After becoming the first Mauritanian to ever win a gold medal in sports, the first dream of the hero Abdel Rahim became to be the first Mauritanian to obtain the rank and title of a great international master, the highest rank in the world of chess.
Nouakchott – Mauritanian boy Abdel Rahim Taleb Ahmed, who has not yet completed his 14th year, managed to grab attention and win local and continental chess tournaments that qualified him to compete in international finals.
The young Mauritanian boy Abdel Rahim, the African chess champion and winner of its gold medal, brings joy once again to the Mauritanian fans by winning the African bronze, increasing his world ranking by 50 points.
The player was crowned with the bronze medal in the African Under-20 Championship, which was hosted by Liberia, outperforming players older than him. After this achievement, the hero was received in a festive atmosphere at Umm Al-Tunisi International Airport, an official and popular reception, amid celebration on social networking sites.
The young hero, in a statement after arriving at the airport, said that his goal was not the bronze, but the gold, “My hope was to win the gold in the tournament, but the risk in one of the rounds was the reason why I didn’t get the first place,” announcing the gift of his medal to the Mauritanian people and to his coach Moulay Ben Bedi.
Abderrahim has single-handedly achieved feats that neither the football team nor other sports teams in Mauritania could achieve. The little boy participated in continental and international tournaments, during which he won awards and gold and bronze medals, and raised the name of Mauritania in international forums, and became the first Mauritanian player to win the honor of solidarity with occupied Palestine by withdrawing from a world championship, refusing to confront the representative of Israel, the “fake state”, he said.
early rise
The beginning of the rise of talent was in 2013 when the young child was watching his father’s matches with his friends. In his sixth year, the child began to ask deep questions about the game, which won the admiration of the father and his friends. Engineer Talib Ahmed, member of the National Chess Team and former Vice President of the Mauritanian Chess Federation, in addition to coach Abdel Rahim Moulay Ben Bidi.
Ahmed Salem Bebahi, Vice-President of the Chess Federation in Mauritania, speaks to Al Jazeera Net about Abdel Rahim’s beginnings, saying, “We discovered years ago that there are national talents capable of being invested in them, and starting from the past few years, the federation began with a plan focusing on the rising generations, with scientific training plans on well-known standards. Globally, we discovered Abdul Rahim early, and at the age of seven, we put him in the necessary care to develop his skills, a coach was assigned to him, and the Federal Authority put computer programs at his disposal.
He added that the turning point was in 2018, when the Federation wanted to include him for the national senior team participating in the Chess Olympiad in Georgia, to rub and take experience in international competitions, and indeed he achieved good results, and his distinguished journey began since that time.
intense posts
Before completing his first decade, he started fighting champions in various local and continental tournaments, and in his ninth year in particular, he participated in his first foreign tournament. Rounds, drawn in one, for 3 losses.
In 2021, the Mauritanian chess player Abdel Rahim Taleb Ahmed managed to reach the quarter-finals of the World Chess Championship for age groups, and in the face of him, the Russian player Morzin Volodar, the Mauritanian player lost after the 49th move.
And last September, Mauritanian chess player Abdel Rahim won the gold medal for his country in the African Chess Championship for the under 14-year-olds, and he did not lose any match in that tournament hosted by Ghana. He secured the gold for Mauritania in a historic achievement after winning his match against his South African opponent.
Ahmed Salem Bebahi confirms that “this is a historic achievement for Mauritania, as no Mauritanian athlete has ever achieved a gold medal, as it is the first gold medal at the level of sport in general in the country, and the state realized this and received the hero’s welcome.”
Historic positions
During his participation in the World Junior Championships, in which he was competing to qualify, Abdel Rahim was on a date with a historic decision that he would take in this tournament, as he decided to withdraw from the tournament after the draw placed him in the last round with a player from the occupying country, refusing to confront a “fake country representative.” in support of occupied Palestine.
“I decided to withdraw because I refuse to play with a representative of a fictitious country that does not really exist,” he said at the time.
A bold and courageous step that made the young player’s reputation cross the country’s barrier, and he was widely acclaimed and praised at the local and Arab levels, and after his solidarity with Palestine, and by order of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Embassy in Mauritania awarded him the Jerusalem Star Medal.
The Palestinian ambassador in Nouakchott honors chess player Abd al-Rahim al-Talib Muhammad with the Jerusalem Star Medal (communication sites)Palestinian tribute
Abdul Rahim said, “I was awarded 3 months ago, by order of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Jerusalem Star Medal, and I keep this medal because it is better than all the honors and awards,” adding that “this medal is one of the highest Palestinian honors, and one of the most prominent recipients of it is King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein in 2011, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1998.
Aspirations and prospects
Abdel Rahim’s heroic results constituted a strong incentive for the Mauritanian Federation of Chess to invest in the likes of him in juniors and to take a new approach in training and training. “The level of chess today in Mauritania has become a competitor at the national level and even at the continental level, with great progress” of the game.
Since the game of chess mainly depends on discovering talents at the time, and does not need huge financial resources and infrastructure like other sports, the Federation – says Bebahi – “now focuses on school chess and young age groups, and we have a new academy that will form an entire generation of young people.” age,” adding that they are determined to keep pace with these talents to achieve more titles.
And now the first dream of the hero Abd al-Rahim al-Talib Ahmed remains to become the first Mauritanian to obtain the rank and title of an International Grand Master, which is the highest rank held by a chess player, and granted by the International Chess Federation for life to those who meet the necessary conditions, after becoming the first Mauritanian He wins an all-time sports gold medal.
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