Africa bows out of the Ladies World Chess Championship.
Three of the top players from Africa have been knocked out in round 1 during the Ladies World Chess Championship. The event which has attracted a total of 64 top players is taking part in the icy town of Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
It was not an easy task as all 3 players faced formidable opponents during their round 1 encounter.
WIM Jesse February (1922) of South Africa faced WGM Kateryna Lagno (2556) of Russia.
WGM Wafa Shahenda (2145) of Egypt faced Mariya Muzychuk (2545) of Ukraine. WGM Mariya Muzychuk is a former World Chess Champion.
WIM Hayat Toubal (1870) of Algeria faced WGM Humpy Koneru (2548) of India.
The rating difference in all 3 cases ranged from 400 to 634 Elo points. Africa’s representatives lost 2-0 in all cases.
WIM Rani Hamid.
An interesting player in this event is WIM Rani Hamid of Bangladesh. WIM Rani Hamid at the age of 74 years is the oldest player in the event! She lost to GM Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine in round 1.
WIM Rani Hamid is one of the most prolific chess players in Bangladesh. She has won the National Ladies title a total of 19 times! Her latest title was in 2018.
She has played for Bangladesh in four Olympiads. These include the 1984, 1988, 1992 and the 2018 edition.
WIM Hamid received the Journalist Choice Award during the 2018 Batumi Olympiad. She has an Elo of 1935.
Upsets galore.
WGM Olga Girya of Russia lost WGM Mo Zhai of China. Result 2-0.
IM Alina Kashinskaya of Russia lost to WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova. Result 1.5 points to 0.5 points.
GM Natalia Zhukova of Ukraine lost to WGM Shiqun Ni of China.
IM Lela Javakhishvili of Georgia lost to 16 year old WIM Jiner Zhu of China.
Other personalities at the World Championship.
Some of the unsung heroes of the event!
