GUMPO 5th at Africa junior chess tourney

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday March 14, 2011 00:00

Angolan Roberto Erikson, with a FIDE rating of 2223 points, finished the tournament with seven points, edging out his nearest challenger Mahfoud Oussedik (2222 Fide points) of Algeria by just half a point, as he finished second with 6.5 points. He is joint on 6.5 points with Libyan Mosab Ghattour (2078 Fide points). SADC region's best finish at the tournament held in South Africa came from the hosts' Benjamin Hercules (2085 Fide rating), on six points, while Botswana player, Gumpo, was tied on five points, with South African, Janto Louw (1655), and Zambian, Douglas Munenga, in a tournament where 14 players competed. Another Botswana player who competed in the boys' section, David Mooketsi, (1819  points) finished 11th, with four points, while Malawian player, Joseph Nyambalo, with an impressive rating of 2100, finished last on position 14, having lost all his nine games.

Mooketsi won two games, and drew two others, while another point came from a bye.  The youngster opened the tournament well with victory over an Angolan opponent, Dias Vanderson, but that was followed by two successive defeats to South Africa's Louw, and James Michael, before benefiting from a bye. Mooketsi would then snatch half a point from Angola's Campos Rui, before losing to homeboy, Gumpo in the sixth round. He also shared the spoils with Angolan Silvio Famorosa to lie 11th at the end of nine rounds. Gumpo meantime opened the tournament with half a point gained from Algerian Oussedik, who eventually finished second in the tournament.

But the Botswana lad went on to post three disappointing results in succession, before coming back strongly with 2.5 points from two successive victories and a draw against unbelievably the tournament's eventual champion, Erikson of Angola in the final round.  Another half a point was gained from Mosab Ghatour, who also finished third overall, meaning that the Botswana lad played and took points from all the top three performers at the 2011 Africa Junior Championships. Meanwhile, in the girls' section, Botswana's newest Women Fide Master, Kgalalelo Botlhole and her fellow, Faith Mbakhwa, finished the event with 2.5 points each on seventh and eighth positions.

Kgalalelo's 2.5 points come from three draws, one victory and five losses, while Mbakhwa's points came from two victories and a draw.  Tshepang Tlale of South Africa finished on position one and earned herself a Women Fide Master Norm after amassing 8.5 points from a possible 9 points. Two Algerians, Sabrina Latreche and Amiza Hamza, finished second and third respectively with seven points and 6.5 points in that order.