Ghana’s Maud Benson wins the Zone 4.2 (West Africa) Individual Chess Championship
Maud Benson, a 21-year-old Mechanical Engineering student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) makes all of Ghana proud as she emerges victorious in the women’s section of the Zone 4.2 Individual Chess Championship.
Unlike most professional chess players who start chess at a very early age, Maud learned to play chess in her early teens. She however did not let that deter her. With hard work, dedication, an unrelenting passion for the game as well as the guidance of various veterans of the Tema-based Knightmare Chess Club which she is a member of, she improved quickly After excelling in a number of Local tournaments, she earned a spot on the National Chess Team (The Golden Knights) at age 16 and went on to represent Ghana at multiple international events including 2 World Chess Olympiads. She also joined the KNUST Chess Club upon joining the tertiary institution and is currently the President.
Maud’s Path to Victory
Maud went to Dimbokro, Ivory Coast as part of a 2 person Ghanaian delegation sponsored by the Ghana Chess Association to take part in the Zonal event.
The tournament which took place from March 24th to April 1st, 2023 saw the participation of 42 top chess players from 9 countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Niger, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo with 12 of them competing in the women’s category.
Maud went into the tournament as the 6th seeded player with Cape Verde’s Women Candidate Master Celia Rodriguez Guevara being the favorite to win the event. She however put up an impressive performance as she went unbeaten the entire tournament eventually winning it with one round to spare. She emerged the champion with 7.5 points after 9 rounds of exciting chess having recorded 6 wins and 3 draws to make history as the first Ghanaian lady to ever win the Zone 4.2 Individual Chess Championship.