GM Bilel Bellahcene (Algeria) and WGM Shrook Wafa (Egypt) are the newly crowned African chess champions. The #1 Algerian, Bellahcene edged out to top-seeded Egyptian GMs to secure his maiden title, while Wafa captured her fifth African crown, repeating her successes of 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2019.
The 2025 African Chess Championships (Open and Women’s sections), organized in cooperation with the International Chess Confederation (ICC) and the African Chess Federation, were held at the Pyramids Park Hotel in the Pyramids region from May 13–20. Both the Open and Women’s events were 9-round Swiss tournaments played with classical time control, bringing together top players from 17 African countries vying for individual titles.
The Open tournament was fiercely contested and evolved into a thrilling race among the rating favorites. Top-seeded GM Bassem Amin (Egypt) took the lead after Round 6 and maintained it until the penultimate round, when he lost to fellow Egyptian GM Ahmed Adly, who caught up with him.
Meanwhile, fourth-seed Bellahcene capitalized on the opportunity by defeating GM Ahmed Alaa Ahmed, entering the final round a half-point ahead of the two Egyptian grandmasters.
In the final round, Bellahcene (pictured below) achieved a winning position against IM Hamed Wafa, but ultimately settled for a draw. With Amin and Adly both winning their final games, all three players tied for first place.
However, Bellahcene secured the championship title on tiebreaks, thanks to the highest average rating of his opponents. Amin took silver, while Adly completed the podium with bronze.
Final standings – Open
Complete final standings – Open Section
In the Women’s event, Shrook Wafa (pictured below, right) delivered a dominant performance, scoring an impressive 8/9. She remained undefeated throughout the tournament, conceding only two draws.
The 2023 African Champion, Lina Nassr, finished second with 7/9 to claim the silver medal, while 15-year-old Jana Mohamed Zaki caused a minor sensation by capturing bronze and increasing her rating by 98 points.
Final standings – Women
Photos: Egyptian Chess Federation