Imad Hakki (Arabic: عماد حقي) is a Syrian chess international master who represented Syria in multiple regional chess championship and the son of Badi' Hakki, a writer and novelist.

Imad Hakki
CountrySyria
Born (1957-01-01) January 1, 1957 (age 67)[1]
TitleInternational Master (1987)[1]
FIDE rating2354 (January 2012)[1]
Peak rating2471 (April 2005)[2]

Career

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Hakki attended the Soviet Cultural Center in the seventies where he was taught professional chess by Ahmad Al-Rashidi. He participated in his first official championship in Damascus in 1973. He achieved International Master norm in 1987.[1]

Imad Hakki did not appear in the 1999 World Chess Championship because of visa problems. He received forfeit losses due to his failure to appear for his games.[3] However, he went on to win that year's men's Arab Chess championship in Aden.[4]

Hakki has played many times for the Syrian Olympiad team, playing on board 1 in the 32nd[5] and 34th Chess Olympiad,[6] board 3 in the 37th,[7] and on board 5 in the 38th edition of the Olympiad.[8]

Hakki played in his last championship in Jordan in 2012.[2]

Illness

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After his championship in Jordan and the rise of the civil war, Imad's health deteriorated considerably, and he had to get surgery for his eyelids, which the Syrian chess union didn't pay. The fees were paid by someone else.[9]

Hakki later contracted Alzheimer's and became homeless, sleeping in the streets and parks of Damascus.[10] As of 2021, he was in a senior home in Damascus.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "FIDE Chess Profile 7600038 Hakki, Imad". Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Chess DB Imad Hakki". Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  3. ^ "World Chess Championship kicks off in Las Vegas - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. 1999-08-01. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  4. ^ "Morocco wins two bronze medals in Arab chess championships". 2008-10-08. Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  5. ^ "Official 1996 World Chess Olympiad Web Site - Syria". 1999-02-03. Archived from the original on 1999-02-03. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  6. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 34th Chess Olympiad 2000 Open". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  7. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 37th Chess Olympiad 2006 Open". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  8. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 38th Olympiad Dresden 2008 Open". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  9. ^ "البطل غير المتوّج الكبير عماد حقي". riadi.alwehda.gov.sy. Retrieved 2019-06-14.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ souriyati2. "عماد حقي بطل سورية و العرب و آسيا في الشطرنج مشرّد متسوّل في شوارع دمشق بعد إصايته بآلزهايمر". سوريتي (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "البطل عماد حقي: تعرضت لظروف صعبة لكنها لم تنل من متنفسي في الحياة وهو الشطرنج-فيديو".