FIDE press release
After starting in India, the Chess Torch Relay – which will travel around the world celebrating FIDE’s first centenary – has reached the African continent.
Accompanied by FIDE officials, including Tshepiso Lopang, the President of the African Chess Confederation, and Dana Reizniece-Ozola, the Deputy President of the FIDE Board of Directors, the torch arrived in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
In Ghana, the opening leg of the celebration included Reizniece-Ozola’s exhibition simultaneous chess game and enlightening lecture at the Senior Correctional Centre, which, despite its name suggests, actually holds juveniles (under 18) convicted of criminal or civil offences. The lecture was part of the ‘Chess for Freedom’ project which started in 2021 and which has since gained global attention and support.
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The FIDE delegation also visited the final rounds of the African Individual Chess Championship 2024. The 9-round Swiss events ran from 13 to 20 March and were won by Bassem Amin (Egypt) and Jesse Nikki February (South Africa).
A “Little Princess” girls’ tournament organized by the FIDE Commission for Women in Chess and a teacher training seminar by the FIDE Commission on Chess in Education were held.
Reizniece-Ozola, together with the President of the Ghana Chess Federation, Philip Elikem Ameku, met with senior chess, sports and Ghanaian government officials, including the President of the Ghana National Sports Authority, Seth Panwum, and Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Mawuko Afadzinu.
Highlighting the transformative power of chess in education, Seth Panwum remarked: βWe want to develop the best versions of our young people and we see that chess in education can play a big part in that. Athletic, smart people are the future.”
Mawko Afadzinu, Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, emphasized the importance of the African Games, where chess was featured as one of the sports. This year Ghana hosted the 13u edition of the African Games and the Chinese government has pledged to provide full support to the Ghana Chess Federation’s bid to host the 2024 African Schools Chess Championship at the same venues as the African Games.
Expressing gratitude for Ghana’s hospitality, Reizniece-Ozola asserted: βThe inclusion of chess in the African Games is a testament to its growing prominence. Our ambition for Olympic recognition remains unwavering and the launch of the African leg of the Chess Flame Relay in Ghana is an important step towards realizing our vision.”
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As the evening ended, the torch flame was raised in the center of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in central Accra, which honors the legacy of Ghana’s first president. The park also has a chess connection β as the first chess club in Accra started there.
To the sound of trumpets and drums, the Chess Torch was mounted on an open car and began a procession towards Independence Arch, where chess lovers and spectators enjoyed an evening of music and chess.
The celebrations culminated at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, where African chess champions, Egyptian Grandmaster Bassem Amin and South African Women International Master Jesse February, ceremonially handed over the torch to Tshepiso Lopang, President of the African Chess Confederation, who lit the cauldron, symbolizing the eternal flame of chess in Africa.
With the chess flame reaching Africa, the “Mother Continent”, the relay continues, moving on to Europe. On April 7, the torch relay ceremony will take place in Bern, Switzerland. The celebrations will take place in the Bundesplatz, the social heart of the city, and will also include simultaneous exhibition matches with top chess players, the launch of a postage stamp dedicated to the 100u FIDE anniversary and FIDE100 awards gala dinner.