Chess Federations - The Arab Chess Federation

The Arab Chess Federation or the ACF (not to be confused with the Australian Chess Federation) was founded in Damascus, Syria, on July 27, 1975.

The organization is managed by an Executive Council that is made up of 5 to 9 members from many different countries. In addition, the Arab chess Federation also has a Secretary General and an Assistant. The current head of the organization is Emirati Ibrahim Al-Bannai.

Currently, the Arab Chess Federation counts as its member nations Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, and Kuwait. Among the countries in that list, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait are its founding member countries. Oman and Saudi Arabia are two other countries that were founding members of the organization, although they later withdrew their membership in the Arab Chess Federation.

Many of the countries that are members of the federation are also members of the Arab League. This membership is reflective of the motto of the federation, which is "Arab as one Nation/Pan Arabism". The Arab Chess Federation was established during the presidency of Nahed El Khany.

Today, the federation counts as its official representatives Abd-Ul-Malik Arafat, who represents Jordan, Mohammed Ali El-Mehrezy representing Tunisia, Hossam El-Din Menaqly representing Syria, Rashid El-Rahmany of Kuwait, Mohammed Mourad Soukar of Lebanon, Mohammed Shokry Shahin representing Libya, and Ellowa Ismail Mekkey who is the representative for Egypt.

The Arab Chess Federation is currently also affiliated with several other chess federations in the region, including such well respected chess governing bodies as the Egyptian Chess Federation, the Qatar Chess Federation, and the United Arab Emirates Chess Federation.

As the premier chess governing body in the region, other chess organizations from other countries also work closely together with the Arab Chess Federation to foster the development of the sport in that part of the world. The Sudan Chess Federation for example has been involved with chess events that are organized by the federation.

At the forefront of this move to align itself with the Arab Chess Federation is Nadir Sameer, who is the current president of the Sudan Chess Federation. Sameer has managed to convince the Sudanese government to increase its support for the sport, and has even worked with Sudanese chess players in order to help them join in many of the events held by the Arab Chess Federation. Sameer is primarily driven by a desire to promote chess in Sudan in the face of considerable economic difficulties in the country.

Sameer most recent accomplishment was to invite the Technical Secretary of the Arab Chess Federation, Abdulrahim Mahdi, to conduct a series of chess training seminars in the country. These seminars were held from June 23 to June 30 of 2007.

Today, Sudan has no less than 300 registered players in the Khartoum region, and the country is optimistic that it will be able to produce a chess master in the near future.