07 Jul 2019

Botswana’s  chess genius Thuto Mpene arrived back in the country on July 5 from Uganda where he took Africa by storm winning a gold medal  at the Africa schools individual chess championships.

In an interview, he said he was happy that he managed to qualify for the World Schools Individual Chess Championship in Lima, Peru, next year.

He said the competition was not easy, but he managed to overcome his opponents through hard work.

Thuto played nine rounds, won eight and drew one against one of the highest rated chess players in the tournament. He said he had not been finishing in a good position, adding that in Kampala his presence was felt.

His father, Keemenao Keresiane said they were happy that Thuto managed to conquer Africa despite the challenges of lack of finance to take him to Kampala. He thanked Desai Law Group for stepping in to ensure the 10-year-old boy realised his dream of competing at the Africa schools individual chess championships.

His coach, Opelo Maswabi said he was also happy that Thuto managed to stay focused during the competition and ultimately won the  Under 11 category.

 

He said they had prepared well for the tournament and were confident that they would win their category.

He said Thuto’s performance was “out of this world,” adding that the player had always shown signs of maturity. “I am very proud to be Thuto’s coach, young as he is, he takes instructions properly, but I was shocked during the competition when he introduced some moves that we did not practice,” he said. ENDS