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Robert Gwaze

The Namibian Chess League

by Tendai Mubayiwa June 21, 2018

written by Tendai Mubayiwa

Composed By: President Israel Shilongo

On cold Monday evenings, unity in chess comes into play in the central part of one of the least populated nations in the world. Namibia is not just home to the oldest plant in the world, in the Welwitschia Mirabilis but she is also providing a platform for one of the most exciting chess evenings in the universe.

The Namibia Chess League has been running for the past five (5) years, with every year proving to have more participating teams and it has continually grown in popularity. The 2018 chess league season is no exception in growth, boasting a total of ten (10) premier league teams, eight (8) more in the first division and a further six (6) in the junior league, that play a double round robin format to eventually crown the best in each category for the year in view.

Capablanca Chess Club in action

Capablanca Chess Club, a club widely referred to as “Los Cubanos” or more commonly the Cubans, is a team named after the former world champion GM Jose Raul Capablanca and has dominated domestic team chess, winning the premier chess league for a record five (5) times since inception. The ever present members of Capablanca are none other than, Current Namibian National Champion CM Charles Eichab, Multiple Olympian CM Otto Nakapunda, Former National Champion Peter Gallert, under the stewardship of Multiple Namibia Police Chess Champion, Thomas Ehrich.

IM Gwaze of 3D Grandmonsters vs Kajovi of TWCA

The Cubans have the oldest average squad in the chess league and the old guards are finding it hard in this particular campaign, with stiffer oppositions coming up in various teams. In the 2018 Premier Chess League, they have suffered two (2) defeats after seven (7) rounds, as much as they have suffered in the previous five (5) years. With such defeats, one of which was inflicted by Current table toppers, 3D Grand Monsters Chess Club, led by Former African Champion IM Robert Gwaze and Former Olympian Simon Shidolo. With the seven (7) rounds completed, Capablanca Chess Club find themselves in unfamiliar territory at 5th position.

Rubinstein Chess Academy

Surprisingly, 2nd place is being occupied by Rubinstein Chess Academy, the youngest chess club, founded three (3) years ago and debuting in the Premier Chess League after winning the 2017 First Division Chess League. Rubinstein Chess Academy is home to one of the upsetters in Namibian Chess in recent years in Clarence Campbell, Current Namibia National 4th placed player, CM Mclean Handjaba and Current NCF President Israel Shilongo. With objectives of surviving at the start of the campaign, but a shift in mindset has since been applied from survival to League glory, after being the only team to have beaten the table toppers so far, with that win coming in round four (4).

The Namibia Premier Chess League boasts a great array of chess players, which include, but not limited to, former Namibia National Champions, such as FM Dante Beukes, Goodwill Khoa and Max Nitzborn. Former Junior champions Toivo Nangula, Immanuel Gariseb and Current National Women’s champion Nicola Tjaronda, to mention just a few.

Namibian Chess League Stars in Zambia: F-B FM Dante Beukes, CM Otto Nakapunda, CM Charles Eichab Picture Courtesy: Berdian Beukes

The Namibia Chess league accommodate close to a hundred (100) participants per evening, with the First Division hosting the eight (8) teams which includes, The Steins Chess Club, Zeed Chess Club and TWCA Towering Rooks, who are all second tier leveled clubs that have been formed from the parent clubs, Rubinstein Chess Academy, Zandell Chess Academy and The Weekend Chess Academy (TWCA) Respectively. A great indication of how the role of Chess Academies have played a major role in the uplifting of chess in the Land of the Brave.

The model for league participation in academies has branched so deep that 50% of the Junior League teams are comprised of teams from the aforementioned academies, namely The Rubys Chess Club, ZCA Pawn Storms and TWCA Mighty Pawns respectively. Having been established in 2017, the Junior league is earmarked to be the “Talent Identification Haven” for future international chess masters that Namibia will ever see. seven (7) year old CM Ottilie Hinda is just one of the stars plying her trade in the Junior League.

Some Juniors Battling it out

With a chance to showcase the trophies at the Namibia Chess Awards to be held in December, the race for national supremacy intensifies every round. Blood, sweat and tears serve as a motivational factor on the sixty four (64) squares. On a good evening, the strengths of a 1200 cannot be underestimated, and a rating of 2100 just becomes an ordinary number. It is on that basis that five (5) consecutive Premier Chess League wins seem ordinary and the Cubans can finally join the chasing pack.

The year 2019 is bound to come with more competitiveness, but it is 2018 that Rubinstein Chess Academy under the leadership of a chess rookie in the name of Jonas Iipinge, are working hard to set a benchmark of new blood tormenting the veterans, giving hope for the hopeless and inspiring the future generation of chess players, both home and abroad.

