FM Lamine Brahami and WIM Lina Nassr, both of Algeria, are the proud winners of the 2021 Africa Junior Chess Championship.

The event held in the Liberian capital of Monrovia from December 29, 2021 to January 4, 2022 saw FM Brahami Lamine score 8 points out of 9 rounds to take his maiden African title. WIM Lina Nassr won the Ladies section by a perfect score 9/9 to grab her second title. She won her first Africa Junior title in the 2017 edition held in Lome, Togo. Both tournaments were officiated by Nesla Adnane of Algeria (Chief Arbiter) and Mario Kpan of Ivory Coast, who provided photos for this article.

Open Section

The Open Section had a total of 18 players from 8 federations. Liberia, as the host nation, fielded eight players. Other federations included Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

The race for the top spot between Lamine Brahami and Callistus Denyefa Eyetonghan (pictured below) culminated in the final round. Both had 7 points, and each had a chance of claiming the title. Brahami Lamine beat David Lery Debblay of Liberia and won the gold medal as his main competitor lost to one of the top Egyptian junior players, David George. Still, with 7 points, Callistus tied for second place with Mohamed Abderrahim Taleb of Mauritania and took silver thanks to the victory in the direct encounter. Lamine Brahami qualified for the 2022 World Junior Chess Championship.

Final standings:

Ladies Section

WIM Lina Nassr took the title after winning all her games, while her younger sister WCM Manel Nassr netted 8 points to earn the silver medal. WFM Naledi Marape came in third with 7/9. The champion punched her ticket to the 2022 World Junior Chess Championship.

Final standings:

Text and photo: Kenya Chess Masala