Gaealashwe Sets Chess Date With Briton GM
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday August 28, 2017 16:29
The Candidate Master would be amongst the 50 players to play against Short. Unfortunately, most of the highly-rated local players did not attend the weekend tournament. Speaking to Monitor Sport, Gaealashwe said being in the tournament was an opportunity for him to play a world class player in Short because he has always admired him growing up as a player.
“I have been doing a lot of physical exercises because one of the misconceptions about chess is that it is a mental sport. But you have to be physically fit to play well. I have been working on a lot of tactics. I want to give him a good game when he comes,” he said.
Gaealashwe said he did not get enough competition from the tournament because top players did not attend the tournament. Despite that, he said there are a lot of young players who have shown potential to become great one day. Short will be in Botswana at the invitation of Talking Squares Chess Trust. The Trust chairperson, Kenneth Boikhutshwane said he was impressed with the turnout particularly the fact that most youngsters attended. He said the young players are the future of the sport. He said top players did not attend the tournament because they had informed him that they wanted to play when there is prize money.
Boikhutshwane said money is not everything but having an opportunity to play the former world chess champion finalist is a worthy experience. He said such opportunities do not come everyday. “We need to focus more on the upcoming players. We would see how we handle the simultaneous tournament and how we invite other players.
Everyone who attended this tournament would get free access to training to be conducted by Short,” he said.
The tournament organiser said those who could have played in the qualifying tournament but chose not to, will have to part with a fee to play against Short. He said if they feel that there should be a tournament with prize money, then they should also pay. He said some players who are in the junior team that is playing in Zimbabwe would be invited through wild cards. He said 20 players have qualified but initially the number stood at 40 with 10 going through as wild cards. He said the tournament came at a time when private schools are closed and government schools are busy with examinations. He said that affected the attendance. He said the section for senior players always has low numbers in most tournaments. Boikhutshwane said many parents have been in touch with Talking Squares with interest of bringing their children for training.
Short will be in Botswana from September 5 to 11. He is expected to play 50 players in a simultaneous session, 25 per session.
Some other players who qualified: Matekane Walter, Shaheen Dm, Pheto Kagiso and Machobane Moemedi, Iphaza Masala, Xiu Zhen, Koheleth Simon, Refilwe Batshwari, Loago Masole, Kago Pelontle, Arnav Sadhana, Ghayal Marumoagae and Oteng Onkemetse.