The Namibia Open awaits on the 27th – 29th of July, as the Chess League continues to send waves across the African continent and beyond, in preparation for Batumi Chess Olympiad. Chess will never be the same in Namibia. And it is good to note, that the days of total dominance from an individual club is seemingly coming to an end, and the spirit of Harambee has hit all sectors of the country, of which club chess is not exempted.

June 21, 2018 0 comments

Amazing African Chess Achievements

by khisho March 30, 2018

written by khisho

Chess is relatively new on the continent of Africa as compared to the other continents around the globe.

Did you know? That the first Africa Chess Championship has only been as recent as 1998!? But over the few years with which we have played chess in Africa, as if announcing to the world that Africa is also capable of understanding the royal game, Africa chess has produced some unique achievements.

Below are the some of the top Africa chess record holders. At this point, let me confess, that there are still some chess avenues, that as a continent, we haven’t broken into just yet. For example, no African has yet gone through the second round of the Chess World Cup and get to the third round of the event. It is our hope, that this write up will motivate African players, sponsors, administrators etc, to work towards the extraordinary and build a platform for some brilliant fighting chess. If you do something extraordinary in Africa chess, we will not hesitate to add you up in this dean’s list. Also, if you feel some unique achievement has been left out, do feel free to contact our editors, and we will do justice to such.

[11) Tiwone Mdina : Tiwone Mdina and Mdina Engineering Company went down in history to be the first African chess sponsor to flight a chess Bill board in an African city for close to six (6) months. With the words “Mdina Engineerinng and Mdina Chess, Les Meilleurs…a gift to Malawi’s Chess” easily readable on the imposing bill board, the artwork is being rotated in different strategic places in Blantyre, the commercial city of Malawi in readiness for the 2018 Mdina Malawi Open. Mdina Enginnering is a big Engineering firm in South Africa, which, among other things, trade in road construction.

(10) Mukubulo Chilufya: In 2017, the great Zambian chess sponsor managed to assemble a unique strong field of GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt, GM Petr Kiriakov of Russia, GM Gupta Abhijeet of India, GM Greenfeld Alon of Israel, IM Aurther Ssegwanyi of Uganda, IM Chitumbo Mwali of Zambia, IM Richmond Phiri of Zambia, IM Gillian Bwalya of Zambia, IM Stanley Chumfwa of Zambia and FM Harold Wanyama of Uganda. The Henry Chilufya Memorial Tournament was dubbed “The strongest tournament in Africa”, and it was also a Grandmaster Norm event. Mukubulo Chilufya owns businesses in Zambia, which includes lodges. He is based in Lusaka.

(9) Andrew Kayonde “a.k.a AK 47”: How a full time busy professional in the Zambian banking sector, is able to dominate the tough Zambian chess, loaded with high titled and respectable untitled players, is yet to be understood by many. His recent achievement tallies his Zambian Championship triumph to six (6). He first won the championship in 2008, and then, he won it consecutively from 2012 till date. He works as a financial analyst at The New Finance Bank, which is a very busy and delicate job to do. But Kayonde attributes his success to good time management and God’s guidance. He is famous for his words “I want to be the strongest black Grandmaster”!

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(8) Joseph Mwale: He was champion for Malawi at the record age of thirteen (13) years, the youngest ever for an African country. The other player closest to breaking this record was Namibian champion Dante Beukes, who became Namibian Champion at age fourteen (14) years. Popularly Known as “The Fear”, Mwale now lives and works as a chess coach in Durban, South Africa, from where he also travels to various tournaments, and has won numerous events to his credit.

(7) Daniel Jere: Ahead of all Sports men in Zambia, Daniel Jere became the Zambian Sportsman of the year in 2012 after a year filled with huge achievements. However, it shows that he was following the footsteps of Grandmaster Amon Simutowe, who had won the crown twelve (12) years earlier, in the year 2000. Jere now lives and works as a chess trainer for Kasparov Chess Foundation in South Africa, from where he also participates in tournaments.

(6) IM Odion Aikhoje – Megamind: as he is popularly called by chess players in Nigeria, has been known to be the biggest natural chess talent to come out of the shores of Nigeria. The Nigerian chess ace was Board 2 Gold Medalist at the Elista Olympiad in 1998. His other chess achievements include, winning Gold medal at the Abuja All Africa games in 2003, and being Nigeria National Champion at various stages of his career. The Ibadan based chess star, is also said to be a very good sports administrator, and was at some point, an executive member of Nigeria Chess Federation, as the players’ representative. He currently works as a media producer and radio presenter at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.

