African Championship 2024: Bassem Amin and Jesse February win titles
Bassem Amin (Egypt) and Jesse Nikki February (South Africa) are the new African Chess Champions. The top-seeded Egyptian GM, who clinched the title yesterday, continued his domination in the final round, defeating IM Andrew Kayonde (Zambia) with the black pieces. The champion scored an impressive 8.5/9, conceding his opponents just a half-point. The second seed, GM Bilel Bellahcene (pictured below, left), beat IM Mariano Ortega Amarelle of Cape Verde and finished second with 7/9. IM Chitumbo Mwali (Zambia; pictured above, right) pulled off a crucial victory over IM Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo (Madagascar) and took bronze, netting 6.5/9. The sixth seed Zambian had a great tournament and picked up 39 rating points. Final standings Open: 1 GM Bassem Amin EGY 2670 8½ 2 GM Bilel Bellahcene ALG 2522 7 3 IM Chitumbo Mwali ZAM 2340 6½ 4 IM David Silva ANG 2358 6 5 FM Banele Mhango RSA 2193 6 6 Nicolas Cogan CIV 2070 6 7 IM Andrew Kayonde ZAM 2321 6 8 IM Odion Aikhoje NGR 2215 6 9 IM Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo MAD 2454 5½ 10 FM Abdulrahman Abdulraheem NGR 2229 5½ Complete final standings In the women’s section, WIM Jesse Nikki February (RSA) needed just a draw against Lidet Abate Haile of Ephiopia to win the title, but it was not an easy task. The South African had a lost position at some point but eventually escaped with a draw and took gold with an impressive score of 7.5/9. The top and second seeds, WGM Shahenda Wafa (pictured above, left) of Egypt and WIM Lina Nassr from Algeria (both defeated by the champion with the black pieces), tied for second place on 6.5/9, with the latter winning silver thanks to a better opponents’ average rating. Final standings Women: 1 WIM Jesse Nikki February RSA 1920 7½ 2 WIM Lina Nassr ALG 2080 6½ 3 WGM Shahenda Wafa EGY 2083 6½ 4 Deborah Quickpen NGR 1945 6 5 Peninah Nakabo UGA 1836 5½ 6 Jemima Paulo ANG 1946 5½ 7 WIM Vania Fausto Da T. Vilhete MOZ 1829 5½ 8 Lidet Abate Haile ETH 1786 5½ 9 WFM Constance Mbatha ZAM 1799 5½ 10 WFM Ednasia Junior ANG 1915 5 Complete final standings Photos: Niki Riga and Ogunsiku Babatunde UPDATE March 20, 2024 Bassem Amin emerged as the winner of the African Championship 2024, clinching the title in the open section with a round to spare. GM from Egypt beat IM David Silva of Angola in the penultimate round to score 7.5/8 and became out-of-reach for all his competitors. GM Bilel Bellahcene (Algeria) and IM Andrew Kayonde (Zambia) are going into the final round, sharing second place on 6/8. Standings after Round 8 Open In the women’s section, the leader Jesse Nikki February (RSA) bounced back after yesterday’s loss, defeating Toritsemuwa Ofowino of Nigeria. IM from South Africa has an excellent chance for the African crown heading to the final round on 7/8, a full point ahead of Lina Nassr of Algeria (who scored a crucial victory over Peninah Nakabo of Uganda in Round 8). Deborah Ebimobo-Ere Quickpen (Nigeria) and Sharenda Wafa (Egypt) are tied for third place on 5.5/8. Standings after Round 8 Women UPDATE March 19, 2024 After seven rounds at the 2024 African Championship, Bassem Amin and Jesse Nikki February remained on top, with a one-point lead over their closest competitors. In Round 7 Amin defeated Jemusse Zhemba of Zambia to consolidate his leading position in the standings with 6.5/7. Bilel Bellahcene (Algeria) and David Silva (Angola) are tied for second place, trailing the leader by a full point. Jesse Nikki February suffered her first defeat in the competition at the hands of Deborah Ebimobo-Ere Quickpen of Nigeria. Still, she comfortably leads with 6/7, one point ahead of four players sharing second place. Standings after Round 7 Open Standings after Round 7 Women UPDATE March 18, 2024 After six rounds of exciting battles at the African Individual Championships 2024, Bassem Amin (Egypt) and Jesse Nikki February (South Africa) have emerged as the sole leaders in the open and women’s sections, respectively. The top seed GM Bassem Amin scored a crucial victory over one of his main rivals, GM Bilel Bellahcene of Algeria in Round 6, and grabbed the lead with 5/6. IM Chitumbo Mwali from Zambia had a chance to catch up with the Egyptian, but after drawing his game with David Silva (Angola), he trails the leader by a half-point (4.5/6). A group of four players is a full point behind Amin. Standings after Round 6 Open Jesse Nikki February (pictured above) has dominated the women’s section so far. The South African WIM notched up six straight wins, including victories over her main rivals, the top and second seeds WGM Shahenda Nafa (Egypt) and WIM Lina Nassr (Algeria), who are in second (5/6) and third (4/6) positions, respectively. Standings after Round 6 Women The African Individual Championships 2024 kicked off on March 13 in Accra, Ghana, the city that recently hosted the chess competition of the 13th African Games. Both open and women’s championships, 9-round Swiss events with classical time control, will stretch from March 13-20, 2024. Top African players, including Grandmasters Bassem Amin (EGY) and Bilel Bellahcene (ALG), International Masters Mariano Ortega Amarelle (CPV), Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo (MAD), David Silva (ANG), Chitumbo Mwali (ZAM), Women’s Grandmaster Shahenda Wafa (EGY), and Women’s International Masters Lina Nassr (ALG) and Jesse Nikki February (RSA), have converged for this prestigious event. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich participated in the opening ceremony and made the first ceremonial move in the women’s competition. In his short speech he thanked the organizers, greeted all the participants and touched on social aspect of chess competitions in Africa. “I hope everyone will show their best in this event. I also wish luck to all of you… Chess in African Games was more than just a sports event. We connected local chess communities with national governments and commissions so they can help you in your countries.” FIDE President also announced that in just a few
American Cup 2024: Aronian and Krush win Champions brackets
Levon Aronian and Irina Krush emerged as the winners from the Champion brackets after defeating Ray Robson and Alice Lee in their respective matches. Aronian needed just a draw on the second day after winning both games on the first day, and he comfortably sealed the deal, earning a bonus prize of $15,000. Leading by one point going into the second day, Irina Krush won the classical game with the black pieces and immediately decided the match in her favor (2.5-0.5) and gained a bonus prize of $9,000. Meanwhile, Wesley So knocked out Fabiano Caruana after winning the blitz tiebreaker in the Elimination bracket. Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova eliminated Jennifer Yu after prevailing in both games on the second day of their match. It set up the Elimination brackets with Ray Robson playing a rematch with Wesley So and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova taking on Alice Lee. The winners will face Levon Aronian and Irina Krush, respectively. Photo: Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Official website: uschesschamps.com/2024-american-cup/overview
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