A Remarkable End to the 2023 National Chess Championship

CM Kwabena Adu-Poku wins the coveted National Chess Championship title for the 3rd consecutive time.

Gertrude Banini wins the prestigious National Women’s Chess Championship on her first attempt.

The 2023 Ghana National Chess Championship Finals, two 10 player round-robin tournaments (Open and Ladies sections) were held over 5 days from December 26-30 at the Ghana college of physicians and surgeons- Accra. The participants of the closed tournaments included the top 5 highest rated players in both sections as well as the top 5 finishers in the first Phase (Qualifiers) which was held from December 1 – 3, 2023.

Open Section

No. 1 seed and defending champion, CM Kwabena Adu-Poku put up a great performance and finished with 7 points to successfully defend his title for the 2^nd time in a row making him National Champion for the 3^rd consecutive time. Multiple time national Champion, FM John Hasford followed closely in second place with 6.5 points while Clinton Cephas Fomevor clinched bronze with 5.5 points. IM Francis Anquandah and Bernard Anhwere had the better tie-breaks and beat rising star Daniel Frempong-Smart to a spot on the national chess team (The Golden Knights) despite the trio finishing with 4.5 points.

Ladies Section  

It was a fairy tale ending in the Ladies category as newcomer Gertrude Banini put up a remarkable performance to finish with 8 out of 9 points and emerge National Women’s Champion ahead of Zone 4.2 women’s Champion Maud Benson and 5-time National Women’s champion WCM Tobi Felix. Zonal champion Maud finished half a point behind her to take second place while the 5-time National champion Tobi clinched bronze with 6.5 points.

The Golden Knights

The top 5 players in both the open and women sections earn a spot on the Ghana National Chess Team (The Golden Knights) and get to represent Ghana at the 45^th World Chess Olympiad and the 13^th African Games – Accra, 2023.

By- Maxwell Kwasi Kporxah
Ghana Chess Association