Gaealafshwe upsets Oatlhotse to take crown

Gaealafshwe, who plays for Jwaneng club, last won the title in 2010. He had suffered defeat to International Master, Providence Oatlhotse during the second qualifiers but reversed the trend over the long weekend to grab the crown. He won the title with 6.5 points out of a possible nine after he defeated among others Oatlhotse and FIDE Master, Thato Olebile. Oatlhotse and Olebile were overwhelming favourites, but fell short. Gaealafshwe told Mmegi Sport yesterday that he had to be calm and remain focused to win the title. He said after failing to qualify for the finals last year, he had to work hard to redeem himself this year. He said after losing to Oatlhotse in the qualifiers, he studied the moves that his opponent made.

“The win is important to me and my hardwork has paid off. I was motivated to pull it off. I wanted to prove that I am still a good player,” he said.