Day 1: The African Junior Chess Championships 2019

The first day of the #AJCC2019 started with the technical meeting, where players and organizers met to discuss how the event would run, the modalities of the tournament and the rules were read in the hearing of all.

Officials of The African Junior Chess Championships 2019! Photo Credit: Ogunsiku Babatunde

It was agreed that draw offers can not be made until black’s move 30, however, the 3-fold repetition claim trumps this, if it shows on board, and a rest day was introduced into the tournament schedule, to give the participants the feel of Ghana, as a nation.

Players, Sponsors and Organizers, after the Technical Meeting! Photo Credit: Ogunsiku Babatunde

After the meeting, pictures were taken with sponsors and the Libyan ambassador to Ghana, who graced the occasion, and added a bit more clout to the event.

L-R: President Philip Ameku, Libyan Ambassador to Ghana, Vice President Christina and Mr Elier

A couple of hours later, the games commenced and it was literally a walk in the park for a number of the top seeds.

Open Section:

The open section had top seed GM Fawzy Adham romping through Ivorian youngster, Niamkey Elijah Pharell, who is one of the kids traveling out of Cote d’Ivoire for the first time, and it is a huge experience for the young boy who would most likely do well in the African Youths tournament coming up in Namibia, later in December.

GM Fawzy Adham of Egypt

IM Fy Rakotomaharo was being pushed for a couple of hours before finally making his opponent succumb to his punches on the board and resigning the game. While IM Kandil Adham had a straight walk over Ghana’s Joshan Shunjay.

IM Fy Rakotomaharo of Madagascar

Sao Tome and Principe’s Fabio Costa Alegre tried to push an attacking agenda against his higher rated Libyan opponent, Elier Ali, who just kept his cool and took the young man to the cleaners, with some hard core counter attack, which had no defense.

Elier Ali of Libya

Togo’s Kueviakoe Folly Cedric defended like his life depended on it, against Libya’s Alfaitori Abdallah, who created strategic weaknesses with the help of the Togolese and calmly waited for him to make the wrong move, which the Libyan did not hesitate to take full advantage of, sacking his bishop in a position that was already cramped. Abdallah went on to win the game as Cedric could not withstand the oncoming onslaught.

Female Section:

With twelve (12) girls participating in the championship, it was the higher rated girls that showed strength for victory in this section, as the event started with some interesting games. With no Woman International Master in their midst, this is what all the girls are eyeing at this tournament, and the top three (3) players would definitely fancy themselves to end the tournament as the winner to claim the title.

WFM Pires Luzia of Angola

Angola’s WFM Pires Luzia was made to work for the win by one of Ghana’s most talented female youngsters, Benson Maud, and even though Maud lost, she would be proud of her efforts and work to do better in her remaining eight (8) rounds.

Enomah Emmanuella Trust of Nigeria

Nigeria’s Enomah Emmanuella Trust had a powerful show in the round, as she was the first lady to finish her game in a blast of a round, pouncing on the weaknesses of her opponent, and working it until Madelleine resigned.

WCM Gabatshwarwe Refilwe of Botswana

Botswana’s 14 year old female national champion, WCM Gabatshwarwe Refilwe had a smooth ride against her Togolese counterpart, as Claudia would be wondering to herself “how did I get myself into this position?” Refilwe’s aim at this tournament is to end up a medalist and she took a good step in that direction with her first game – first win, with her win yesterday.

Barnor Mary of Ghana

Barnor Mary played against her compatriot, WCM Tobi Felix of Ghana, and she had an interesting opening line, which she employed (dubious, but interesting line). If Tobi did not understand the purpose of the early moves, we might just have had our very first upset of the tournament, but alas, she did, and she held until Mary made an unnecessary Bishop and knight sacrifice for a rook and pawn on the f7-square, after giving away a free pawn earlier. The game ended before the 40 move mark, and Mary is starting to understand that all that glitters is definitely not gold.

WCM Yavo Tchetche Marie

On the last board, WCM Yavo Tchetche Marie showed that she did not get her title by just merely pushing pieces, as she displaced unrated Ghanaian Mensah Rahael in a cool manner.

The second round of the events continue today, by 3pm West African Time and 5pm CAT. This round promises massive battles as the Nigerian kids would be looking to defend the honour of the West African region, as others would be looking to defend their regions too, which would lead to some cracking chess.

Female Category Round 2 Pairing

Open Category Pairing for Round 2

Would there be any upsets today? Let us know your thoughts.