2019 Africa Junior Chess Championship
The Africa Junior Chess Championship is one of Africa’s premier event.
Accra, the capital city of Ghana, is the proud host for the 2019 Africa Junior which as usual will have two sections – Open and Ladies. This year marks the 32nd edition of the event.
The Open section has 26 players from ten African federations. The Ladies section has 12 players from seven African federations.
GM Fawzy Adham of Egypt is the top seed and defending Champion in the Open section. GM Adham boast of a rating of 2487!
IM Fy Antenaina Rakomaharo of Madagascar is 2nd seed with an impressive rating of 2428. He will be seeking his first continental title to add to his Zone 4.3 title he won earlier this year.
Another top candidate for the title is IM Kandil Adham of Egypt. He is GM Fawzy Adham’s younger brother. He boasts a rating of 2309.
WFM Luzia Pires of Angola and Enomah Emmanuella Trust of Nigeria are the top seed players in the Ladies section. Both have a FIDE rating of 1924.
It is a proud moment for Ghana, who are hosting the event for the very first time.
Ghana has nine players in the Open section and five players in the Ladies section. GM Maurice Ashley was in Ghana recently where he spent time training some players who are taking part in the event.
Ivory Coast is another country who have sent players who have benefited from GM Maurice Ashley’s recent training visit.
Angola, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Botswana, Ghana, Libya, Togo, San Tome & Principe, Madagascar, & Nigeria are taking part.
Kenya has not sent any players for this flagship event.
Details of past editions
Interesting facts about Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 27 million and has an area of 238,533 square km.
Accra is its capital and largest city. Ghana’s official language is English. Ghana Cedi (GHS) is its official currency.
It has three bordering countries that are Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
Ghana was the first country to gain independence in West Africa.
The word Ghana means ‘Warrior King’ in the Soninke language.
Ghana before 1957 was commonly known as the Gold Coast. This was due to the availability of gold along the rivers Ankobra and Volta.
Akan is the most popularly used language in Ghana after English spoken by nearly 67.1% of the population.
Links
Standings & Results of Ladies section 2019 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
Standings & Results of Open section 2019 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
Day 1 report on the 2019 Africa Junior by Africa Chess Media.
GM Maurice Ashely visits Ghana and Ivory Coast.
IM Fawzy Adham win 2018 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
IM David Silva of Angola wins 2017 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
IM Nassr Ali of Algeria wins 2016 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
IM David Silva of Angola wins 2015 Africa Junior Chess Championship.
Further reflection on the 2015 African Junior Chess Championship.
