2022 Zone 4.4 Championship – Kenya grabs gold medal!
The 2022 Zone 4.4 Championship has ended in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with WFM Sasha Mongeli grabbing a gold medal for Kenya with a round to spare. She bulldozed her way by winning all nine rounds and will walk away with a cash prize of USD 750. Other goodies that she will receive are a conditional WIM title subject to meeting a rating of 2000 and a fully paid trip for the 2022 Sharjah Challengers Chess Championships.
Abate Lidet Haile of Ethiopia won the silver medal with 7.5 points, while Aster Melake Batiwalu of Ethiopia won the bronze with six points.
Essayas Berhane Elshalom of Eritrea deserves a special mention. Despite being unrated and only 14 years old, she played well to score an impressive 5 points to end up in joint fourth place.
Open section
CM Fekadu Jimma Desalegn and CM Gezachew Abera Aydagnuhem of Ethiopia scored 7.5 points each to tie for first place. They shared the top two cash prizes of USD 2,100. However, CM Fekadu Jimma Desalegn was the winner as he had a better tie-break.
FM Samir Nadir of Sudan won the bronze medal with 6.5 points.
M Fekadu Jimma Desalegn v Petros Olana Bulcha
2021 Kenya National Champion Martin Njoroge
The 9th and final round saw Kenyan star Martin Njoroge with six points meeting FM Samir Nadir of Sudan with 5.5 points. A win for Martin would have given him a bronze medal and a cash prize of USD 750.
In the end, Martin Njoroge lost the game and the chance for a medal, but he can be proud of his score of six points which will earn him an FM title.
FM Samir Nadir v Martin Njoroge
Martin Njoroge Omar Abdulrahman
FIDE Development Fund in Africa
The event was co-financed by FIDE Development Fund in Africa. The annual allocation for the continental events & projects is Euro 100 000, and it allows the organisers to provide higher prizes and invite foreign players.
During the event, IA Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh of Iran hosted an Arbiters Seminar.
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