“African Chess League” made the first move

On May 3, the first stage of the international online series “African Chess League” took place. The league was launched as part of the large-scale “Chess Diplomacy” project

Following the successful launch of the “Asian League” last year—which brought together nine teams and over 500 participants in the 2025 season—expanding the project to African federations was a natural step toward strengthening friendly ties with the continent.

Previously, the Moscow Region Chess Federation (MRCF) held friendly online matches with the federations of Togo and the Ivory Coast. Additionally, the federations of Mali, Egypt, and Zimbabwe participated in the “Russian Chess Crown” festival held in the Moscow region in late February.

In late March, the MRCF signed Memorandums of Cooperation with the Presidents of the Chess Federations of Madagascar and Equatorial Guinea.

For the first stage of the African Chess League, seven teams competed against each other. 1st Place went to the Chess Federation of Equatorial Guinea. Notably, a Sergey Karjakin Chess School recently opened in Malabo, and we hope its students will soon join the national team. 2nd Place: The Chess Federation of Madagascar, providing fierce competition for the top spot. And lastly, Burkina Faso as 3rd place, whose participation was a pleasant surprise for the organizers.

A total of 143 chess players competed for individual honors, playing 785 games. Two of the prize places went to representatives of Equatorial Guinea:
Xavier Mompel Ferrus (Equatorial Guinea) winning gold
and the bronze medal went to Óscar Naranjo González.
Whereas Raveloson José Alain from Madagascar secured a silver medal

The Moscow Region Chess Federation extends its gratitude to the teams from Zimbabwe, Niger, and Togo, as well as the “Friends of the MRCF” team, which continues to participate in the online league as guest competitors.

You can watch the matches with commentary by Sergey Shipov on:
🎥 YouTube
🎥 Twitch
🎥 Rutube

Stay tuned for more updates and don’t miss the second stage of the African Chess League this June!