Phiri

Alongside the Zambian National Championship, the National Women’s Championship Finals held in Zambia just a few weeks ago and all eyes were on Woman Fide Master (WFM) Lorita Mwango, who was a two (2) time champion of the Zambian title, and WCM Mbatha Constance, who was the defending champion of the championship. The full list of ladies who qualified for the final phase comprised of:

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg
1	WFM	Mwango Lorita	8700478	ZAM	1956
2	WCM	Mbatha Constance	8700591	ZAM	1777
3	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	8700648	ZAM	1737
4	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	8706964	ZAM	1651
5		Banda Maria	8705755	ZAM	1543
6		Simenda Daisy	8707960	ZAM	1514
7		Mwale Naomi	8703299	ZAM	1476
8		Mututubanya Portiah	8704120	ZAM	1371
9		Nshikokola Precious	8707367	ZAM	1322
10		Chilufya Phiri	8710465	ZAM	1296

Expectations were high for the newly married, back to back ladies champion (2015 and 2016) and she duly delivered as she started off the first round with a win over lowly rated Chilufya Phiri. While there was no surprise in the first round results, as all the higher rated ladies picked up wins over the lower rated players, the only draw of the round came from Banda Maria’s game against Simenda Daisy.

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Round 1 on 2018/03/09
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result	Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	1956	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1 – 0	Chilufya Phiri	1296	10
2	2	1777	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1 – 0	Nshikokola Precious	1322	9
3	3	1737	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1 – 0	Mututubanya Portiah	1371	8
4	4	1651	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1 – 0	Mwale Naomi	1476	7
5	5	1543		Banda Maria	½ – ½	Simenda Daisy	1514	6

Round two (2) had some surprise results as the lower rated players started getting comfortable and picked up very important wins against their opponents, and even Lorita was unable to convert against Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Mbatha Constance, who held her own to ensure that her status as Zambia’s number two (2) ladies player. The biggest winners of the round though, were ELO 1296 rated Chilufya Phiri and ELO 1371 rated Mututubanya Portiah who both picked up wins against ELO 1514 rated Simenda Daisy and ELO 1651 rated Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale respectively.

Round 2 on 2018/03/09
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	1296		Chilufya Phiri	1 – 0		Simenda Daisy	1514	6
2	7	1476		Mwale Naomi	0 – 1		Banda Maria	1543	5
3	8	1371		Mututubanya Portiah	1 – 0	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1651	4
4	9	1322		Nshikokola Precious	0 – 1	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1737	3
5	1	1956	WFM	Mwango Lorita	½ – ½	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1777	2

And round three (3) saw Chilufya stun Constance, forcing the WCM to a draw, while Lorita could not pass through WCM Hamoonga Linda Banti (who was leading with two 2/2 points), but had to settle for yet another draw. Banda Maria was also held to a draw by Mututubanya Portiah, but Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale and Simenda Daisy both bounced back from the previous round’s defeat and gave good respect to their opponents to drive home the victory on their various boards.

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Round 3 on 2018/03/09
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	1777	WCM	Mbatha Constance	½ – ½		Chilufya Phiri	1296	10
2	3	1737	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	½ – ½	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1956	1
3	4	1651	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1 – 0		Nshikokola Precious	1322	9
4	5	1543		Banda Maria	½ – ½		Mututubanya Portiah	1371	8
5	6	1514		Simenda Daisy	1 – 0		Mwale Naomi	1476	7

Round four (4) was a bigger fight for the ladies and even though the higher rated players had the black side of the board (Except for Lorita), they ensured that they got the job done and defeated their opponents in a keenly contested battle of the mind. Lorita ensured she picked up a very important victory against WCM Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale (who is about 300 ELOs below the WFM), which saw her join Hamoonga Linda Banti at the top of the standings with 3/4 points. And Naomi got her first victory of the tournament against Chilufya.

