Africa Junior Chess reps back with fair results
The country’s flag carriers at the just-ended Africa Junior Chess Championships in Lusaka, Zambia returned home last weekend with fair results.
Michelle Chimbe emerged the country’s best player among 12 ambassadors as she collected 5.5 points out of seven games to finish eighth in the 14-player under-10 girls category.
She was followed by Ulemu Mbewe (U-16), Yewo Sanga (U-14) and Oprah Phiri (U-14) who amassed four points apiece. Tupokiwe Msukwa (U-18), Davies Ngwira (U-16), Rafik Waliyala (U-14) and Daisy Huwa (U-8) collected 3.5 points each while Tafadzwa Linje (U-12) had 2.5 points.
Annie Simwawa (U-12) had 1.5 points whereas Zane Sheriff and Martin Namakhwa amassed a point and half a point respectively.
“The juniors had a wonderful experience. They learned a lot and realised the need to work hard and improve their standard of play. For sure, if we continue working with the youngsters and frequently give them international exposure, we are likely to produce a grandmaster soon,” said stand-in national schools chess coordinator Margaret Ngugama.
A total of 226 participants from Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and Burundi took part in the continental showpiece. n
