Francistown School of Chess director, Thapelo Grivas Molefe said the tournament will run from April 18-20, attracting players from Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There is an added incentive of a P10, 000 cash prize money for the winners in a tournament sponsored by Jacaranda School and hosted by the Francistown School of Chess. Molefe said preparations have gone well and they have secured the playing area, and they are about to finish the setup. He said the tournament will be divided into four categories which includes the Open, Under-16, Under-13, and development section. "We have eight female players and 54 males who have registered for the tournament. We are happy that amongst the participants there are 23 children," he said.
Molefe added that one challenge they faced is media coverage, but is happy it is now a thing of the past. He said the winner in the Open section will walk away with a cash prize of P3, 000 and a gold medal, whilst the runners-up get P2, 000, and P1, 200 is reserved for the bronze medallists. Players finishing in position four and five will each get P800 and P500, respectively. In the Under-16 and 13 category, winners will go home with P500 and a gold medal, whilst silver and bronze medallists get P300 and P200 respectively. Molefe said the Francistown School of Chess was founded in order to discover and nurture chess talent across the country. He said their main focus is on young children from four and half to 20 years, and sometimes beyond. "We are also involved with public schools and marginalised youths through donation of chess sets and offering free chess lessons," he said.
Molefe said they also contribute at least three players to the junior national team every year. In 2019, he said they made history as the junior national team was made up of 50% of their products, with six of the 12 players coming from the Francistown School of Chess. The academy has over 60 students from the second city and surrounding areas. He urged parents to encourage their children to join chess as it is a good sport, which contributes immensely to the development of a child. "It teaches them discipline, focus, persistence, and good decision-making. These are all important attributes of an individual in this era," he said.
