BULAWAYO-based chess player Knowledge Ndlovu won The 2013 South African Open Chess Championship B section, which ran concurrently with the Commonwealth Open Chess Championship at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, which came to an end on Sunday.
Sports Reporter
The championships were held at The Boardwalk Hotel, Convention Centre and Spa in the city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, from July 5 to 14.
Ndlovu is one of Zimbabwe’s top chess players and a regular participant in the Bulawayo Chess Club monthly tournaments.
Ndlovu went into the tournament unrated, but emerged as the eventual winner after beating South African-based Dishan Barua in the last round of the B section games.
The Commonwealth and South African Open Chess Championships 2013 B-section is restricted to players who have Fédération Internationale des Échecs or national chess rating in their home country of less than 1800 (or equivalent).
The total prize fund for all events was pegged at R250 000 (approximately ₤20 000). Ndlovu beat Barua 1-0 in the final round competition to finish the top-ranked player in the B section which had over 500 players participating.
Other players that represented Zimbabwe in the tournament included Rodwell Makoto, Kudzanai Mamombe and Patrick Katema. Bulawayo Chess Association events organiser Moses Mutiforo lauded Ndlovu and the other players’ achievements in the competition.
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“We, as Bulawayo Chess Association, feel very proud of Knowledge’s achievement. We have been holding monthly tournaments for the past year or so and it is beginning to bear fruit. We will be holding our Khami teams competition at the end of the month,” Mutiforo said.
Top 10 out of 567 participants 1 Ndlovu Knowledge 10 2 Siame Kela 10 3 Willenberg Athon 9,5 4 Fernandes Silvio 9 5 Dishan Barua 9 6 Gopaulsingh Shivar 9 7 Louw Gideon N 9 8 Gama Edivaldo 9 9 Molomo Jackson 8,5 10 Roos Lucas Johan 8,5
