The rise of brilliant chess minds
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday February 2, 2026 06:14
It has been a long search for the country's top talents that will ultimately make the national team cut, and there have been obvious standouts. Candidate Master (CM) Thuto Mpene, Blessing Motshabi and Vincent Motshabi have shone.
Mpene continues to show resilience and is steadily atop the qualifiers summit. CM Notha Moakofhi and Ndawana Mosenya are old guards who showed the starlets that age is just a number.
In the girls' section, so far, the national team selections are seeing the fusion of young stars with the Francis sisters, Onkemetse and Thapelo, as they look to qualify.
FIDE Instructor (FI), Pudungwane Lesole, told MmegiSport that the recent surge in interest in scholastic and developmental chess has kept chess vibrant in youth structures.
“Without school sport in government schools, chess academies have kept the fire burning. Academies offer structured training sessions and organise regular tournaments to keep the kids active,” he said.
“I am not surprised to see the likes of Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Atlang Mosweu, CM Mpene, WCM Maya Otimile, and WCM Phoebe Moshoboro causing upsets at the ongoing national team trials.”
Lesole highlighted that the young players are taking structured training sessions on a regular basis, and they enhance that by playing tournaments almost every two weeks. He revealed that for the past five years or more, tournaments for senior players have been very few on the calendar.
“But the sad truth is that every player needs to play regularly to get feedback from an actual over-the-board environment. “Unfortunately, most senior players cannot keep up with the juniors because they do not have the sharpness which one can only get through regular play,” Lesole said.
According to him, if the situation of zero tournaments for senior players persists, he is worried that it will eventually affect the progress of top junior players.
“They need to play seniors who are as active and sharp as them. Without activity, experience does not carry that much weight in chess. “We desperately need to host international Open events and the league for the whole ecosystem to thrive,” Lesole said.
International Arbiter (IA), Vincent Masole, stated the global rise of young chess talent is echoing in Botswana.
He said the recent national team qualifiers showed that with early exposure, smart training, and strong support, young players are beginning to compete and win at higher levels.
“For us as youth coaches, this is a powerful affirmation of our passion and dedication to the development of chess in the country. Our daily routines and consistent mentorship are paying off and lifting the entire development pathway. These results reinforce confidence in our youth-focused approach,” he said.
Masole added that with a support system for coaching excellence, access to quality tournaments, Botswana could produce more rising stars that can shine on the world stage.
Meanwhile, CM Mpene’s mother, Kelebogile Mpene, said her son is a determined hard worker. She said as part of his training, he pays for a monthly subscription for Chess Mood application, which offers reliable online coaches that guide him.
“In that application, he has access to Grandmasters, they assess his games, make corrections, his opening, but most of the time they focus on how he has played. As a family, we fully support him; he even plays tournaments outside the country,” she said. Mpene's mother said he has moved from playing in his age group, which made him develop quickly. She said Mpene no longer has a local coach because he is now at the same level as them. “He was initially coached by Opelo Maswabi. We now need someone more advanced. However, sponsorship remains a challenge. I do everything in my power to support my child, but it is not easy. I just wish well-wishers could come onboard to assist,” she said.