Round 4 on 2018/03/10
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	1296		Chilufya Phiri	0 – 1		Mwale Naomi	1476	7
2	8	1371		Mututubanya Portiah	0 – 1		Simenda Daisy	1514	6
3	9	1322		Nshikokola Precious	0 – 1		Banda Maria	1543	5
4	1	1956	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1 – 0	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1651	4
5	2	1777	WCM	Mbatha Constance	½ – ½	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1737	3

Getting into the fifth (5th) round, the top three (3) players were not showing any sign of slowing down, as they picked up very important victories in the round, and the only victory for the lower rated was Portiah’s victory over Naomi. Linda had to keep winning to put the pressure on Lorita and vice versa (as they now both stood at 4/5 points after the fifth round victories), considering the fact that they are not just fighting for qualification into the Olympiad team but also the title of Zambia’s Women Champion.

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Round 5 on 2018/03/10
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	1737	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1 – 0		Chilufya Phiri	1296	10
2	4	1651	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	0 – 1	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1777	2
3	5	1543		Banda Maria	0 – 1	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1956	1
4	6	1514		Simenda Daisy	1 – 0		Nshikokola Precious	1322	9
5	7	1476		Mwale Naomi	0 – 1		Mututubanya Portiah	1371	8

Round six (6) was billed to be full of fireworks, and the ladies did not disappoint, as Lubuuto held Linda to a fighting draw, Lorita took the top spot by defeating Daisy in brilliant fashion (to sit on 5/6), while Constance joined Lubuuto in second (2nd) place with 4.5/6 points. At this point, Lorita knew she could not stop winning, as there are now two (2) ladies lurking behind her and waiting for her to slip up, so that they can claim the crown.

Round 6 on 2018/03/10
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	1296		Chilufya Phiri	0 – 1		Mututubanya Portiah	1371	8
2	9	1322		Nshikokola Precious	1 – 0		Mwale Naomi	1476	7
3	1	1956	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1 – 0		Simenda Daisy	1514	6
4	2	1777	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1 – 0		Banda Maria	1543	5
5	3	1737	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	½ – ½	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1651	4

With three (3) rounds to go in the tournament, round seven (7) produced some very unexpected results as Linda was held to yet another draw by Maria, while Lubuuto defeated Chilufya to join Linda in second (2nd) place. Daisy picked herself up from the defeat to Lorita in the previous round and defeated Constance in a way that was sweet to her soul. This tore open the qualification process, as three (3) ladies were joined on fourth (4th) place with 4.5/7 points, half a point behind the ladies in second (2nd) place. But Lorita tore away from the pack (6/7 points) by driving home the point against Naomi, who tried to hold, but fell to the superiority of the defending ladies champion.

Round 7 on 2018/03/11
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	4	1651	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1 – 0		Chilufya Phiri	1296	10
2	5	1543		Banda Maria	½ – ½	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1737	3
3	6	1514		Simenda Daisy	1 – 0	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1777	2
4	7	1476		Mwale Naomi	0 – 1	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1956	1
5	8	1371		Mututubanya Portiah	1 – 0		Nshikokola Precious	1322	9

The eight (8th) round was going to be very decisive for several of the ladies, and even though it seemed as if all the ladies using the white pieces went home to cook up lines against their competitors, it was fiercely contested. Chilufya, the lowest rated player at the event, got her second (2nd) win of the tournament against Precious, in a battle against last place in the tournament. Lorita continued her dominance over the board and defeated Portiah (now 7/8), sealing her qualification for the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Georgia and moving a step closer to claiming the women’s championship again. Constance scooped the win off Naomi, to remain within half a point of qualification for the Olympiad, barring results from the other games of the round, which eventually favored her, as Linda defeated Daisy to dash Daisy’s hope for qualification, and sealed her own qualification for the Olympiad (with 6/8 points), with an outside chance of winning the ladies championship (or at least tie for first, if and only if Lorita loses the final round game, which had not happened in a long time). Lubuuto also sealed her qualification for the Olympiad with a good win over Maria, and keeping the pressure on Lorita to at least get a draw in the last round or risk losing her title of women’s champ.

