08 Mar 2016

A highly contested second round of the Metropolitan National Chess Championships is expected over this coming weekend with at least 40 players vying for the last 20 spots of the finals.

In an interview on the sidelines of the first round of the tournament which attracted over 200 chess players countrywide, Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) publicity secretary, Keenese Katisenge said they were impressed by the level of participation from chess players and that this year’s finals were set to be closely contested.

She said winners from both the open section and the ladies category would represent the country at the forthcoming regional tournament organised by the African Chess Confederation. She explained that they would either be part of the African individual championships or the Zone 4.3 tournament. 

On Saturday, Candidate Master Moakofi Notha came tops in the open section with an impressive eight points while Kutlwano Taolo led the ladies section with six points. A total of 23 players from the open section and 17 from the ladies have qualified for the second round where they will be joined by defending champion, Providence Oatlhotse. The finals are penciled for the last weekend of March.

The event, one of the lucrative tournaments in the local chess calendar, started from humble beginnings with a paltry sponsorship of P20 000 and this year’s 10^th edition has been sponsored to the tune of P120 000 with the individual open section first prize being P10 000 and ladies champion walking home with P8 000. ENDS