Chess star needs P200, 000 for Las Vegas trip

Oatlhotse qualified for the tournament after winning the Tsogo Millionaire chess tournament that was held in South Africa last week. IM Oatlhotse won the tournament after beating IM Johannes Phela Mabusela of South Africa in a five minutes Blitz during the play-offs. IM Mwali Chitumbo of Zambia came third.

The overall winner at the Las Vegas tournament walks away with US$ 1 million (approximately P10 million). Addressing the media yesterday at the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) conference room, IM Oatlhotse said the funds are needed to purchase training materials such as chess software, magazines, digital clock and digital board. He said the best players from around the world would take part in the tournament. He said he was going to the tournament to win and not to add numbers. He explained that as part of his preparations, he would participate in four events; two of which will be played locally to improve his ratings.