The team includes national champion and International Master (IM) Providence Oatlhotse, who has played four times in the Olympiad, and Moakofi Notha, who has made three appearances at one of chess's biggest stages. The BCF public relations director, Goitsemodimo Makgatle, said the team was picked through the national team selection chess championships that kicked off in January. “It was through a three-stage tournament, with the inclusion of the Metropolitan Botswana national champions in both the respective Open and Women's sections where Oatlhotse and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Natalie Banda were crowned in May. The national champions were given a free pass into the team,” she said.
The first qualifiers were held in January, with the second, between February 10 and 11 while the finals took place on February 29 to March 3. Makgatle said as part of preparations, Grandmaster Ankit Rajpara from India coached the team online. Speaking to MmegiSport, Banda said she is excited about getting an opportunity to play at the Olympiad. “I have been preparing for the games and I am looking forward to the Olympiad,” she said. Former senior national team coach, Pudungwane Lesole, said on paper, Botswana has a balanced team, with the best players in the country at the moment. He said the players have gone through a rigorous process of trials and play-offs early this year. “We must fully support them as they will be competing in one of the biggest global sporting events. The team has been training online with Indian Grandmaster Ankit for a month or so. But honestly, it is hard to tell how the team will perform generally because most players in the team have not been playing, especially events with time controls that match those at the Olympiad,” he said.
