MBABANE – Eswatini juniors are achieving encouraging results across five categories at the ongoing African Youth Chess Championships (AYCC), which is held in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The championship featuring 17 nations and over 450 youngsters is set to conclude this Sunday.
The country is represented by five junior players under the guidance of Coach Candidate Master (CM) Simphiwe Dlamini.
According to a report from Zimbabwe, the Eswatini team is performing reasonably well at the midpoint of this continental chess event, despite encountering various unnamed challenges both before and during the competition.
Chef de Mission Imelda Hlophe said the players are competing for honours in the Under-18, Under-14 and Under-12 Open categories, as well as the Under-12 and Under-16 Girls’ categories. “We are very optimistic that the remaining portion of the competition will be favourable to us, and we aim to secure all available points,” Hlophe said. “We extend our sincere gratitude to the parents, the Eswatini Chess Federation, the Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council, our supporters and all stakeholders who contributed to making this trip possible,” Hlophe said.
Leading the team’s performance is Tivumile Ngozo, who had collected three out of a possible five points ahead of yesterday’s games. Ngozo is competing in the Girls’ Under-16 section.
Another strong result for the country came in the Boys’ Under-14 category, where Surprise Ntiwane had accumulated half of the possible five points.
Meanwhile, Namisa Kuhlase stood at two points, while Tadala Mwala had accumulated 1.5 points. Odumisayo Thwala had managed a single point, with four rounds remaining before yesterday’s play.
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