Maud Benson earns Woman Candidate Master title

Ghana has a new chess titleholder, 23-year-old Maud Benson, who has been awarded the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title after over five years in the sport.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) awards the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title exclusively to female chess players.

It’s the first step on the ladder of women-only titles, sitting below Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM) and Woman FIDE Master (WFM).

Earning the WCM title signifies a player’s potential for future mastery. Often seen as a stepping stone to higher accolades, the WCM title is awarded for life, recognising a player’s dedication and chess-playing ability.

Benson is only the third female Ghanaian chess player to earn a title, joining WCM Tobi Felix and WFM Angela Ayiku.

Currently ranked as Ghana’s second-best female chess player with a rating of 1682, she trails only national champion Gertrude Banini, who holds a rating of 1712.

Benson’s exceptional showing at the 2023 West African Chess Championship Zone 4.2 tournament was the key to her earning her title.

The then-22-year-old secured gold at the competition held in Dimbokro, Côte d’Ivoire, after maintaining an unbeaten record and amassing an impressive 7.5 points from a possible nine.

“We’ve seen it coming for Maud Benson because she’s shown consistency over about five years,” stated Philip Ameku, president of the Ghana Chess Association (GCA), in an exclusive interview with asaaseradio.com. “We are proud of her, we congratulate her, and we call for support for her to continue her career in chess.”

Benson has been a rising star since she was 16 when she qualified for Ghana’s national team for the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.

She secured three victories at the global event, defeating Kuwait’s Shahad Alraqum, Sao Tome and Principe’s Elquissandra da Fonseca Gomes, and Nepal’s Sindira Joshi, helping Ghana’s national female chess team to a 136th-place finish.

At the age of 21, Benson maintained her spot in Ghana’s team for the 44th World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India.

There, she emerged as the nation’s best-performing female player, scoring six points out of 11, contributing to Ghana’s 142nd-place finish.

Benson has retained her place in the national team for the upcoming 45th World Chess Olympiad, to be held in Budapest, Hungary, from 10–23 September.

This follows her second-place finish in the 2023 National Individual Championships Finals. Expectations are high for another impressive performance from the Ghanaian starlet.

“The immediate thing we have now is she will be travelling to Hungary, Budapest, to play in the World Olympiad that starts from 10 to 23 September so that is the next tournament we are looking forward to,” said Ameku. “Aside from that, she should be here for next year’s African championships and the zonal championships.”

Benson will be joined at the global chess event by 2023 national champion Gertrude Banini, Tobi Felix, Dzidzor Esi Dotse, and Hephzibah Tandoh.

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