Mkandawire wins North draughts competition
Prince Mkandawire on Sunday emerged the first winner of the inaugural K550 000 (US$1 315) Northern Region Draughts Association (NRDA) competition held at the National Archives offices in Mzuzu.
Mkandawire, 25, outclassed 27 players who participated in the day-long tournament played in round-robin format. He plays for Demwela Club in Mzimba,
The competition featured 12 players drawn from Karonga, Rumphi, Mzimba while hosts Mzuzu had 15.
“I am grateful to be the first champion of this inaugural competition and I will defend it jealously,” said Mkandawire who amassed 40 points and received K4 000 (US$10) for his feat.
“I think my counterparts were guilty of failing to see the traps I had set and they were severely punished,”he said.
Thumbiko Mhone of Mzuzu came second on 37 points and got K3 000 cash while Ernest Kaunga of Rumphi chalked 35 points to claim the third spot and a K2 000 (US$5) cash prize.
“We applaud government and Malawi National Council of Sports for sponsoring the tournament,” NRDA chairperson, John Ngwenya, said in an interview.
He said the competition helped them identify talent for the national team.
“We expect 10 best players from our region to play Central and Southern regions stars at a national competition to be held soon,” he said.
