Day 1 of the Blitz at the CIV Invitational saw a dominant performance by GM Bassem Amin as he recorded an impressive 8/9 to take a commanding 7 point lead into the final days play. It was a day of sorrow for a number of other top contenders however as they failed to keep up with the blistering pace set by Bassem.

This nevertheless set up an exciting final day's play as a tight battle emerged for the remaining prize earning places.
The Africa Chess Media report on this critical days play is published and available at
https://africachessmedia.com/2018/07/29/2018-civ-rapid-and-blitz-invitat... with photos courtesy of WGM Alina L'Ami as always.