Meet Adham Kandil, Egypt’s Newest Chess Grandmaster

Like many Egyptians, Adham Kandil used to play chess on the street cafes of Cairo and Giza, earning his badges in a fast-paced environment fuelled by Turkish coffee and shisha. He was just in high school then, but already an International Master under FIDE, the global governing body of chess.

“There’s this one café in Sayeda Zeinab where all the serious chess players meet,” the 24 year-old tells CairoScene, “and I used to go there with my father.” Although he was already in the top 0.1% of competitive chess players worldwide, the experience exposed a young Kandil not only to new friends, but also new styles of playing.

“Chess is a game that really presses you psychologically,” reflects Kandil. “If you make one mistake the whole game is gone. You have to balance between intuition and calculation.”

Kandil is not what some might imagine when they picture a chess Grandmaster. For one, he is not a quiet introvert, but rather the kind of person who goes out with his friends when he’s supposed to be preparing for a tournament instead—and later feels guilty about it. Sociable and curious in person, among Kandil’s many non-chess-related hobbies are parkour, wrestling, basketball and rap. But of course, there’s also things like this: “When my brother and I want to settle an argument, like who will go pick up our youngest brother from the bus, we play games of bullet chess.” His brother, who's a FIDE Candidate Master himself, often beats Kandil in the one-minute games, which he admits are not his strongest point.

Instead, Kandil thrives in long, dynamic games. There are just under 2,000 living chess Grandmasters around the world currently, of which only six were Egyptian—the highest of any African or Arab nation. When Kandil won the Arab Chess Championship in Kuwait in November 2025, he became the seventh Egyptian to earn the title (which is awarded for life), joining a list which includes players past and present like World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, and Kandil’s own all-time favourite, Bobby Fischer.While there’s no exclusive club (or even, as of yet, a WhatsApp group) for Egyptian Grandmasters—all seven of them—they know each other on a personal basis, and are more friends than competitors. Kandil’s journey in becoming a part of this prestigious group, however, was far from straightforward.

“I began playing chess when I was 7,” Kandil explains. “My dad used to play with my grandfather, and as a child with natural curiosity, I asked them what they were playing and they began teaching me.” His father was the first to notice his son’s natural talent for the game and found for him a coach, which was not an easy task in Egypt in 2009.

Through his coach, Kandil quickly found success in his first national championships, securing 6th place in his first-ever competition in 2009 and first place the following year. In 2014, he won his first African championship for the under-14 age bracket and earned the title of FIDE Master. By 2015, he decided to leave behind the youth leagues and compete in the men’s championships, where he could have access to more challenges, titles, and—ultimately—the chance of becoming a Grandmaster.

“In the 2016 Men’s National Championship, I was like the dark horse of the tournament. I was the youngest one there competing with any chance near the top.” Bassem Amin, Egypt’s number one ranked player, came out first. Kandil finished third.

“This began to prove to people that I could join the Egyptian Men’s team,” Kandil recalls. International competitions organized by FIDE are the best way for a player to increase their rating and attain new titles. However, in order to secure the Egyptian Chess Federation’s sponsorship to travel to these competitions, players first have to win local playoffs. Kandil did so, and by the end of the year he had secured the title of FIDE International Master after winning a competition in Tanzania as the second youngest person in the whole tournament.

“I was targeting the title of Grandmaster next, but I expected to achieve it in less time than the 10 years it took.” When Kandil wasn’t selected to represent Egypt at the Chess Olympiads, a decision that upset him, he decided to take a break. “I was a child, only 15 years old, and of course I was disappointed. Then Covid came and delayed things even more because there were no competitions.”

Around Covid, when chess boomed in popularity thanks to the Netflix show, Queen’s Gambit, and online streamers like GothamChess, Kandil was at his furthest from the game. “I haven’t watched a single episode of Queen’s Gambit. I felt I wouldn’t be happy watching it.”

Although he did not stop competing during this period, playing one or two competitions per year, he focused mostly on teaching chess instead, which also provided him with an income to substitute the prize money he had been winning at tournaments.

But after several years had passed, at the beginning of 2025, Kandil realized he wasn't happy to just be teaching chess. He wanted to begin competing seriously again, and decided it was finally time to give it his all. He did not have a coach, but instead relied on himself.

“As a teacher, I learned how a person should train. I coached myself mostly through playing online games, analysing them and seeing my weak points, and then searching for books that addressed those weak points.”

His first competition upon his return was a disaster, and his rating suffered. A month later, during a different competition, he tied with Egypt No. 1 Bassem Amin, giving him a confidence boost. Two days later, he won a competition in Alexandria and received a phone call from the Egyptian federation.

“They told me they were organising the playoffs for the Arab Championship. I didn’t have any time to prepare, but I thought I would go just for the exposure.” The playoffs brought together the best players in Egypt, and Kandil didn't think he had much of a chance. As it turned out, Kandil finished first.

His whole life at that point became about preparing for the Arab Championship, which, if he won, would earn him the title of Grandmaster. “If someone had told me in July when I began to play again that I would become a Grandmaster just five months later, I wouldn’t have believed it. No one would have believed it.” But after an intense competition in Kuwait led to a three-way tie that was settled on the very last game of the tournament, Kandil emerged victorious.

“It was my childhood dream. I’ve had that dream since I was 11, when I first heard the word ‘Grandmaster.’”

Though it's an accomplishment that remains only a dream for most, Kandil doesn't intend on stopping here. He wants to increase his rating even more, win the Men’s African Championship next, and become among the top three players in Egypt. (He’s currently ranked ninth.) He also wants to open his own chess academy once he graduates from Cairo University, where he is currently enrolled in the Faculty of Science.

“Chess needs more support in Egypt,” he says. “Right now, the support is enough for only one person to travel to championships, and we’re already the strongest country in Africa and the Arab world. With more support, I think we’d become one of the best countries in the world at chess.”

For Kandil, the goal behind having his own chess academy is simple: “I want to spread the philosophy that you can play chess just to be happy with it, not to become competitive. I want to present my vision of what chess can be for people to come and learn.”