After performing well at the African schools chess individuals in Botswana, Sifiso continued with his fine performance which saw him winnning some very crucial games agaibnst the tournaments favorites in the mould of Elias Musonda and Fide Master Quaret Abdelouhab of Algeria who had a rating of 1870, FM Crismann Alessandro Claudio 1926 of South Africa.He met his countryman Solomon Chimuzura in round three and he got the better of his opponent who missed a tactical move which would have equalised the game. This was after a set back in round two when he failed to contain the attack from the only International Master Wagdy Andro of Egypt who had a rating of 2241. He went on to beat Shadrick Zulu in round 4 before faltering to FM Zayan Mahommad with a rating 2042 of Egypt in round 7 when he led the field of play.
After the defeat he then faced Elias Musonda of Zambia with a rating of 1915 and he won a very interesting game before drawing his final round against Chanda Simon of Zambia. IM Wagdy Andro suffered defeat from his compatriot FM Zayan Mahommad in a pulsating game before the later lost to Musonda. The competition was very stiff and interesting. Sekelani Tembo beat FM Zayan Mahommad in the final round to finish with 6/9 points getting a fourth position slot in the under 18 open boys. Solomon Chimuzura finished with 3,5 points, he got the better of his compatriot Munyaradzi Thom in their own encounter.
Thom finished with 4/9 points so was Mark Jarachrara another Zimbabwean in the under 18 boys category.In the under 8 category MADAKA Tadiwanashe finished with 5/9 points he however upset the winner of the division when he won convincingly. Tinaye Madamombe, Mawire Tawananyasha and Chitakatira Jaeden all finished with 4/9 points.In the under 8/10 girls category there was a fierce battle between Refiloe Mudodo and Rumbidzai Mawire which resulted in a shocker as the two are always at each other’s throat when they play.
Rumbidzai Mawire beat Refiloe Mudodo’s French defence. Refiloe never got some breathing space and she eventually lost after the pressure was just immense for her to recover as hse was to lose all the rooks in the end. Mawire went on to draw  the final round resulting in a 6,5 points for her. Refiloe was beaten in her final round maybe it was the pressure from the round before which strained her. Eventually Rumbidzai came fourth on butcholtz but she was tied on third position but lost it on a head -to head basis as she lost and missed a medal on these basis.
Chiwara Makanaka was 5th with 5,5 points while Refiloe who was the favorite finished with 5 points out of 9 games.She failed to maintain the momentum in the final stages of the game. In the under 10 boys Maxen Takunda finished with 5,5 points and eventually coming out a credible fifth position in  his age group. Chigova Tinashe finished with 5/9 points which was an improvement from his performance in Botswana sometime in April. Zimbili Panashe came a credible 4th position with 6/9 points, failing to get a medal by the head-to- head rules.
In the under 12 boys category Panashe Edwards finished with 5/9 points while Calixto Hernandez, Rufaro Chikaka, Philimon Tinasheand Oliver Mazorodze finished with 4,5 /9. This was an average performance by the boys in this category. Calixto Hernandez played well considering that it was his first time to play in an international tourney. In the under 14 girls category WCM Kundai Murinda performed well finishing with 6 points out of 9 games. She was tied on third position coming out 4th after considering head-to -head clashes. Her performance was very good considering the level of competition in her age group.
Kudzai Mhandu missed a clear silver medal after falling in the last round. He only needed a draw which he failed to get.After losing the game, he also lost the medal when he came fourth on head-to head basis. He played a wonderful tourney downing some Algerians and other strong players in his way. His performance will surely get him a better rating. The young boy was very steady on the board and he deserves to be a champion who is very composed.
In the under 16 boys category Bonde Cornelius gave a good account of himself when he finished with 5,5/9 and was the best Zimbabwean in his age group finishing 9/23 participants. Takunda Mudzingwa, Kudakwashe Zimbowa, and Tapiwanashe Munhupedzi finished with 4,5 points out of 9 games they played. In the under 16 girls category Moyo Pumuzile and Banda Shantel finished with 4,5/9. This was a fair performance from the girls. In the under 18 girls category Mukai Mahachi of Convent girls High Harare finished with 4,5 points finishing 6th in her age group out of 16 players. Linda Shaba had 4/9 in the same age group. Zimbabwe had the highest number of participants (54 players) followed by Zambia the hosts. The tourney had 226 players and 12 federations took part the highest number of federations so far since the inception of the African Youth Chess Championships. Algeria,
The Chief Arbiter for the tournament was IA Gunther Van Berg of South Africa. He was assisted by IA Banda,IA Mpambela and yours truly was also part of the team earning an IA norm so was FA elect and NI Admire Mawire. The tournament was a success though it had a slow start in the beginning it was a tournament to remember as well as a breaking ground for some players and coaches from the 12 federations which took part. Algeria eclipsed Egypt from the top spot getting 8 gold medals followed by South Africa and Egypt came third in a start-studded field.