Sudan Women’s Chess Team beat Maldives team soundly on Tuesday by three points to one in the fifth round of the Chess Olympiad which is taking place in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
They also beat Guyana by two and a half points to one and half points in the seventh round on Friday.
The Sudanese women had lost the first round to Bangladesh by four points, tied by two points in the second round against Zambia, and in the third round lost to the the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by four points. In the fourth round they lost to Surinam by four points, in the sixth round lost to Finland by four points, and in the eighth round lost to El Salvador by a point and half to three and a half points.
The team will face Monaco in the ninth round on Sunday. The team includes Najwa Mohamed Ahmed, Rawan Eyhab, Ibtihal Mohammed, Zienab Mustafa Mansour, and Marwa Jadalla.
The Sudanese men’s team has drawn with Bulgaria, Jamaica, Ghana, Lebanon, and lost to Wales, Tunisia, and El Salvador. They beat Liechtenstein by three points and a half to a half point, and will face Ethiopia on Sunday.
For its part, South Sudan men’s team beat Palestine in the eighth round on Saturday by two and a half points to one and a half point. South Sudan will face Egypt on Sunday in the ninth round.
South Sudan already won against Sao Tome & Principe in the seventh round on Friday by three points to a point, and in the sixth round on Saturday South Sudan won over Aruba by three points against point.
They earlier lost to El Salvador on Tuesday by one point and a half compared to two and a half points in the fifth round.
South Sudan team includes Rehan Deng Cypriano, Philip Diing Gai Diing, Michael Deng Khor Kuol, and Joseph Deng Ateny Riak.
The team is accompanied by President of the South Sudan Chess Federation Jada Albert. South Sudan sent only a men’s team to the Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan.
Overall in the tournament the top spot on the open tournament the USA holds a narrow lead over India 13 to 12 and on the women’s side China and USA are tied with 14 points each.
Images taken from the website of the Baku Chess Olympiad.