(4). GM Amon Simutowe – “The Zambezi Shark”: How, without the aid of a coach, he managed to reach great chess heights is a mystery. Simutowe defied all odds to become the first chess Grandmaster from Sub Saharan Africa, in 2007. He also won the Zambian Sportsman of the year in 2000, overshadowing even the great footballer Kalusha Bwalya, who was still playing football at Club America in Mexico at the time. Amon now lives and works as a Banker in the USA. He is an inspiration to many Zambian young players and always a joy to see him play.

Amon-2BSimutowe

(4) WGM Mona Khaled: At the age of eleven (11), in 2005, the Egyptian Woman Grandmaster was both the Arabian and the African Girls Junior Champion, in the under-20 category. The fierce, beauty with brains has won the Africa Women’s Chess Championship the most number of times, three (3) times, together with another brilliant Egyptian lady, Shrook Wafa.

Mna Khaled (2)

(3) IM Robert Gwaze: He was an Olympian Board 1 Gold Medalist with a stunning 9/9, at the 2002 Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia. An achievement that caused former World Chess Champion, Garry Kasparov, to make the comic comment: “These Africans from Honduras have come to get our medals”. Apart from this achievement, he won the Zimbabwe National Championship at the age of 15, and Africa Junior Championship in 1998, he has also won the Africa Individual Chess Championship. Gwaze is currently based in Namibia, and is working his way back into the chess scene.

Robert_Gwaze

(2) GM Ahmed Adly: The Egyptian Grandmaster was World Junior Champion in 2007, in the midst of players like GM Wang Hao of China, GM Ivan Popov of Russia, GM Dmitri Andreikin of Russia and of course GM Amin Bassem of Egypt. His other achievements includes victories at the Africa Individual Chess Championship in 2005 and 2011. He has also won a number of high profile international events, such as The International Open Bavarian Championship, where he started with 6/6 points in a nine (9) round tournament. And he is currently within the top fifty (50) Blitz players in the world, even though he is a few points shy of entering the top hundred (100) chess players in the world.

Adly

(1) GM Amin Baseem: The first African to cross the 2700 rating barrier in 2017, holds 2 high titles of a Medical Doctor and Grandmaster, along with the title of being a husband. He is the only African among the world’s top 100 chess players and currently in the top fifty (50) blitz players in the world. He has won numerous tournaments, including Africa Individual Chess Championship, for a record four (4) times and he is considered Africa’s greatest chess achiever of all time. He also participated at the prestigious Tata Steel Wijk Aan Zee Tournament in January, and has also been invited for the amazing Sharjah Masters tournament.

Amin-Bassem-460x306

Who is the Amazing personality you would like to include in this list, kindly use our comments box to let the world know.

March 30, 2018 2 comments

Country Reports Individual

The Journey of IM Farai Mandizha

by vchimbamugmailcom February 21, 2018

written by vchimbamugmailcom

International Master Farai Mandizha, now based in the United States of America, has had to overcome serious challenges to be where he is at the moment. Born in 1985, Farai was brought up the Mandizha way from the Mandizha home, a humble family that provided the needed encouragement to be an achiever and stand out among peers. Farai attended Mabvure secondary school, Murombedzi, before moving to Msengezi High school in Chegutu, under the guidance of the late Joseph Moyo. They both moved to the same school because of Moyo’s deep passion for chess. His passion was hugely enhanced when he moved from Msengezi high school to Prince Edward school, Harare, which had a legacy of quality chess players, coaches and have shown brilliant skills in tournament play. The school churned champions like Assad and Fysal Rhaman who were the country’s best chess players during their time as scholars. Some scholars, especially from Harare Schools Chess league, have blossomed to be the best of the best. As he captained the Prince Edward school chess team, which had players like Rodwell Makoto, Elisha Chimbamu, Preachmore Patiwako and Tendai Savanhu, they finished the whole chess league season without a defeat, scooped all the local awards during the period, as they won from St. Johns Chess festival to Hippo Valley chess festival. kotov-rnd-8

Picture: Makoto Rodwell

The team eventually produced some National Champions in IM Mandizha, Chimbamu Elisha and IM Rodwell Makoto, who all became National Champions at different stages of their chess playing careers. Their team was once coached by the late Clever Kachere, before Fide Instructor Elton Mhangarayi took charge of the team and brought so many honors and accolades to the school. This was a huge motivation to Farai Mandizha, whose thirst and passion for the game of chess was unquenchable. This also encouraged him to move from country to country in search of the Fide Titles.

