Chessam demands Olympiad report
Wednesday, 19 September 2012 06:29
Mphatso Malidadi

Chess Association of Malawi (Chessam) has asked the leader of delegation Zengani Mkandawire to compile a report following Malawi’s poor performance at the World Chess Olympiad held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Chessam vice president Mark Chikoko said this after Malawi slumped on world chess rankings by four steps from position 128 to 132.

“This was one of our strongest teams because most players were experienced and exposed. But the team’s performance was not up to our expectations. We want the team leader to give us a report so that we should take necessary steps to improve our status,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chessam has paid special tribute to Richard Mbedza and Joseph Nyambalo after the duo attained Candidate Master title at the event.

The national chess governing body organised an event at Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) recreation centre to honour the two players on Sunday.

Following the achievements, Nyambalo is Malawi’s most rated player after improving his rank from 2100 to 2156 points.

Mbedza, who resides in South Africa, also improved his status from 1900 to 2156.

The exploits of the two brings the total number of Candidate Masters in the country to five after the likes of Chiletso Chipanga, Alfred Chinthere and Malama Mwanza achieved similar feat in the previous edition of the World Chess Olympiad.

Chessam treasurer Paul Nyirenda, who donated K5,000 each to the pair, said it was time for the country to produce International and Fide Masters title candidates.

“As a country we need to move a step or even two upwards as we aspire to produce the country’s first ever grandmaster,” he said.

Nyirenda also thanked Blue Sky Tours for sponsoring the day-long tournament that was used to honour the two players.

Source: http://www.bnltimes.com

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