IM Al Khatib Ahmad (Jordan) and WIM Lina Nassr (Algeria) emerged as the winners of the Arab Chess Championship 2023. Both champions scored an impressive 7.5/9.

The Arab Championship took place from February 26 to March 05 in Khartoum, Sudan and was held in the open and women's sections. Both competitions were 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control.

In the open section, Ahmad Al Khatib grabbed the lead in Round 4 after defeating Gong Thon Gong (South Sudan) with the black pieces and never looked back. Despite losing to IM Husain Aziz (Quatar) in Round 6, the champion netted 7.5/9 and finished a full point ahead of three players who tied for second place.

The Buchholz (second tiebreaker) favoured Hesham Abdelrahman of Egypt (the only GM in the tournament) and Husain Aziz, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

Final standings:

The women’s event turned into close race of the second and fourth seeds Lina Nassr (pictured below) and WFM Manar Khalil (Syria). Coming into the final round on 7/9 a hall-point ahead of her rival Lina drew her game vs. young Ruba Al-Qudah (Jordan) and clinched the title as Mahar blundered in the opening and managed only a draw against Alserkal Rouda-Essa (UAE).

The thirteenth seed untitled Ruba Al-Qudah caused a minor sensation by scoring a solid 6.5/9 and finishing clear third.

Final standings:

You can find the complete results and standings of both tournaments here.