NDB chess tourney to be hard fought

The tournament, Botswana's premier club event, has this year been sponsored to the tune of P40, 000 by NDB, the same amount as last year. This marks the third year of collaboration between the bank and Botswana Chess Federation (BCF), the first event having been sponsored to the tune of P15, 000.

According to BCF president Boitumelo Keinyatse, the format for this year's championship has not changed. "Just like in 2008 teams will have to register eight players in their line-up, including an Under-21 and a woman player. At any given time, a team will have to field six players for a game," said Keinyatse. The move to reinforce female players and juniors follows observations that teams tended to put winning ahead of developing these two marginalised groups.