25 Feb 2016

Metropolitan Botswana will sponsor this year’s National Chess Championships to the tune of P120 000. 

The sponsorship was launched at the National Stadium in Gaborone on Wednesday evening. 

The competition, which is the biggest on the Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) calendar, is played in three stages, first qualifiers, second qualifiers, and the finals.  

The first qualifier is open to all chess players around the country and will be played over nine rounds Swiss individual format on the weekend of 5-6 March in two categories, the open and ladies section.

Afterwards, the top 23 players from the open section and top 17 players from the ladies section will advance to the second qualifier which will be held on the weekend of 12-13 March.

Last season’s champion in the open section, International Master (IM) Providence Oatlhotse, and ladies champion, Women Grand Master (WGM) Tuduetso Sabure will enter the competition in the second qualifying stage.

After the second qualifier, the top 10 players from the open and ladies sections will advance to the finals, which will be held over the Easter Holidays. 

The winner of the open section will walk away with P10 000 prize money while the ladies section winner will pocket P8 000. 

Speaking during the launch of the sponsorship, BCF president, Tshenolo Maruatona said the chess fraternity was grateful of the support they get from Metropolitan Botswana, which has sponsored the championships for the past 10 years.

“The national championships is the biggest chess event in the country, therefore this sponsorship has come a long way in helping to develop chess in Botswana. 

The chess calendar will be lonely without this event,” Maruatona said. Metropolitan Botswana head of distribution, Masego Tselaesele-Mogolodi said her company was proud to be associated with chess because chess was a game that exercises the brain.

Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) executive assistant, Mareko 'Steady' Basupang commended BCF for managing to nurture its relationship with Metropolitan Botswana over a long period. Ends