The 2022 Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championship got underway in Addis Ababa on 2nd May 2022. The event will run until 9th May 2022.
Forty-six players from six African federations are taking part in the Open section. On the other hand, the Ladies section has nineteen players from four countries.
However, notable absentees include Madagascar and Uganda, probably the strongest chess nations in the zone.
The 2021 Kenya National Champions Martin Njoroge and WFM Sasha Mongeli represent their country in this prestigious event.
With a FIDE rating of 1932, Martin Njoroge is ranked 25th in the Open section, with Abubaker Tagelsir of Sudan being the top seed with a rating of 2202.
WFM Sasha Mongeli, on the other hand, is the top-ranked player with a FIDE rating of 1634.
Martin Njoroge lost to Ahmed Hassan Ahmed of Sudan in round one, while WFM Sasha Mongeli defeated Hanna Mulugeta Ayele of Ethiopia.
There were no major upsets of the day in the other encounters.
Depending on their ratings, the winners in the Open and the Women’s Sections will also receive air tickets, free board and lodging sponsorship to participate in the 2022 Sharjah Masters Chess Championships or the 2022 Sharjah Challengers Chess Championships.
Both events are scheduled in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in the 2022 calendar year.
The zonal events in 2022 are taking place within the new zonal structures approved by FIDE in 2019, in which Africa got an additional zone. Africa now has five zones.
2022 Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championship on chess-results.com.
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