(Photo: A. Chizhov vs. J. N'Cho Atse)

As of today, Joel N'Cho Atse from Ivory Coast pens his name into Draughts Blitz history as the first African player ever to win a gold medal in a global draughts championship.

After the legendary Baby Sy from Senegal, the reign of Macodou N'Diaye from Senegal and the vice world championship of Jean Marc Ndjofang from Cameroon this summer, N'Cho Joel Atse from Ivory Coast adds a new chapter to African draughts history and reaffirms the meteoric rise of the continent in the draughts sport.

After the loss of Atse against his direct competitor and tenfold World Champion Alexei Chizhov, the tournament seemed decided. Perhaps some spoke to soon, as Atse recovered remarkably well, continued with new victories and overtook Chizhov. What a site to see, Atse on the podium with Alexei Chizhov (10-time world champion) and Aleksandr Georgiev (7-time world champion) on either side.