Youth Chess Tournament Proves A Success
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday August 20, 2018 13:04
It attracted a total of 70 players from around the country including the visually impaired from Mochudi Resource Centre for the Blind. The visually impaired players were taking part in a competitive chess tournament for the first time since Limitless Minds Chess Academy started a training programme for them in February this year.
The players were competing in a special section for Braille Chess, which was categorised into the totally blind and the partially sighted.
Chimbilani Serepelele of the Mochudi Resource Centre won the totally blind section for the Blind with three points out of seven games that were played while Moemedi Molefe also of Mochudi Resource Centre won the partially sighted section for the Blind with three out of seven points.
The tournament also had other sections for the able bodied players from the under-7 age category to Under-21. Woman Fide Master, Londani Tamuhla won the girls Under-19 section while Opelo Maswabi won in the Under-21 boys section.
Woman Candidate Master, Hasitha Nagasai won in the Under-9 girls section with six points, Tatenda Motshewa won in the Under-7 girls section with 5.5 points, Athul Sudheesh won in the Under-11 boys section with five points, Aishwarya Sethumadhavan won in the Under-13 girls section with five points, Under-13 boys section was won by Ashwin Shine, Under-7 boys section was won by Carmello Mokgacha while Under-11 girls section was won by Rorisang Lekomo, and Under-21 girls was won by Tshephang Motlhware and Under-17 boys by Mothanke Losika.
The event was supported by the Botswana Public Officers Medical Aid Scheme (BPOMAS) and Ms Primz Event and Catering (Pty) Ltd. Speaking at the event, the public relations officer for BPOMAS Pearl Motshegwa stated that they are a medical aid scheme that believes in supporting good causes for the benefit of the community and that they wanted to play a visible role in social inclusion and that the event satisfied that.
The coordinator at the Mochudi Resource Centre for the Blind, Ms Menyatso, appreciated the role played by Limitless Minds Chess Academy in empowering and developing the visually impaired kids and pleased with other stakeholders to follow suit.
The event was used as part of preparations for the 2018 Botswana International Junior Open Chess Championship, which will be hosted in December 2018 by Limitless Minds Chess Academy under the auspices of the Botswana Chess Federation.