Team Egypt continued to dominate the 13th African Games chess competitions, with Bassem Amin and Shahenda Wafa winning rapid open and women’s tournaments, respectively.

The open event, a six-round Swiss tournament, saw the rating-favourite GM Bassem Amin and the ninth seed CM Donaldo Paiva of Mozambique get off to a great start, both winning three straight games. The co-leaders clash in Round 4 ended in a draw, but in Round 5, Bassem beat FM Jemusse Zhemba (Zimbabwe) and pulled away, as Donaldo suffered a defeat at the hands of FM Harold Wanyama of Uganda.

Going into the final round a half-point ahead of Wanyama and a full point ahead of a group of four people, Amin made a quick draw with Gomolemo Rongwane from Botswana, but it was enough to clinch gold with 5/6. His main rival fell to Donaldo Paiva, who tied for second place with Adlane Arab of Algegia and deservedly took silver thanks to the direct encounter win.

Final standings:

Complete final standings

The women’s event was a very close affair with a dramatic ending. Going into the final round as the sole leader with 4.5/5, the top seed Shahenda Wafa was a half-point ahead of Lina Nassr of Algeria and needed just a draw.

However, the highly motivated Algerian, who was in a must-win situation, gradually outplayed the leader and reached a winning position:

Shahenda Wafa – Lina Nassr