GHANA MAKES SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE 42nd WORLD CHESS OLYMPIAD

Ghana participated in the 42nd World Chess Olympiad that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a representation in both the male and female sections. The team of 12 persons, led by the President of the Ghana Chess Association Group Captain George Arko-Dadzie, made the most significant achievements since its participation in the competition in 1986.

After the tournament, Ghana's two-time national champion, John Hasford, made Ghana proud with an impressive 6.5 points out of 10 games  in the Open (male) section, to be awarded the FIDE (World Chess Federation) Master title. A similar feat was achieved by Ghana's Women National Champion, Angela Ayiku, when she also posted an equally impressive performance of 6.5 points out of 9 games to attain the Women FIDE Master title.

Angela Ayiku and Dorcas Allotey also became Ghana's first two FIDE International Organizers (IO) when they attended the IO Seminar and passed the requisite examinations to qualify for the titles.

Group Captain George Arko-Dadzie capped the success story when he became Ghana's first FIDE Arbiter after attending the Arbiters Seminar and passing the requisite examinations.

Group Captain George Arko-Dadzie who doubled as Ghana's delegate at the 87th World Chess Federation Congress commended the players for the impressive performance and charged them to work harder to achieve more laurels in the future. He also called on corporate bodies to support the Ghana Chess Association in the development of the game in Ghana. He additionally implored the Ministry of Youth and Sports to give attention to the discipline and to help alleviate the financial burden the Association is saddled with.

Story by Cecil Stanley Nii Teiko Tagoe