Botswana Chess

Chess championships kick off

The sponsorship was launched yesterday at Yarona country lodge in Mogoditshane. NDB sponsors the tournament to the tune of P50, 000.According to BCF president, Tshepo Sitale, NDB has been sponsoring the event for over four years and only stopped last year due to financial constraints. 

Teams expected to participate include Bonyonyo, Kings, Poisonous Snakes, Mobile Chess Club, Enpassent, Mochudi Chess Clubs, three tertiary institutions and three senior schools. In all around 30 teams are expected to take part.

The president of the federation also said that they have made it compulsory for every team to have an Under-21 player. Each team has eight players. The move is a way to reinforce and develop junior players development.There will be prize money for teams that manage to get position one to 10. The winner will get P7, 000, second placed will walk away with P6, 000 whereas the third placed will scoop P5, 000.

There will also be individual prizes. These include the best player in each of the eight boards played, best Under-21 and best woman player. All the victors will be given P500. The team that will win this tournament will qualify for the Africa Chess team championships. This will be yet another opportunity for the players to be able to play in the professional setup. In Africa, only two countries have the professional chess league, being Egypt and South Africa, while the rest are in Europe. 

Source: http://www.mmegi.bw