Mandizha-Colas2

Picture Courtesy: http://www.thechessdrum.net

His first base for settlement was South Africa, where his game was developed and improved. Although the African Amateur Individual Chess Championship is currently not on the fide website, he triumphed at the event in 2003, and qualified for the World Amateur Individual Chess Championship, which held in Cape Town, South Africa, where he finally got his Fide Master (FM) title. This was an important achievement for the youngster at the time, as it spurred him to raise his game even more, such that he became stronger than any other player in Zimbabwe and some would say, in the whole of the Southern region at the time. Shen-Mandizha

Picture Courtesy: http://www.thechessdrum.net

Farai became so strong that in the absence of IM Gwaze Robert, who is Zimbabwe’s best player ever, on the fide rating list, he would route his opponents at ease. However there was a National Championship game in which he lost to IM Makoto, after falling for an opening preparation and losing in thirteen moves. Mandizha then took a bold step and left for the United States of America in the late 2000. He was always a very good blitz player, but he had to convert this into being a solid classical player. This made him achieve his International Master (IM) Title in the United States of America, a feat which is not easy to achieve under normal circumstances, since most African chess players achieve this feat through continental championships. He had to endure a lot on and off the board, defeating the likes of GM Hikaru Nakamura at the Foxwood Open and playing brilliantly in a star-studded field at the Philadelphia Open in 2010. He also performed very well in the New York International Open Chess Tournament, and then he scored 7.5/9 in the under 2400 section at the World Open in 2010. Also caming out 2nd at the Second Millionaire Chess Open Tournament in 2015, with a scintillating performance at the tournament, defeating three (3) Grandmasters and picking up two (2) draws against GM Zhou Jianchao and GM Chirila Ioan-Cristian, to earn his place in the U2400 Super Monday Showdown and eventually, the second place at the tournament.

Farai_Mandizha

Picture Courtesy: http://www.thechessdrum.net

This led him to achieve the International Master Title with the standard three norms and strong enough rating points, a feat which made him one of Zimbabwe’s best inspiring chess players, who has left an indelible mark on the country’s chess system. Ndizhov, as he is popularly known by Zimbabweans, has been on a smooth sailing drive, as he has continued to perform better and better at each National outing that he takes part in. The Olympiads in Tromso, Norway, Istanbul, Turkey and Baku in Azerbaijan, has made him a darling to the chess fans as he played some of the most interesting games at these tournaments, probably taking a cue from the 2002 Gold medalist IM Robert Gwaze, who won the medal ahead of Grandmaster Garry Kasparov and gave Africa another reason to rejoice at an Olympiad. This seemed to have paved the way for the players like Mandizha and IM Rodwell Makoto.

Farai-Mandizha-Zimbawe

Picture Courtesy: https://hunonchess.com/chess-olympiad-photos/

In His many accomplishments, Farai performed brilliantly at the 2017 World Open Chess Championship, earning himself a second Grand Master Norm, after finishing with 6/9 at the tournament with a performance of 4.5/7 (+3=3-1) against Grandmasters. This meant that he won three games, drew three games and lost only one game against the GMs. Ndizhov hopes to be Zimbabwe’s first Grandmaster and to be only the third Sub-Saharan Grandmaster after Amon Simutowe of Zambia and Kenny Solomon of South Africa who are the only Southern African Grand Masters at the moment.

https://chess-db.com/public/game.jsp?id=11000430.24107131.163100672.29712

IM Farai Mandizha vs. GM Andrey Stukopin

The New York based Zimbabwean International Master has the sky as the stepping stone to the universe, which seems to be the limit at the moment, with his case that of which shows that chess has no boundary, and backgrounds rarely matter, as he came from a simple family to become what he is right now.

Coming from a rural set up school community, Farai rose above the tide and became an epitome of success as well as an example to all the scholars, that chess can get you to the top in any given field. He showed that hard work pays and there is nowhere in this life, where success just comes when a person is asleep. His is an example of a hardworking chess player who is almost at the crescendo of his chess career. Certainly, there is more to come for the husband of Respina, the chess trainer in America, as well as an active chess player. wedding-photography-johannesburg_0027-e1487532072339

Picture Courtesy: www.mctana.co.zw

The writer believes that if given the opportunity and the time to show forth his talent, Zimbabwe can have a Grandmaster in Farai Mandizha latest by two years from now.

Special thanks goes to the late Joseph Moyo who identified this talent in the thicket of Mabvure, identifying a National team player, a National Champion, an international player of repute, takes spiritual understanding and a visionary to spot. I hope he also churns out players of Farai’s caliber in the not too distant future, considering his acumen and experience as a chess player and trainer. Currently, Mandizha is the highest rated active Zimbabwean player, with a rating of ELO 2406, followed by IM Rodwell Makoto who currently sits at ELO 2349.

Featured Image Courtesy: David Llada

February 21, 2018 6 comments