From December 3-10, the city of Ponta do Sol, on the island of Santo Antão, hosted the Final of the VII Cape Verde National Championship, organized by FCX, in partnership with the Ribeira Grande City Council.

The tournament, a 10-player round-robin featuring 7 participants with FIDE rating, took place at the TIDUCA Hotel and was the strongest Cape Verde National Championship ever.

It was a very tight tournament, so much so that only the final round determined the winner. In Round 4, Cape Verde's Sports Minister visited the competition and praised the work carried out by the Federation.

IM Mariano Ortega and FM Diogo Alho jointly led with a perfect score up to Round 7, in which, surprisingly, Alho lost to David Mirulla.

In the final round, the two FIDE title holders locked horns, fighting for the 2023 crown in this competition. In a very long game, Diogo Alho ended up running out of time, handing the victory to Mariano Ortega, who won all nine games and claimed his fourth consecutive title. Ortega, who is currently the sixth-rated player in Africa, had an exemplary tournament, demonstrating why he is still the king of chess in Cape Verde.

The closing ceremony of the 2023 national championship was attended by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who made a short visit to Cape Verde at the invitation of Francisco Carapinha, President of the Cape Verde Chess Federation.

In addition to the competition itself, there was still time for players and staff to visit some of the natural beauty attractions of Santo Antão.

Final standings:

Text and photos: Francisco Carapinha, President of the Cape Verde Chess Federation