02 Nov 2020

Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) hosted Open Chess Championship over the weekend.

Due to restrictions on the number of people per gathering, the tournament was conducted in two regions of Palapye and Gaborone.

The first price winner in the men category was Candidate Master Thuso Mosutlha with 6.5 points, walking away with P4 500, a gold medal and a trophy.

The second position went to Moakofi Notha, also with 6.5 points, P4 500 and a silver medal. 

Despite a tie in points, Mosutlha was crowned a champion because he had the most number of wins.

The third position was scooped by Fide Master Thato Olebile with six points, walking away with P3 000 and a bronze medal. 

The initial prize money for this category was P5 000 for first position, P4 000 for second position and P3 000 for third. 

Speaking in an interview, Mosutlha said he took part in the same tournament in the past but never won, noting that he believed all the previous losses pushed him to work hard. 

He indicated that this was his second win this year after winning metropolitan National Championship. 

Mosutlha said lockdowns afforded him an opportunity to have enough time to train. He advised all those who wanted to become champions to be disciplined and work hard.

In the ladies section, 14-year old Women Fide Master Naledi Marape got position one with 5.5 points, winning P2 667, a gold medal and trophy. 

Women Fide Master Besa Masaiti also got 5.5 points, P2 667 and a silver medal while the third position went to Boitshepo Rebatenne with 5.5 points, walking away with P2 667 and a bronze medal.

There was also a tie in this section hence the same amount of prize money, the positions were then determined by the player with the most number of wins. 

The initial prize money was P3 500 for position one, P2 500 for position two and P2 000 for third position. 

For her part, the champion in the ladies section, Marape indicated that she played in the tournament for the first time in 2017 at 11 years and got position nine, adding that in 2018 she then got position five and position three in 2019. 

She attributed her success to preparing for the tournament well in time as compared to the previous ones as well as spending a lot of hours each day in her training. 

She also urged those who wanted to win to work hard.

BCF public relations officer, Kutlwano Tatolo, said she believed hosting the tournament in two regions worked positively for the sponsor because it had more mileage than the previous ones, which she said came at a cost to BCF since they had to reduce the price money to pay for separate venues.

However, Tatolo said if the COVID-19 situation improved in 2021, the tournament would not be held in two regions. 

“Everything will go back to normal, we really like to prioritise majority of the sponsorship money towards prices instead of venues,” she added.

The competition was sponsored by Debswana to the tune of P277 000. ENDS