5/20/2023 0 Comments Shrook wafa![]() The tournament went according to script with the leader holding their positions. There is certainly a reason why Egypt has dominated African chess for decades. By the smiles shown on the Egyptians faces during the event appeared that they were not only enjoying themselves, but playing good chess. Other Saharan players from Morocco, Algeria and Libya would have the same advantage. The Egyptians brought a proud contingent to Tunisia and would benefit from Saharan conditions they were familiar with. There was a comment about the culture of cigarette smoking during the tournament, but the tournament seemed to be well-conducted. The room was spacious and each match was played on a separate table. The tournament was held at the 4th Stars Hotel in Tunis and it offered very good conditions for chess. IM Kenny Solomon of South Africa came to Tunisia with three GM norms, but lost momentum with two losses in consecutive rounds. Veteran and Tunisia’s top player GM Slim Belkhodja would be defending home court. IM Kenny Solomon was hoping to make an impact since earning his third norm at the 2012 Olympiad. IM Mohamed Haddouche and IM Adlane Arab would be hunting for GM norms. However, the Egyptians would not go untested. In addition, GM Essam El-Gindy and IM Khaled Abdel-Razik would compete for medals. They would be the favorites with the continent’s top two players in GM Bassem Amin and GM Ahmed Adly. In the end, Egypt sent the most players (9) outside of the host country. This was a serious drawback and perhaps there were some funding issues as in the case of Zambia. Olympiad participants Namibia, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and the Sudan also failed to send players. Among the most notable teams missing were Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.Įach of these countries have sent teams to the Olympiad several times and two have had players compete in the World Cup tournament. There was some disappointment in that the usual federations failed to send teams, mostly from the sub-Saharan region. ![]() After nine rounds of tough battles, GM Bassem Amin and WIM Shrook Wafa took the gold in both the open and women’s sections. Players from nine African countries were competing for three qualifying spots for the World Cup in Tromso, Norway this November. Home to the “Hannibal of Carthage” lore, the beautiful and historic Tunisia hosted the 2013 African Individual Chess Championships.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |