Eritrea Represented well in Chennai, India at the 44th Chess Olympiad.

The Eritrean Chess Federation participated in the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad being held in Chennai, India, from July 25 to August 10, 2022. The contingent of five male and five female participants along with one Captain each saw a strong delegation as part of this huge event that takes place every two years. From the get-go, the event was very well organized and allowed diverse and very well-participated teams from almost every corner of the world. Some who may not be familiar Eri-internationalsports will try to break down the event. Every two years the Chess Olympiad takes place in different parts of the world. However, the world’s best chess event which marks as the 44th Chess Olympiad had to be postponed twice due to the pandemic. It was also moved from the Russian Federation as the All-Indian Chess Federation stepped in to host this year’s Chess Olympiad near Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal, in Mahabalipuram. This Olympiad had the largest number of participating teams, in open competition with 188 teams, and also in the women’s tournament, with 162 teams.

Bright glitter chess figures queen and pawn silhouettes in colors of national flag. Eritrea

Team Eritrea women’s team was represented by Yohanna T. Brhane, Makda A. Fessehaye, Elshalom E. Berhane & Azmara B. Essayas and were captained by Dirar Khaled Hassen, while the men’s team playing in the open as it is known were represented by Weldegebrel B. Kibrom, Debesay Zerabruk, Merhawi G. Samuel, Weldu G. Lilay, & Gebremedihin K. Estifanos. Both the men’s and women’s teams took on eleven teams each in their respective categories. The men’s team won 4 and tied 1 while the women’s team won 4 rounds which have elevated the team’s ranking despite being a recent addition to this international event. Chess Master Weledegebriel lead the men’s team with 1793 points, followed by Debesai with 1785, and Merhawi with 1616 while in the women’s event, Elshalom Berhane was the top scorer with 1481, and Makda Fessehaye with 1242 points. Eritrea’s ranking went to 138 in the women’s out of 162 teams while the men’s team made progress with a ranking of 142 out of the 188 teams. The men’s victories came against Liechtenstein, Aruba, Suriname, San Marino, and a tie with Netherlands Antilles. The women’s victories came against Somalia, Mali, Burundi, & Laos. Ukraine won the women’s chess olympiad while Uzbekistan won the men’s championship.

Eri-Internationalsports would like to congratulate Team Eritrea on a great overall participation.

Erisports.