Ahmed Adly Wins Nip-and-Tuck African Chess Championship
Egyptian GM Ahmed Adly became the African Champion on Thursday, overtaking countryman GM Bassem Amin at the finish line in the 2021 African Individual Chess Championship.
The two players monopolized the tournament and were tied on 8/9, despite the presence of several grandmasters and up-and-coming talents. The event was held May 17-28 at the Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe, Malawi.
"It was the most difficult edition of the championship, especially after 18 months away from the board," mentioned six-time African Champion Adly. "Everyone put [up] a strong fight. Nobody has played in the last two or three years, so their ratings didn't increase but the level has gone up by far."
Adly sealed first place in the tournament by beating GM Bilel Bellahcene in a technical rook endgame in the last round.
"I failed to convert against my 'brother' Amin, so I had to win playing Black against a very strong grandmaster, a very talented player. I thought I would just play a slow game, equalize, and then wait for the right moment to start looking for the full point and start attacking," explained Adly after the game.
Four Tickets To Sochi
Four players from Egypt shared the spoils of the championship, earning all the spots at stake to participate in the 2021 FIDE World Cup, which will take place in Sochi between July 10 and August 6. Adly and Bassem will be joined in Russia by GM Adham Fawzy and GM Abdelrahman Hesham, who ended in third and fourth places respectively.
At the age of 20, Fawzy ended on 7.5 points despite being hospitalized with colic and missing the first game.
"We are happy for this achievement, as it is the first time that we took all the first spots and in a convincing way," commented Hesham Elgendy, president of Egyptian Chess Federation.
"Since three years ago, I managed to bring foreign coaches for my top players, which helped them to improve their play and solve any problems they have in preparation, in openings and improving their play in general. We succeeded in having good teamwork and a good cooperation between the Egyptian federation and the top players we have. I think today we get some fruits of this cooperation," he added.
As part of the world's top-100 countries (and currently sitting 48th), Egypt has the right to designate a fifth player for the World Cup.
"I think we are going to nominate GM Essam El Gindy, who played very well in the last World Cup against GM Levon Aronian and drew the first game in a winning position," added Elgendy.
Madagascan IM Antenaina Rakotomaharo was the only player to have a serious chance against the Egyptian quartet, snatching a draw with Adly in a bad bishop versus a good knight endgame. After a comfortable draw against Fawzy, Rakotomaharo yielded to Bassem as a result of a double-edged opening choice. The super-GM demonstrated his quality with a spectacular finish:
Malawians On The Rise
Local underdogs FM Joseph Mwale and CM Chiletso Chipanga missed the qualification to Sochi by a whisker, sharing fifth place with Bellahcene, IM Gillan Bwalya (Zambia), IM David Silva (Angola), and FM Daniel Barrish (South Africa).
Chipanga made his way to the top with six consecutive wins but crumbled in the last round on board one. Mwale, who skipped the first game for personal reasons and almost didn't play at all, had the highest tie-breaker on 6/9. To add insult to injury, the missed game cost the Malawian number-one his IM norm despite his final placement in the top five and a performance of 2470.
Final Standings (Top 20)
| Rk. | SNo | Fed | Title | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | Rp |
| 1 | 2 | GM | Adly, Ahmed | 2615 | 8.0 | 2382 | 50.0 | 55.0 | 2695 | |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Amin, Bassem | 2701 | 8.0 | 2310 | 45.5 | 50.0 | 2631 | |
| 3 | 4 | GM | Fawzy, Adham | 2473 | 7.5 | 2324 | 41.5 | 45.5 | 2629 | |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Hesham, Abdelrahman | 2400 | 6.5 | 2213 | 41.5 | 45.0 | 2355 | |
| 5 | 23 | FM | Mwale, Joseph | 2148 | 6.0 | 2323 | 45.0 | 49.0 | 2470 | |
| 6 | 3 | GM | Bellahcene, Bilel | 2508 | 6.0 | 2299 | 46.0 | 50.0 | 2394 | |
| 7 | 32 | CM | Chipanga, Chiletso | 2043 | 6.0 | 2296 | 43.0 | 47.0 | 2369 | |
| 8 | 7 | IM | Bwalya, Gillan | 2405 | 6.0 | 2283 | 47.0 | 51.5 | 2379 | |
| 9 | 13 | IM | Silva, David | 2296 | 6.0 | 2250 | 41.5 | 44.5 | 2342 | |
| 10 | 12 | FM | Barrish, Daniel | 2306 | 6.0 | 2235 | 46.0 | 50.0 | 2328 | |
| 11 | 5 | IM | Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina | 2429 | 5.5 | 2434 | 50.5 | 54.5 | 2469 | |
| 12 | 26 | FM | Mhango, Banele | 2117 | 5.5 | 2408 | 47.5 | 50.5 | 2379 | |
| 13 | 21 | IM | Nassr, Ali | 2232 | 5.5 | 2359 | 47.0 | 48.5 | 2375 | |
| 14 | 11 | FM | Kawuma, Patrick | 2323 | 5.5 | 2337 | 47.5 | 51.5 | 2375 | |
| 15 | 6 | IM | Wageih, Kareim | 2425 | 5.5 | 2151 | 39.5 | 43.0 | 2203 | |
| 16 | 20 | FM | Oragwu, Chukwunonso | 2241 | 5.0 | 2308 | 42.0 | 46.0 | 2308 | |
| 17 | 14 | IM | Mwali, Chitumbo | 2285 | 5.0 | 2249 | 41.0 | 44.5 | 2253 | |
| 18 | 18 | FM | Osunfuyi, Abimbola | 2246 | 5.0 | 2221 | 42.0 | 45.5 | 2221 | |
| 19 | 16 | FM | Abdulraheem, Abdulrahman Akintoye | 2264 | 5.0 | 2217 | 43.5 | 47.5 | 2221 | |
| 20 | 27 | Okeke, Issac | 2097 | 5.0 | 2190 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 2108 |
(Full final standings here.)
