Middle column:CM Donaldo Paiva AND WFM Ednasia JuniorLast Column: WIM Lina Nassr and IM Adlane Arab
As the Egyptian Pharaohs continue to dominate.
Bassem Amin and Shahenda Wafa successfully defended their country’s gold medals in the rapid men and women Individual section.
During the last edition of the competition, Ahmed Adly and Shrook Wafa emerged as the gold medal winners.
For Wafa, this competition was not just about her country but also about her family’s pride as she had to defend her elder sister’s gold medal.
She had a good run securing victories against Linda Shaba of Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Anzel Laubscher in the first two rounds.
Halfway through the competition Wafa, Nigeria’s Peace Samson, Uganda’s Peninah Nakabo and Angola’s WFM Ednasia Junior were undefeated.
Peace and Wafa played a draw the same with Peninah and Algeria’s Lina Nassr. A victory against Zambia’s Constance Mbatha renewed Ednasia’s hope for a podium medal.
But before that, she had to face it off with Wafa and the Egyptian claimed the victory. A victory against Nakabo and a draw against Nassr saw Wafa emerging as the gold medal winner.
Ednasia’s victory over Peace saw her clinch the silver medal ahead of Nassr thanks to a slightly better Buchholz, leaving the Algerian to settle for bronze.
In the men’s section ratings favorite GM Bassem Amin lived up to expectations winning three rounds against FM Harold Wanyama of Uganda, IM Chitumbo Mwali of Zambia, and Nigeria’s FM Bomo Kigigha before playing for a draw with Mozambique’s CM Donaldo Paiva.
Paiva recorded his first defeat in round five to FM Harold Wanyama and it was an advantage to Bassem as he defeated FM Jemusse Zhemba of Zimbabwe.
A draw against FM Gomolemo Rongwane was enough to see Bassem emerge as the gold medal winner whilst a victory over Zambia’s Chitumbo Mwali saw Paiva claim the silver medal. Algeria’s IM Adlane Arab had to settle for a bronze medal.