The third edition of the Kumasi Classics Chess tournament aimed at giving young and upcoming talented chess players the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the country has been held.
The annual competition held at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi was initially planned as a two-day tournament with long time controls, however, it was changed to a day’s rapid tournament, with a time control of 20 minutes per game.
The competition drew 27 chess players from clubs including KNUST Chess Club, Maxima Chess Club, KNUST.
With Kwabena Adu-Poku and Benard Anhwere rated the 6th and 8th best players in the country respectively, George Anim-Addo of the KNUST Chess Club surprisingly showed class to overcome his opponents.
Anim-Addo began with two routine wins, and then took down KNUST alumnus Solomon Sozie in round three. That set up a tantalizing fixture against the top seed Kwabena in round four. Not to be perturbed, Anim-Addo defeated him with a sizzling attack.
He followed that up with another win against the 2nd seed Benard Anhwere in round five, and crushed fellow rising star Michael Sarkodie in round six. There was a full point between him and the rest of the field. His perfect run was only stopped by David Ameku of the Dreamfort Chess Club in the last round. But he had done just enough to be crowned worthy winner of the 3rd Kumasi Chess Classics with six points out of seven.
There was another excellent performance by nine-year-old Selikem Amoako Philip. It’s a rare sight to see such a talented prodigy play chess at the same level as grown-ups. And Selikem did it so well. He only lost one game out of seven, won three, and held the likes of Kwadwo Gyamfi and Michael Sarkodie to draws. His performance earned him a tie for 5th with 4.5 points and a share of the prizes.
Mr. Kwadwo Gyamfi of the Maxima Chess Club also made quite an impression. Although not finishing among the top prizes, he beat David Ameku in the first round and held Benard Anhwere to a draw in round two.
There were notable performances all round where Michael Sarkodie and Richard Agyemang, both of KNUST played well on the day, and scored 4.5 points out of 7, tying with Selikem and Benard Anhwere for 5th place.
David Ameku and Solomon Sozie also came out with 5 points at the end, tying for 3rd place whilst Abena Tiwaa Apau amassed three points and won the prize for best female chess player.
By Edna A. Quansah, GNA
