ZCA PERENNIAL CHAMPIONS 2010

The past weekend 27 high school teams and 14 primary school teams battled it out for the champions in their respective sections. A total number of 100 high school learners and 48 primary school learners played 522 chess matches in 8 hours.

A lot of nerve wrecking moments were experienced when the winning scale played see-saw with the teams. In the high school section the defending champions Zandell Chess Academy (ZCA) wore their club shirts with the words “Perennial Champions” on the back. Many called it a bluff, but they underlined their reason for competing in the third round winning that match 4-0 against Paresis Secondary School to take the lead. ZCA further made it look very easy as they remained in pole position to the end. Whilst other teams like Wennie Du Plessis, TWCA High and Kollin Foundation swapped places every other round in 2nd and 3rd position. In the end ZCA closed the curtains on the other teams with 23.5 out of 28 games in 1st place and received N$2000, gold medals and the floating trophy remained in their possession. And with no surprise the highly competitive Kollin Foundation A and B teams took 2nd and 3rd respectively and received N$1500 with silver medals and N$1000 and bronze medals. Both teams scored 20.5/28. ZCA is the second team to win the title back to back.

The past winners was DHPS in 2005, Ella Du Plessis, 2006 and 2007, Kollin Foundation 2008, Zandell Chess Academy 2009 and 2010. ??? in 2011.

The Weekend Chess Academy’s (TWCA) Primary A team took the lead in round 2 with one point after which it became a one horse race. TWCA primary A team already had the Gold medal in the bag after the 6th round and yet won their last round against the TWCA primary B team 4-0 taking their tally to an impressive 25 out of 28 games. The fight was more about who would take silver and bronze because the TWCA team bulldozed three teams with 3-1 and four teams 4-0 on the four boards.

In second place was the Van Rhyn Chess Club with 19.5 out of 28 games. Worth mentioning is that they played only 6 rounds due to late registration when they missed the first round. Van Rhyn who was in 3rd place after 6 rounds facing the then 2nd place holders Orban Primary made quick work of them with a demolishing 4-0 to take silver ware. This left Orban Primary with 16.5 out of 28 and the Bronze medals after 7 rounds. Both TWCA and Orban learners are trained by the coaches of TWCA whilst Van Rhyn is trained by ZCA and school teachers. TWCA primary A was 1st and received N$1000, Van Rhyn Primary A in 2nd and received N$700 and Orban Primary was 3rd and received N$400.

The Namibian Chess Federation strongly encourages schools and academies to get their learners ready for next year. The main junior events normally takes place in March, June, July and September of every year.