Africa crowns Jr. Champs!
2008 African Junior Championship
Chess Association of South Africa pulled out all stops to make the 2008 African Junior Championships a memorable festival. Looking at the large collection of photos, it would appear that they succeeded in making the event memorable. One thing that did not change is the dominance of South African girls and Egyptian boys. These two countries had won the championship several times in the past decade.
This year Kareim Wageih of Egypt won the boys event with 7.5/9 over Zambia’s Andrew Kayonde and Libya’s Mosab Gator, both ended on 7/9. Wageih won the event last year and gets another GM norm. At 2197, he will be looking to get more invitations to increase his ELO. Twelve nations were represented in the boys section.
Melissa Greef won the girl’s tournament for the second year in a row getting another WGM norm. Greef, who played in the boy’s competition last year, ended on 8/9 losing only to runner-up Ezat Roos. Roos scored 7.5/9 and last year’s winner Darleen Wiid had 6/9. The South Africans took the top five positions. Development of women’s chess in Africa is very uneven with Egypt and South Africa being the most active. Angola sent four girls!
2008 African Junior Champions
(L-R) Darleen Wiid (S. Africa) -3rd, Ezat Roos (S. Africa) -2nd, Melissa Greef (S. Africa) -1st, IM Kariem Wageih (Egypt) -1st, Andrew Kayonde (Zambia) -2nd, Mosab Gator (Libya) -3rd
(L-R) Participants of 2008 African Junior Championships