Chess improvement in Africa

Gwaze Closer to Grandmaster Status

The Herald (Harare)
NEWS
19 September 2007 Posted to the web 19 September 2007
By Augustine Hwata

Chess International master Robert Gwaze is now aiming to become Zimbabwe’s first ever grandmaster following his sensational win at the African Individual Chess Championship in Namibia last week.

The 2007 All-Africa Games silver medallist is now just one major championship win away from being crowned a grandmaster. For now, the 25-year-old is an international master but he is focusing on earning the prestigious title of grandmaster when he takes part at the World Championships in Minsk, Belarus in November. “The win in Namibia gave me my second grandmasters norm and if I manage to get a third norm, then I became a full grandmaster. “At the moment I have 2 413 points and need to reach 2 500 on the next championship so that I qualify to be a grandmaster.

“This will be my first time playing at the World Championship although it is the second time I have qualified but I failed to travel in 1998. “It’s going to be tough but if I play well in Minsk, I can be able to achieve the points to be a grandmaster,” said Gwaze. Gwaze won his first grandmaster norm when he was crowned the African Junior Champion in 1998 and in 2000 he made history by becoming the youngest and first black African to win a gold medal at the International Chess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia.

Last week, he became a top-rated GM norm when he won in Namibia. The former Kundai Primary and Prince Edward High School pupil is cherishing the championship he won in Namibia than any of his other successes. “I rate the win in Namibia at the African Individual Championship as my best achievement in chess so far. “This is because there were four grandmasters – Amin Bassel and El Girdy of Egypt, Belkdya Slim of Tunisia and Amon Simutowe of Zambia. “There were also 16 international masters like me but I managed to win the competition,” he said.

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