The 4th edition of Mohamed Slama Memorial took place from 31st August to 14th September at the luxurious Hotel Monastir Center****, situated in the center of the splendid touristic city of Monastir, Tunisia and adjoining a beautiful sandy beach.
The event was organized by FM/ IO/ FA Jawhar Ben Fredj under the auspices of Chess Club La Tour Blanche – Ksibet El Mediouni in a 9-round Swiss format. The hefty prize fund in the amount of 10.000 $ was provided by the official tournament sponsor Slama Brothers Group.
The festival was dedicated to the memory of Mohamed Slama (15th June 1921-1st December 1986) – a respected and influential businessman who has always been an example to follow in terms of patriotism and charity. In this context he actively contributed to the realization of social projects across his hometown Ksibet El Mediouni, as well as across Tunisia. Before his death, he completed a project that city residents have dreamed of: Hospital Ksibet El Mediouni.
The 4th edition of Mohamed Slama Memorial was split into 5 groups: Open A (open to all players rated over 2099), Open B (open to players rated below 2100), Youth Tournament (open to youth players under 12 years old), a Blitz tournamentwhich took part on 7th September and a Closed IM Tournament which is still in progress and gathers title holders and pretenders from 8th to 14th September.
For the first time in history of Tunisian chess the Chief Arbiter was a woman – IA Amira Marzouk (Tunisia), followed by a multy-country team consisting of IA/IO Akram Jamai (Tunisia), IA Khaled Elnami Abdallah (Libya) and a Deputy Arbiter Yousri Zakama (Tunisia). Chess is getting more and more popular in Tunisia. The number of the players and the tournaments here, increase fast. The city of Monastir will be a host of another prestigious event soon, African Youth Chess Championship 2014 on 20-28th December 2014.
The tournament program of Mohamed Slama Memorial 2014 included a free day, which was well met by the players. Some of them joined some of the side activities, kindly provided by the organizers, such as boat-trip, while others preferred an excursion to the city of Kairouan – Islamic Cultural Capital and UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town of El Jem – home to some of the most impressive Roman remains in Africa, like the worldwide famous “Roman Amphitheater of Thysdrus“. Enjoy the photos below!
The exclusive closing ceremony was held in Ksibet El Mediouni, the hometown of Mohamed Slama. It started with Tunisian folklore music program and finished with confetti in the moment when the champion Kirill Stupak lifted the trophy. All the guests and participants were complemented by soft drinks and Tunisian delights.
Open A was won by GM Kirill Stupak (Belarus) and GM Mohamed Haddouche (Algeria) on 6,5 points each, butStupak lifted the trophy on superior tie-break score.
Third place was split by Croatian GM Davorin Kuljasevic and Algerian GM Aimen Rizouk on 6 points.
IM Bernd Kohlweyer (Germany) emerged the best Senior over 50 with 5 points, while IM Mircea Pavlov (Romania) took the trophy Over 65 scoring 4,5/9 points. WGM Iva Videnova (Bulgaria) took the first female prize with 5,5 points and fulfilled her third and final IM norm, playing at Elo performance 2481.
Open B was convincingly won by CM Mohamed Elbaruni (Libya) with 8,5/9, leaving the runner-up full point behind.
WIM Sabrina Latreche (Algeria) took the silver on 7,5 points, while third place was shared in a four-way tie by FM Abdelouhab Ouaret (Algeria), Rami Taher (Libya), Sahbi Taeib (Tunisia) and Salaheddin Alnami (Libya) on 7 points each.
Tunisian Jihed Majdoub took the gold in the Youth Tournament, finishing with 8,5 points.
The runner-up Abderezzak Assem (Algeria) took clear second with 8 points, while Med Bdeoui (Tunisia) and Amine Atmani (Algeria) shared third place on 7 points.
Official website/ Replay the games with analysis
Open A final standings (top finishers):
1 GM Stupak Kirill BLR 2524 6,5
2 GM Haddouche Mohamed ALG 2515 6,5
3 GM Kuljasevic Davorin CRO 2550 6
4 GM Rizouk Aimen ALG 2527 6
5 GM Czebe Attila HUN 2434 5,5
6 FM Lauridsen Jesper Morch DEN 2261 5,5
7 IM Ibrahim Hatim EGY 2348 5,5
8 WGM Videnova Iva BUL 2337 5,5
9 IM Ezat Mohamed EGY 2469 5,5
10 FM Zaibi Amir TUN 2287 5
11 IM Kohlweyer Bernd GER 2409 5
12 FM El Jawich Amro LIB 2212 5
13 IM Sarwat Walaa EGY 2313 4,5
14 Bouzidi Ahmed TUN 2225 4,5
15 WIM Varga Klara HUN 2234 4,5
Very impressive.