07 Jul 2015

FIDE Master (FM) Thato Olebile swept everything in front of him to win the Gaborone International Open Chess Championships title over the weekend.

The En Passent Club star registered seven victories from seven matches to claim the highly contested Prestige Section ahead of defending champion Candidate Master (CM) Barileng Gaealafshwe.

The two-day competition which came to an end at Oasis Motel on Sunday evening had attracted over 120 local and international players.

The Prestige Section, which is the biggest and toughest component of the Championships, was contested by 50 players.

Olebile established early lead by beating Thato Gleeson, Seithamo Kethata, Bokamoso Simon and CM Oaitse Kokome in the first four rounds on Saturday (July 4).

He also claimed a crucial victory against defending champion Gaealafshwe in round five, which proved decisive in terms of the destination of the title, before wrapping up the title with two more victories to finish with seven points.

“It was an exciting tournament and I really played my best chess. It was really tough because each and every round I played was with a rated player. Every player was trying to avoid losing because once you lose you lose ELOs. I am happy that I have gained some 60 ELOs from my seven victories which picked up my ratings,” he said.

The 24-year-old said he was looking forward to playing and winning more tournaments so that he could continue picking up his ratings.

Gaealafshwe settled for second position after winning six matches and finishing the competition with six points, while CM Thabo Gumpo came third with 5.5 points.

Women Grand Master (WGM) Tuduetso Sabure successfully defended the Ladies Section after garnering 5.5 points.

She defeated Atang Tsalaile, Boitshepo Rebatenne, Gorata Leso, Mpho Mabedi and Kgomotso Ndachipiwa, drew with WIM Tshepiso Lopang, and lost to WIM Boikhutso Modongo.

“I am happy I managed to defend. I was not expecting it to happen because competition becomes tougher every year. Other players improve their opening styles which is a challenge. I made a couple of mistakes in the games I lost and I drew but I would take that as a wakeup call,” she said.

Boenyana Moagi, who won the Open Section with 6.5 points from seven matches said, “It is thrilling for me to have won the Gaborone Open because it is the first big competition I have won. There were a lot of good players but I managed to do well.”

The competition offered FIDE rating points for the players. The winner of the Prestige Section received P5 000, while the runner-up got P2 000 and number three got P1 250.
The Open Section winner got P1 500, while the Ladies Section winner got P1 000. Ends