Draughts World Championship: Competition Kicks Off

The Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex in Warda was the venue of the official launch of the 55th edition of the Draught World Championship on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Organised by the Cameroon Draughts Federation in collaboration with the World Draughts Federation, the competition is being held under the distinguished patronage of the Head of State, Paul Biya. The Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, officially launched the event that brings together the greatest talents in the discipline from 16 countries across Africa, America, Asia and Europe. The President of the Cameroon Draughts Federation, Claude Ngondiep said Cameroon is hosting the competition for the first time since its creation over 100 years ago. He said the challenges of organising such a competition are enormous, but FECADAMES and its partners are determined to go above all the challenges. He said the world's best draughts players are in Yaounde for three weeks. “We hope that their prowess will help to revitalise the Cameroon office for draughts and the values that underpin it,” he said. He hailed the government on behalf of the entire organising committee for having enabled the hosting of the competition. A total of 40 players will be divided into four groups of 10 players. The best three in each group will play the final tournament. That is the format of the competition. The time allocated is 1h30 minutes per group. The c...