THE Fiji Chess Federation is gearing up to host Fiji's oldest chess tournament, the Fiji Bitter Open on Sunday in Suva.
The tournament is in its 32nd year and has been sponsored by Fiji Bitter since its inception.
Yesterday, Foster's Pacific Group sales and marketing manager Joe Rodan announced they had increased the prizemoney for the tournament by $500.
He said supporting minor sports such as chess helped them grow and gave them confidence.
"Fiji Bitter is an iconic brand that has been in existence for 57 years and we are one of Fiji's oldest brands and so it is fitting that we continue to back the oldest chess tournament in Fiji," Rodan said.
FCF president Dr Virgilio de Asa thanked Rodan for his support and said the tournament was a crucial one for Candidate Master (CM) Calvin Prasad and defending champions CM Manoj Kumar. He said their performance at the tournament would give them grand prix points, a league type scoring system that awards points to winners throughout the season.