Battle of brains in chess title begins
August 4, 2012 | Filed under: Sport | Posted by: web editor
By ELIZABETH CHATUVELA
ZAMBIA’S top chess players will today engage in a battle of brains as they fight for honours in the three-day Harvey Products tournament at Lusaka’s Russian Centre.
Focus will be on national team players who will represent Zambia at this month end’s World Chess Olympiads in Istanbul, Turkey.
The men’s team comprises International master Daniel Jere, Andrew Kayonde, Gillian Bwalya, Nase Lungu and Stanley Chumfwa .
In the women’s team are FIDE master Epah Tembo, Constance Mbatha, Joy Mtine, Linda Haamonga and Lorita Mwango.
Jere, who is national champion, is expected to be seeded first at this tournament, ahead of Stanley Chumfwa while Kayonde and Bwalya are likely to get the third and fourth ratings, respectively.
Lungu and Mtine have not entered the Harvey Products event.
The tournament, which is being sponsored, by the Zone Four of the Chess Federation of Zambia has attracted 100 players.
The overall winner will earn K2 million with the second placed player getting K1.5 million. Third and fourth finishers will get K1 million and K500,000, respectively.
Zone Four tournament coordinator Bwalya Chileya said the event will be played over nine rounds, under one category.
Chileya said women will play with men, as a way of preparing them for the tough competition in Turkey.
“Competition at the Olympiads is very stiff and one way of helping our female players, is to have them play our men at this tournament,” Chileya said.
At the 2011 Olympiads held in Russia, the Zambian men finished second to Egypt among teams from Africa and were 12th overall.
The women’s teams managed a fourth slot in Africa.
Source: http://www.daily-mail.co.zm
Nice.