy) yesterday and although it has been a tough tournament for our 5 Juniors, Aditya Rakha, Sahil Reetoo, Pravaranand Chuttoo, Shanaya Reetoo and Khilli Meenowa , they will return as better players and with great memories from this chess trip.
Aditya Rakha managed to score 2 wins in the U18 category, Sahil Reetoo 1 win and 2 Draws, Pravaranand Chuttoo with 5 draws, Khilli Meenowa with 3 draws and unfortunately Shanaya Reetoo could not get on the score board.Khilli Meenowa could have posted a better score as she had 4 winning positions which she was unable to convert due to her inexperience. Shanaya Reetoo let go of several opportunities to win or draw as she blundered in time pressure. Aditya Rakha and Sahil Reetoo were solid but their opponents exploited the slightest inaccuracy they made to punish them. Pravaranand Chuttoo was the revelation of the team with 5 solid draws where he went toe to toe with his opponents.
The competition which saw the participation of the World best chess youngsters was an eye opener for our players. They understood the importance of having a solid Opening repertoire, to have a game plan, the necessity to convert the few opportunities that will come their way, the need to show patience and resilience under different circumstances. No doubt that they will have benefited hugely from this marvellous experience among the World Junior Elite and we expect to see their progress soon in local competition.
The Mauritius team visited Rome, the Eternal city, during the rest day and will bring home snapshots of the city iconic landmarks such as the Coliseum and the Trevi fountain.
The MCF Vice President Patrick Li Ying met with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and African Chess Confederation President Tsepisho Lopang, as well with old friends Stefan Escafre the Deputy Chief Arbiter of the event and Shaun Press the Pairings Officer.

An Opinion article in L'Express newspaper today by Stephane Benoit where the MCF is praised in its success to attract greater following to their events than other Olympic Sports. The MCF thanks Stephane Benoit for his chess reports that supported and contributed to the promotion of Chess across the island.

Our team has arrived at the Italian Adriatic beach resort, Montesilvano, where the World Youth Chess Championship 2026 is underway till 27th June 2026.
Yesterday our players had a tough first round games as they were out-rated by several hundred Elo points by their opponents and lost all 5 games. Khilli Meenowa had the best opportunity to score for the Mauritius team as she had Queen versus Rook and Bishop against her English opponent Li Yueci (1875 Elo) but she lost after stumbling into a mating attack.
Sahil Reetoo made an inaccuracy in his game against his Finnish opponent Vesa (2142 Elo) in the Scandinavian Defense and quickly lost an exchange and the game. Aditya Rakha was outplayed by FM Bazilius from Lithuania rated 2240 Elo points. Shanaya lost to the Egyptian Alaa Eldin (1870 Elo) whereas Pravaranand Chuttoo succumbed to a king side attack against South Korea Lee Jiwoo(1996 Elo).
Hopefully they will have learnt from these set backs and recover in the following rounds.
All games can be watched Live on either the chess.com or Li chess.com platforms. Rounds start at 5.00 p.m Mauritian time.
Pairings
https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1438701.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=MRI&flag=30&SNode=S0
Link to Live games
https://www.chessworldyouth.com/

Chess report in L'Express newspaper today by their chess correspondent Stephane Benoit.