Adly Power Play Rapid Draws 381 as Cairo Hosts Africa's Biggest Field

September’s African calendar had 216 tracked events. Several of the most notable were classical tournaments in South Africa, East Africa and Tunisia, while the largest single field belonged to a rapid in Cairo.

The biggest field

Adly Power Play Chess Festival 2026 - Rapid ran September 3 to 5 at the Hilton Cairo Heliopolis. It registered 381 players, the highest count in our list. Adly Chess Academy organized it.

South Africa’s large classicals

Two South African classical events came close to that number. The 2026 KwaZulu Natal Closed II drew 372 players to Yellowwood Park Civic Hall in Durban on September 26 and 27. The KZN Chess Association organized it.

The Eastern Cape Chess Festival - Individual Closed had 370 entries. It was played September 25 and 26 at Jeffreys Bay Primary School.

In Cape Town, the CTCF Women’s Championship 2026 All Sections ran four days from September 24 at J.G Meiring High School and registered 177 players. A separate Elite section of the same championship had 12.

Further north in the country, the Emalahleni Spring Open 2026 was a two-day classical at Witbank High School with 137 players. The Rhodes Open 2026 took place September 12 and 13 at Rhodes University and had 83.

East Africa

The Jumuiya Ya Afrika Mashariki Grand Prix - Open was a two-day classical at SABIS International School in Runda, Kenya, on September 19 and 20. It had 84 players, and a Ladies section ran alongside with 35. The Gift Of Chess organized both.

In Uganda, the ABACUS Chess Championship 2026 - Open was played at Sports View Hotel Kireka on September 5 and 6, with 49 players. Its Ladies section had 10.

Kenya also hosted the one-day 4th TUM Open Championship 2026, a rapid at the Technical University of Mombasa with 73 players.

Longer events elsewhere

The longest event in the list was the Mémorial Khemais Cherif: Tournoi Classique 05-06 in Tunisia. It ran nine days, September 5 to 13, with 78 players, and was organized by L’académie d’echecs AS Marsa.

In Nigeria, South East Chess Classics ran four days in Umuahia, Abia State, from September 23 with 68 players.

Egypt’s Assiut International Rapid Chess Tournament was a one-day rapid on September 11 with 106 players. Addis Ababa hosted the two-day Ethio-Diaspora Rapid Individual Championship, which had 66.