Chess
Black Spot Chess Tournament 2025 (1st edition)
The first Black Spot Chess Tournament took place on Sunday 5 January 2025 at THE BLACK SPOT, in Guéliz, Marrakech. Players of all ages, from children to experienced players, played seven rounds of blitz chess with 5 minutes each plus 3 seconds per move. Yassine Alaoui Belghiti won with 6.5 points out of 7, ahead of Zakaria El Fadel and Youssef Eddebbagh.
Chess at a snooker club
THE BLACK SPOT is best known for snooker and pool, but chess has its place at the club too, alongside the PlayStation room (see PlayStation & chess). On Sunday 5 January 2025 the club hosted its first chess tournament, organised with Jamal Messala.
Format and prizes
The tournament was played in blitz: 5 minutes per player, with 3 seconds added after every move, over seven rounds. Play started at 10:00 and a referee supervised the games.
Entry cost 100 MAD. The advertised prize money was 1,000 MAD for the winner, 600 MAD for second place and 300 MAD for third.
Players of all ages
THE BLACK SPOT counted 34 players, from children to seasoned players, and described a day full of strategy, focus and passion for the game. The final standings, published on chess-results.com, list 33 names.
Results: Yassine Alaoui Belghiti wins unbeaten
Yassine Alaoui Belghiti, the top seed, won the tournament without losing a game: six wins and one draw, in round 3, for 6.5 points out of 7. His round-6 win against Zakaria El Fadel was the runner-up's only defeat. El Fadel finished second with 6 points, and Youssef Eddebbagh took third place on tie-break, one of four players on 5 points.
During the day the club filmed interviews with participants, the winner and the referee, and the organiser later published a video presenting the event as the first edition of “The Black Spot Chess”.
