Chimthere outsmarts Chipanga in chess finale

Candidate master Alfred Chimthere outmanoeuvred Chiletso Chipanga in the 12-game finals of the K300 000 (about $715) Paul-Mike Individual Chess Tournament at the Sports Council in Blantyre last weekend.

Before the two successive games, Chipanga was leading 2-1, but Chimthere turned the tables with a clean sheet to put the tally at 2-3.

Despite starting last weekend’s games with white pieces, Chipanga proved not a serious threat to the police officer on the chessboard. When Chipanga began with a combative opening in the first game that ended in 50 moves, Chimthere never felt out of place.

He took calculated risks by exposing his king to numerous attacks from Chipanga’s queen until he acquired a tactical advantage with his bishops and knights to force Chipanga on the back foot.

Chimthere used the same seemingly weak but effective tactics in his second game and they never let him down.

“I enjoyed these two games and I hope this is my first step to glory. I would like to make sure not to slip during the last seven games,” Chimthere said on Sunday.

Chipanga blamed his loss on hurried moves.

“I do not know what happened to me but I did not concentrate much on the games. I hope to rectify this problem in the next games.”