Chess Sensation Clinches Elite Scholarship
Koketso Kgoboge | Monday August 31, 2020 11:03
The reigning national champion and perennial national team player was recognised for her abundant chess talent and academic prowess in the past Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE).
For a player who endured a hectic schedule traversing the globe competing in top chess tournaments and sacrificing academics time, Masaiti outdid herself achieving coveted 48 points in the BGCSE examinations.
She attained four A*s, three As and two B’s that propelled her to become a top achiever at Mater Spei Senior Secondary School in the examinations.
Masaiti will study for a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Actuarial Science at Texas Technology University in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech University is the 2020 chess college of the year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Masaiti could not travel to the university for the first semester. She therefore started her university modules online last week and is expected to migrate to the USA in January next year if the pandemic situation subsides.
'I applied in March and has been in suspense due to the COVID-19 delays. I am happy my dream has come true, I have worked so hard to become a top achiever so that I could study abroad,' the chess sensation said, adding that she was also looking forward to the challenge.
The scholarship requires that she studies and play competitive chess. She said she had learnt to balance the game and academics.
'It is a privilege that I would be working with grandmaster Alex Onischuk who is the head coach at the University. I am looking forward to the challenge, and I am going to put a lot of work on it.'
Besa’s recent achievements are the 2020 Metropolitan National Championships and representing the country in the first online chess Olympiad early this month.
In 2019 she was named the BNSC Young Sports Woman of the year, and she also represented Botswana at 2019 World Africa Schools in Turkey.
In the previous year, Masaiti was the youngest member of the national team during the World Chess Olympiads in Georgia. She came out as a joint top performer despite the outing being her maiden one.
She represented Botswana at the 2017 world youth Chess Tournament in Romania. Amongst other achievements she has been twice an African schools chess champion and has twice won bronze at the continental level.
She has won several tournaments within Southern Africa, and is a champion for many local competitions.