After nine days of intense competition in Ethiopia, Egyptian Grandmaster Essam El Gindy has won the Zone 4.2 African Individual Chess Championships.
The GM seized the lead in the sixth round after he beat Uganda’s Fide Master Patrick Kawuma, and never stumbled as he went on to down another Ugandan, FM Haruna Nsubuga in the seventh round before seeing off Ethiopians Abera Aydagnuhem Gezachew and Adebo Muhaba Detamo in the last two rounds.
The 2003 African champion won seven games, drawing twice to win the event with 8 points. He drew against fellow Egyptian Ameir Moheb and Kenya’s No-.1 seed Peter Gilruth.
El Gindy was closely followed by Kawuma who garnered 7.5 points. Kawuma’s loss to the Egyptian proved too detrimental as it put the championship out of his control. The Olympian won all his remaining games, but with El Gindy winning his too, the championship was out of his reach.
Nsubuga finished the event placed fourth. After losing to the Grandmaster in the seventh round, the rated 2163 further damaged his slim chances of earning the International Master [IM] title or at least an IM norm as he lost to fellow Uganda Kawuma in the subsequent round.
The inaugural Equity Open winner managed six points having lost three of the nine rounds played.
Moheb 3rd with 7 points and Abera 5th with 6 points complete the rewarding positions- the top five.
Joshua Katumba came fifteenth with 4.5 points, a place below his starting rank of 14th at the tourney.
For his first finish, El Gindy won USD 1000 as prize money, and will represent the African continent at this year’s Chess World Cup in Batumi, Georgia in September. It will be El Gindy’s fifth appearance at the World Cup having competed at four consecutive World Cups between 2007 and 2013
Kawuma returns home with USD 800 plus an IM norm, while Nsubuga bags USD 400.
In the Women’s section, Woman Fide Master [WFM] Ivy Clare Amoko finished fourth with six points after she beat Kenya’s Gloria Jumba in the last round. She returns home with USD 150.
For the second time in a row, Shakira Ampaire missed the Woman Candidate Master [WCM] title by ½ a point. Ampaire headed into the final round with 4 points and needed just a draw to earn the title, but the 2016 league winner with Kireka Chess Club lost the game and settled for the eleventh position with 4points.
Last year in Tanzania, Ampaire finished with the same points.
Esther Penninah Nannozi came 14th with 2.5points. She won two out of nine games and drew one.
Egyptian Woman International Master [WIM] Wafa Shahenda won the Women section with nine points. She was the only player in the event who won all her games, recording a perfect 9/9.