Jesse February Is Ladies’ African Champion
HashtagChess broadcaster WIM Jesse February won the ladies’ section with a score of 7/9. The South African streamer outperformed WIM Lina Nassr of Algeria and WIM Ayah Moaataz of Egypt.
And she did it! @Jesse_Feb is the Women's 2021 African Individual Chess Champion 🏆👏🥳
— HashtagChess (@hashtagchess) May 27, 2021
Along with the win, she becomes a WGM-elect, which means that when her FIDE rating crosses 2100, she will be the second-ever South African to get the WGM title. Well done Jesse ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wlQkJ1aFWg
After escaping a dangerous attack in round seven, February remained in the lead and went on to win the event.
Pandemic-Safe Major African Tournament
While all other continents organized "hybrid" qualifying events for the World Cup, the African Chess Confederation was able to host its flagship championship—the biggest and strongest ever—over the board.
“The 2020 edition was not held due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. To show our resilience and to show the strength of our chess community, in 2021 [...] we have 21 federations participating,” remarked ACC President Lewis Ncube during the opening ceremony.
Social distancing, wearing of masks, and constant sanitation of the boards were enough to go ahead with the tournament in a tropical country only peripherally affected by Covid-19.
“Covid is here to stay, but we should be able to manage it,” commented President of the Chess Association of Malawi Susan Namangale. “All players were tested before and after the tournament, and all the tests came out negative.”
“The tournament surpassed our expectations, considering that it was only confirmed two months ago. We had a total of 93 players from across the continent, there were no appeals, and all participants seemed enthusiastic,” concluded Namangale.
Final Standings (Top 20)
| Rk. | SNo | Fed | Title | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | Rp |
| 1 | 6 | WIM | February, Jesse Nikki | 1824 | 7.0 | 1848 | 46.0 | 50.5 | 2009 | |
| 2 | 3 | WIM | Nassr, Lina | 1960 | 6.5 | 1800 | 46.0 | 50.0 | 1909 | |
| 3 | 2 | WIM | Moaataz, Ayah | 2028 | 6.5 | 1794 | 43.5 | 47.0 | 1927 | |
| 4 | 4 | WFM | Mwango ,Lorita | 1912 | 6.0 | 1817 | 46.0 | 50.5 | 1883 | |
| 5 | 1 | WGM | Wafa, Shahenda | 2145 | 6.0 | 1748 | 46.0 | 50.0 | 1818 | |
| 6 | 10 | WCM | Charinda, Kudzanayi | 1702 | 6.0 | 1738 | 44.0 | 47.5 | 1816 | |
| 7 | 29 | Shriyan, Santosh Priyasha | 1285 | 5.5 | 1727 | 42.0 | 46.0 | 1770 | ||
| 8 | 9 | WFM | Marape, Naledi | 1717 | 5.5 | 1708 | 41.5 | 45.0 | 1741 | |
| 9 | 17 | WFM | Mongeli, Sasha | 1553 | 5.5 | 1649 | 38.5 | 39.0 | 1657 | |
| 10 | 23 | WFM | Staal, Michaela Francis | 1356 | 5.5 | 1540 | 38.5 | 39.0 | 1560 | |
| 11 | 15 | WCM | Wanjiru, Lucy | 1623 | 5.5 | 1538 | 36.0 | 39.5 | 1567 | |
| 12 | 27 | Badenhorst, Chloe | 1316 | 5.0 | 1739 | 42.5 | 47.0 | 1731 | ||
| 13 | 5 | WFM | Ogbiyoyo, Perpetual Eloho | 1880 | 5.0 | 1696 | 44.5 | 47.0 | 1694 | |
| 14 | 16 | WCM | Banda, Natalie Katlo | 1560 | 5.0 | 1668 | 38.0 | 39.5 | 1637 | |
| 15 | 12 | WCM | Ndirangu, Joyce Nyaruai | 1659 | 5.0 | 1607 | 40.5 | 44.0 | 1566 | |
| 16 | 8 | Nakabo, Peninah | 1730 | 5.0 | 1591 | 42.0 | 45.0 | 1600 | ||
| 17 | 14 | Makwena, Christine | 1638 | 5.0 | 1497 | 37.5 | 41.0 | 1495 | ||
| 18 | 13 | Marochkina, Nadezhda Valerevna | 1639 | 4.5 | 1591 | 43.0 | 46.5 | 1555 | ||
| 19 | 7 | WIM | Vilhete, Vania Fausto Da T. | 1799 | 4.5 | 1555 | 38.5 | 42.0 | 1523 | |
| 20 | 28 | Msukwa, Tupokiwe | 1304 | 4.5 | 1540 | 37.5 | 41.0 | 1489 |
(Full final standings here.)
2021 FIDE World Cup: July 10-August 6
The five qualifiers of Team Egypt have high hopes ahead of the 2021 FIDE World Cup. In Sochi, they will compete in a knockout tournament with the world’s top 206 players for a spot in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022. World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen and Women’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun are also expected to play.
