CHESS

THE MINISTER of Cultural Affairs and Sport was the keynote speaker at the WP awards ceremony at Curro School in Durbanville.

Ivan Meyer’s speech last Saturday echoed what he had said on a previous occasion: “As the government, we believe that clubs are the building blocks of the community and must be promoted and supported. We will support them financially with equipment, attire and transport to league matches in rural areas.

“The vision of the department is to create a socially inclusive, creative and active Western Cape. I believe that chess encapsulates all of these intentions. The fact that players must be creative in their chess is a given. It is, of course, debatable whether chess players are (physically) active, but my chief director, Advocate Lyndon Bouah, assures me that all chess players are fit and participate regularly in vigorous physical activity.”

● Watu Kobese won the 2013 MRL Chess Paradigm Championships and claimed the first prize of R6 000. This event would not have been possible without sponsors Lourenzo van Niekerk, DDG Slimming and CPC Engineering.

● The Provincial Team Tournament at Citrusdal was won by perennial champions Steinitz. The event, hosted by the West Coast Chess Union, saw 25 teams entered, more than twice the number of players as last year.

Teams that entered from Cape Town included Belhar, Grassy Park, Uitsig, Khayelitsha and two teams from the University of the Western Cape. The West Coast teams were from Saldanha, Vredenburg and Citrusdal, while other entrants were from Riversdale, Worcester and Oudtshoorn. Two Braille teams from Worcester also took part. The winners were: A Section: Steinitz A, ChessCube and Steinitz B

B Section: Steinitz Steinitz E and Oudtshoorn

There was a prize for the female player who scored the most points, which went to Kaylen Fritz. The prize for the most senior player went to Braille player Raymond

C, Aucket, 69. One player in the A section, Lyndon Bouah, scored 100 percent and won the prize for excellence in the A section. In the B section, two players – Athon Willenberg and Theo Geswindt – received the excellence prize.

The event ended with a special thanks from Bouah, the chief director of the Western Cape Provincial Department of Sport and Recreation.

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