The continental tournament was held in Port Elisabeth, South Africa, from 7-16 October. The championship, for boys and girls, ranged in ages from under-8, U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories. Egyptian Shrouk Nagi snatched a gold medal in the U16 female category and her sister Shahenda Nagi took gold in U18. Adham Fawzi, also from Egypt, took the gold medal in the U14 category for the third consecutive year. Adham Qandil struck gold in U12 while Mohamed Osama received a gold medal in U16. Egypt also won three bronze medals going to Ahmed Tamer in the U8 category, Zeinab Gamal in U14 and Sarah Adel U12. The 84th FIDE Congress of the World Chess Federation took place from 30 September to 10 October in Tallinn, hosted by the Estonian Chess Association. Prior to the emergency executive board meeting, there were six days of gatherings of the various commissions, including a general assembly forum. Arab and the African chess received the approval of a new statute from the African Chess Union. The Chairman of the Egyptian Chess Federation (ECF) was unanimously elected president of the African Zone II which includes 10 African countries -- Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania. Al-Gendi also gained membership in the executive office of the World Chess Federation. It comprises four members from Europe, Asia, Africa and America in addition to head of international zones. Al-Gendi was also given the green light as an international lecturer, the first from Africa. Al-Gendi has been a lecturer in international arbitration sessions and competitions regulations since 2006. It was obvious during the international meetings the strong coordination between the heads and representatives of the Arab and African federations. The countries involved were Egypt, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia and Algeria.
