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Press release by FIDE
Bassem Amin (Egypt) and Jesse Nikki February (South Africa) are the new African Chess Champions.
The top-seeded Egyptian GM, who clinched the title, continued his domination in the final round, defeating IM Andrew Kayonde (Zambia) with the black pieces. The champion scored an impressive 8½/9, conceding his opponents just a half-point.
Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
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 below, right) pulled off a crucial victory over IM Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo (Madagascar) and took bronze, netting 6½/9 points. The sixth seed from Zambia had a great tournament and picked up 39 rating points.
GM Bilel Bellahcene and IM Chitumbo Mwali
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Bassem Amin | 2670 | 8,5 | 2306 | |||||
| 2 | GM | Bilel Bellahcene | 2522 | 7 | 2324 | |||||
| 3 | IM | Chitumbo Mwali | 2340 | 6,5 | 2333 | |||||
| 4 | IM | David Silva | 2358 | 6 | 2265 | |||||
| 5 | FM | Banele Mhango | 2193 | 6 | 2131 | |||||
| 6 | Nicolas Cogan | 2070 | 6 | 2122 | ||||||
| 7 | IM | Andrew Kayonde | 2321 | 6 | 2118 | |||||
| 8 | IM | Odion Aikhoje | 2215 | 6 | 2117 | |||||
| 9 | IM | Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo | 2454 | 5,5 | 2281 | |||||
| 10 | FM | Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem | 2229 | 5,5 | 2215 | |||||
| 11 | IM | Mariano Ortega Amarelle | 2482 | 5,5 | 2113 | |||||
| 12 | Sergio Pereira | 2017 | 5,5 | 2023 | ||||||
| 13 | Robert Mcligeyo Oluka | 2041 | 5,5 | 1943 | ||||||
| 14 | AFM | Wilfried Ntamatungiro | 1905 | 5 | 2141 | |||||
| 15 | FM | Simplice Armel De Gondo | 2024 | 5 | 2095 |
In the women’s section, WIM Jesse Nikki February (RSA) needed just a draw in the final round against Lidet Abate Haile of Ethiopia 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 7½/9.
How to play the Sicilian Defence!
The continuous stream of new ideas in the Sicilian makes 1..c5 the most popular answer to 1.e4. On this DVD I do give an introduction to the most important Sicilian systems.
The top and second seeds, WGM Shahenda Wafa (pictured below, left) of Egypt and WIM Lina Nassr from Algeria (both defeated by the champion with the black pieces), tied for second place on 6½/9, with the latter winning silver thanks to a better opponents’ average rating.
WGM Shahenda Wafa and WIM Lina Nassr
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WIM | Jesse Nikki February | 1920 | 7,5 | 1885 | |||||
| 2 | WIM | Lina Nassr | 2080 | 6,5 | 1886 | |||||
| 3 | WGM | Shahenda Wafa | 2083 | 6,5 | 1869 | |||||
| 4 | Deborah Ebimobo-Ere Quickpen | 1945 | 6 | 1903 | ||||||
| 5 | Peninah Nakabo | 1836 | 5,5 | 1839 | ||||||
| 6 | Jemima Paulo | 1946 | 5,5 | 1839 | ||||||
| 7 | WIM | Vania Fausto Da T. Vilhete | 1829 | 5,5 | 1829 | |||||
| 8 | Lidet Abate Haile | 1786 | 5,5 | 1797 | ||||||
| 9 | WFM | Constance Mbatha | 1799 | 5,5 | 1546 | |||||
| 10 | WFM | Ednasia Junior | 1915 | 5 | 1848 | |||||
| 11 | WIM | Anzel Laubscher | 1820 | 5 | 1811 | |||||
| 12 | WCM | Natalie Katlo Banda | 1772 | 5 | 1811 | |||||
| 13 | Maud Benson | 1664 | 5 | 1682 | ||||||
| 14 | Toritsemuwa Ofowino | 1950 | 4,5 | 1840 | ||||||
| 15 | Linda Dalitso Shaba | 1836 | 4,5 | 1805 |
