ͳˆ‘Ͳ” …Šƒ‡–•‹‘• ’ƒŽƒŽ ›‡Š”ƒ•“’—‹ƒ‘Ž‹ˆ•›Š‹’

MBABANE – The National Championship Qualifiers which were held at FEA Primary School, in Manzini over the weekend produced players for the final phase of selecting national team players.

According to Eswatini Chess Federation (ECF) Tournament Organiser William Siame, 28 chess players were registered for tournament.

“We had a successful event over the weekend where the 28 players battled for the ten spots in the final phase of our national team players that will represent Eswatini in the coming Chess Olympiad Championships to be held in Moscow,” Siame said.

The organiser said the final selection would be done next month at a date and venue to be announced in due course.

He also said former Eswatini top ranked player Wandile Simelane finished on the summit of the table with a score of 4.5/6. He said it was a fourway tie from positions one to four, as Wandile Simelane,Vuyo Nxumalo, Sobi Mziyako and Lunga Mavuso all amassed the 4.5/6 score.

Victories

“We then used the quality of victories among the players to determine the top player, after our assessment, Simelane was pronounced the winner,” he said.

Siama said they were happy to have Nxumalo, who was bouncing back to the championship after he was left out in the previous qualifiers.

“Veteran chess player Sobi Mziyako reached his twilight as he played good positional chess which almost took him to 5/6,” he said.

Siama further said for the first time in the history of the qualifiers, the ladies section would be played in a round robin, unlike the previous years.

The 44th Chess Olympiad, organised by the International Federation of Chess (FIDE), which is called Federation Internationale des Echecs in French, will be held in Moscow, Russia during the summer of 2022.

These players will join the already qualified players for the final phase of selection next month.

THOSE WHO QUALIFIED OVER THE WEEKEND:

Open

Wandile Simelane

Vuyo Nxumalo

Sobi Mziyako

Mandisa Simelane

Lunga Mavuso

Ladies

Fisokuhle Mavimbela

Nosipho Dlamini

Sithandiwe Mamba

Imelda Ssemogerere

Nolwazi Nkwanyane

Those already in the final phase: Open

Sikhanyiso Sihlongonyane

Similo Hlophe

Lunga Malinga

Simphiwe Dlamini

Mbongeni Mabuza

Ladies

Temahlubi Dlamini

Nomcebo Sibisi

Nokuthula Mkhonta

Sinqobile Dlamini

Nosimilo Mkhonta

ABOUT 2022 MOSCOW CHESS OLYMPIAD:

Inaugurated in 1924.

It is a biennial Chess tournament.

Teams representing nations of the world compete.

It is organised by FIDE and it also selects the host nation.

The use of the name ‘Chess Olympiad’ by FIDE does not imply any connection with the Olympic Games.

The tournament was originally scheduled for August 5-17, 2020. This year’s edition is scheduled for July 26 to August 8, 2022.