Round 8 on 2018/03/11
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result	Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	1296		Chilufya Phiri	1 – 0	Nshikokola Precious	1322	9
2	1	1956	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1 – 0	Mututubanya Portiah	1371	8
3	2	1777	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1 – 0	Mwale Naomi	1476	7
4	3	1737	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1 – 0	Simenda Daisy	1514	6
5	4	1651	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1 – 0	Banda Maria	1543	5

lorita-mwango-chess

The final round was more about the ladies championship for the top three (3) players, as they already sealed qualification for the 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad. The game of the round had to be Daisy vs Lubuuto, where Daisy ensured that she did not go down without a fight, and picking up a very important half point against the WCM to finish on 5/9 points and seal her qualification for the 2018 Chess Olympiad, while the WCM finished with 6.5/9, which was only good for the third (3rd) position. Maria also finished with a win over Chilufya to end the tournament with 4.5/9 and a very important experience going forward. After the draw with Daisy, Lubuuto lost her right to second (2nd) place when Linda defeated Naomi to seal the position and finish with 7/9 points, which was not enough to catch the moving train in Lorita, who emphatically defeated Precious in the final round of the tournament to finish with a whooping 8/9 points. Retaining her title as the best female player in Zambia and informing everyone that marriage is definitely very good for chess players, as evidenced by Kayonde’s championship win too.

Round 9 on 2018/03/11
Bo.	No.	Rtg	Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	1543	Banda Maria	1 – 0		Chilufya Phiri	1296	10
2	6	1514	Simenda Daisy	½ – ½	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	1651	4
3	7	1476	Mwale Naomi	0 – 1	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	1737	3
4	8	1371	Mututubanya Portiah	0 – 1	WCM	Mbatha Constance	1777	2
5	9	1322	Nshikokola Precious	0 – 1	WFM	Mwango Lorita	1956	1

With the top five (5) ladies automatically qualifying to represent Zambia at The 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad, the final ranking of the players after the tournament is as follows:

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	1	WFM	Mwango Lorita	ZAM	1956	8,0	0,0	7	30,25
2	3	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	ZAM	1737	7,0	0,0	5	26,00
3	2	WCM	Mbatha Constance	ZAM	1777	6,5	0,0	5	24,75
4	6		Simenda Daisy	ZAM	1514	5,0	0,5	4	17,75
5	4	WCM	Lubuuto Bwalya Mulwale	ZAM	1651	5,0	0,5	4	15,00
6	8		Mututubanya Portiah	ZAM	1371	4,5	0,5	4	11,75
7	5		Banda Maria	ZAM	1543	4,5	0,5	3	12,75
8	10		Chilufya Phiri	ZAM	1296	2,5	0,0	2	9,25
9	9		Nshikokola Precious	ZAM	1322	1,0	1,0	1	1,00
10	7		Mwale Naomi	ZAM	1476	1,0	0,0	1	2,50

It would have definitely been more interesting had Woman International Master (WIM) Epah Tembo Jere taken part in this selection process, but maybe she is more occupied with family, work and travels, to be bothered with chess in the country at the moment. These ladies will be put through rigorous training regimen by the federation, as it is hoped that Batumi, Georgia will serve as a reminder to other Zambian ladies that anything is possible as long as you believe and work hard for it!

Featured Image courtesy of David Llada

Just a few weeks ago, the Zambian National Championship held and International Master Andrew Kayonde successfully defended the title he has held for the past four (4) years back to back, yet again. And a title he now holds for a record six (6) times. On his way to the championship glory, Kayonde defeated Prince Daniel Mulenga in the first round of the tournament in an interesting game that started out as a pirc defence opening, but ended in nineteen (19) moves, in favor of the champ.

Round two kicked off with Kayonde’s match against his arch rival, International Master Richmond Phiri, with whom he had a nutcracker of a game. The game was attack all the way (more to the tune of “The Lev”), with Phiri castling to the queenside early, seeking the white king’s head and showing intent of attacking until Kayonde’s king falls. But it was going to be the other way round, as Kayonde defended resolutely and inflicted defeat on his compatriot.

IM Andrew Kayonde in Action

Another cracker was to come in round three against International Master Gillian Bwalya, popularly known as ‘Captain Charlie’. Kayonde had the black pieces against “The Captain” and “AK 47”, as Kayonde is fondly called by his followers, made no mistake against the International Master whom he stoutly defeated using his King’s Indian Defense (KID) weapon of mass destruction! A statement as to how not to attack against the KID was made on the day as the Zambian Champion played solidly in the face of the opposing attack, which seemed enormous, but not to a player who has been there and done that. The maneuvering of the knights and the bishops were just brilliantly executed, such that most people would have wondered how the position came to be as such.

