Chipanga chops Mfune in Paul-Mike Chess glory

Candidate Master Chiletso Chipanga successfully chopped Petros Mfune into pieces during decisive encounters of the Paul-Mike Chess Championships at Country Club Limbe on Sunday to snatch the title he lost last year.

Getting into this last round of the 12-game final, Chipanga had a 4.5-3 points lead after eight matches to turn his title hopes into reality after winning one and drawing three games to put the tally at 7-4.5 points.

This was a sweet revenge for Chipanga, who suffered a 5-7 defeat by Mfune during last year’s finals.

Chipanga was the competition’s inaugural champion in 2013 before Mfune dethroned him.

Unlike the friendly atmosphere that prevailed in the previous rounds of the final, the two chess gladiators did not show a tooth to each other as they focused much on winning the K150 000 first prize.

The two were so silent that the only noise one could hear in the chess room was the movement of pieces.

“This is a great relief for me,” Chipanga explained. “I am happy to have won back the trophy which was taken away from my mantelpiece, a year ago.”

Mfune described his defeat as an urge to work hard on polishing his moves for future glory.

“I will spend more time on analysing my opponent’s moves so that I can win back the trophy next year,” he said.