Черновик

The team of the Moscow Region Chess Federation won the first chess tournament of the Alliance of Sahel States in Bamako

The competition in the capital of Mali was held in two formats. First, a team tournament took place: over five rounds in a round-robin system, teams from Mali (the hosts fielded two teams), Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and the MRCF competed. Our team was represented by FIDE Masters Mikhail Korovin and Alexander Tumanov, Women’s International Master Ekaterina Smirnova and information agency “African Initiative” correspondent Andrey Belonogov.

Our players achieved a convincing victory, winning all matches and scoring 10 out of 10 possible team points. Mali-A team finished second and Guinea took third place.

Following the team event, players competed in a five-round individual Swiss-system tournament, where our representatives swept the podium. Ekaterina Smirnova claimed first place with 4.5 points, edges ahead of Mikhail Korovin on tiebreak criteria. Alexander Tumanov earned the bronze medal with 4 points.

Prior to the closing ceremony, an official assembly was held to establish the Chess Association of the Alliance of Sahel States. At the awards ceremony, our players were presented with four championship cups, medals, diplomas, certificates of participation, and a unique commemorative gift from the Mali Chess Federation. Ekaterina Smirnova was also honored with a special Fair Play award for gracefully agreeing to wait for an opponent who arrived late.

Over the course of the six-day event, our team visited the Russian Embassy in Mali, a souvenir market, and the national park. On the final day, the participants held a meeting with Mali’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdoul Ibrahim Kassim Fomba. The Minister expressed his gratitude to Russia and the Moscow Region Chess Federation for their participation and their commitment to supporting chess development in Mali, despite the complex security situation in the Sahel region.

We sincerely thank the Mali Chess Federation and personally its president, Youssouf Maiga, who was the driving force and chief organizer of this trip. Special thanks to “African Initiative”, especially Andrey Belonogov, who actively assisted us in all matters and without whom this trip would not have been possible, and to Natalia Dembele for organizing a wonderful cultural program.

TECHNICAL RESULTS (team tournament)
TECHNICAL RESULTS (individual tournament)