The 2019 edition of the Ghana Chess President’s Cup has been held at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The event, sponsored by Reiss and Co, saw the first two of seven scheduled rounds completed on day one, which set the tone for a fine event.
It also saw participants from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire.
According to the Ghana Chess Association (GCA), the event was aimed at providing an opportunity for Ghanaian chess players to increase their international ratings and improve their play in general.
The opening games largely went in favor of the top seeds and this time, the top eight places were occupied by three Nigerians, four Ghanaians and one Sierra Leonean.
These eight players have all started with a perfect 2/2 score.
The tournament upsets included Veteran Evans Kpodo who defeated the mighty IM Francis Anquandah, GC George Ako Dadzie defeated the tricky Richard Gabah.
The final day’s action at the 2019 Ghana Presidents Cup could hardly have been more dramatic as Lapite Oluwadurotimi fought through two extremely tough rounds to emerge as the clear winner of the event with 6.5/7 points.
He was followed by Kennedy Onokpite with 6/7 points and Austin Apemiye with 5.5/7 points to place third.
CM Kamara Ansumana, IM Anquandah Francis and CM Joseph Jamena Mensah tied for 4th place with 5/7 points each.
IM Francis Anquandah and CM Joseph Jamena Mensah were the top local players as both scored 5/7 to end in a tie for 4th place.
WCM Felix Tobi and Dzidzor Dotse also completed an excellent tournament as they both ended with 3/7 points and earned themselves the best lady prize.
Mr Peter van der Wurff, the Managing Director from local sponsor Reiss & Co (Ghana) Ltd was in attendance to assist with the prize giving.
According to the Marketing Executive, Miss Elizabeth Nortey, from Reiss n Co, it was a known fact that Chess was a minority sport in Ghana and people presumed it is for the wealthy, but she saw it to be the cheapest game to play.
She said that the perception of chess being for the rich was strange to her because Chess was for everyone and the good thing about it is that it does not matter the age or the gender.
‘‘I want to see the sport develop in strength and in number, make it competitive and attractive because it’s a great game for training the intellects and students who play the game have better academic results,’’ she said.
Mr. Philip Ameku, President of the GCA, expressed his gratitude to the players and sponsors and promised to develop and promote the sport across the country with plans to reach the communities and schools.
“We wish to thank them for their ongoing support and for partnering with the Ghana Chess Association to make the tournament a great success. We also wish to thank all who participated and hope to see a higher number of participants and a much stronger performance next year” he said.
Reiss & Co is a multi-divisional technical trading house with interests in a diverse group of industries including agriculture, veterinary, pharmaceuticals, computers and security equipment and mechanical equipment.