After facing two (2) of the strongest Zambian international masters at the event and coming out victorious, Kayonde then faced the upcoming Zambian star Fide Master (FM) Douglas Munenga, who won the last qualifier before this stage, and they played a quick draw, which both players were satisfied with, going forward. But Kayonde was to settle for an even quicker draw with Zambian top gun IM Kelvin Chumfwa, who would have been biting his fingers (thinking what could have been, if he had just fought more in the game), after missing out on the qualification to the 2018 Chess Olympiad, as he lost it to Prince Daniel Mulenga in the last round of the tournament (in a fight for your life round).

Kayonde then had to settle for a third successive draw, but a hard fought one against Candidate Master (CM) Musatwe Simutowe, brother to the first Southern African Grandmaster Amon Simutowe. Musatwe has been playing some quality chess in the Southern African tournaments recently, example of which are the Kasparov Chess Foundation organised tournaments in Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. After three (3) successive draws in the last three (3) rounds, round seven (7) presented Kayonde with Daka Justin, the highly improved young player, who has showed great promise in tournaments in and around Zambia, but Kayonde duly achieved victory with brilliant middlegame play after a very unconventional opening played by both, only to lose the penultimate round against Kaulule Siame Kela in round 8, a game that gave Kaulule the necessary boost to fight for a qualification spot for the Olympiad during the final round against IM Phiri Richmond (which he won to join the players representing Zambia at the 2018 World Chess Olympiad at Georgia). In the final round of the tournament, Kayonde settled for a draw against Kabwe Timothy, to retain the championship title, seeing that Musatwe, who was closest to him had played to draw in his game against FM Munenga Douglas.

Andew-Kayonde

All in all, Kayonde had four (4) wins, four (4) draws and a loss, to finish with a total of six (6) points and retain the crown that is hugely coveted in Zambia. Finishing in second (2nd) position was CM Musatwe Simutowe, who was only half a point behind the Kayonde with five and a half (5.5) points. FM Douglas Munenga finished joint third (3rd) with five (5) points and he was the only player in the whole tournament who did not lose a single game. The cool Douglas made the Olympiad team and deservedly so, considering his performance at the tournament.

Mulenga Prince Daniel, who was called up at the last minute, made a finished fourth (4th) on the table, but he was joint third (3rd) with FM Munenga with five (5) points. The grateful player went onto his Facebook channel to thank the Lord and his fans for the support and for finally making it into the National team for the first time. He made it clear on the post that this was not a mean achievement and it was through God’s grace and hard work that he made it through. It was after a long struggle and his story is a lesson to all chess players who have been failing to make it to the top, that there is still hope for them.

The Olympiad selection tournament for the men was characterized by the absence of IM Daniel Jere and IM Chitumbo Mwali who had other commitments. Three (3) International Masters fell on the way side and these were IM Kelvin Chumfwa (4.5/9 points), IM Richmond Phiri (3.5/9 points) and IM Bwalya Gillian (3/9 points) who were rooted to the bottom of the table in the men’s section, showing that there is great improvement in the game of chess in Zambia. This alone speak volumes in terms of what really transpired in the final phase of the Olympiad Qualifiers for the Zambian players representing the nation in Batumi, Georgia. This was a great opportunity for the new crop of players to get a feel of what international chess is all about, especially playing against the Super Grandmasters.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	1	IM	Kayonde Andrew	ZAM	2398	6,0	0,0	4	24,25
2	6	CM	Simutowe Musatwe	ZAM	2221	5,5	0,0	4	22,50
3	4	FM	Munenga Douglas D	ZAM	2286	5,0	1,5	1	22,50
4	10		Mulenga Prince Daniel	ZAM	2233	5,0	1,0	3	21,25
5	8		Kaulule Siame Kela	ZAM	2155	5,0	0,5	3	22,00
6	5	IM	Chumfwa Kelvin	ZAM	2251	4,5	1,0	2	19,75
7	9		Kabwe Timothy	ZAM	2141	4,5	0,0	3	20,25
8	2	IM	Phiri Richmond	ZAM	2342	3,5	0,0	1	14,25
9	7		Daka Justin	ZAM	2196	3,0	0,5	1	13,50
10	3	IM	Bwalya Gillan	ZAM	2326	3,0	0,5	0	13,25

The Zambia Women’s National Championship

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

The Zambian National Championship

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds