The race grew so tight at Mognolia Hotel in Addis Ababa. At the end of the final round, 2 Ethiopian players were tied at the summit with 7.5 points, and the Bucholoz tie Breaking system had to come into play. It went in favor of CM Jimma Desalegn Fekadu, who was crowned 2022 Zone 4.4 Chess King.
He pocketed $ 900, same as his runner up CM Abera Aydagnuhem Gezachew.
FM Nadir Samir of Sudan was third with 6.5points, while another Sudanese, Hamed Mohamed was fourth also with 6.5 points. The Bucholozz tie breaking system was also used to separate the 2.
However, it was not a red carpet ride for CM Fakadu. He lost to FM Nadir Samir in round three, but quickly recuperated to lead or co-lead the event all the way to the final round.
Others who got prizes are Hamed Mohamed (Sudan), Tagelsir Abubakar (Sudan) and Martin Njoroge (Kenya) on positions 5, 6 and 7th respectively.
The event which ran from 2nd to 9th May ,2022 fielded players from Eretria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan.
Open section registered 42 participants, while the women Section has registered 18 participants.
Kenyan WFM Sacha Mongeli won the ladies section after accumulating a maximum 9 points. She was followed by Haile Lidet Abate of Ethiopia at a distant 7.5 points.
According to Kenya Chess Masala Website Essayas Berhane Elshalom of Eritrea also deserves a special mention. Despite being unrated and only 14 years old, she managed to score an impressive 5 points to end up in joint fourth place.
However, as it is the syndrome these days, the tournament was plagued with absentees. Other Zone 4.4 Federations: Uganda, Comoros Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan and Tanzania did not take part in the tournament.
The Hort system was used to share the top prizes of 1200 USD, 900 USD, 750 USD , 500 USD, 300 USD in the open section respectively. The ladies section received 750 USD , 500 USD, 300 USD , 200 USD and 100 USD respectively
In addition to the lucrative prizes above, the top winners of both sections will get sponsorship to participate in the Sarjah Masters and Sarjah Challengers Chess Champions in the United Arab of Emirates.
