Charles Eichab, Blitz Chess King of Namiba

Veteran Candidate Master Charles Eichab reclaimed the throne as Namibia’s Blitz king by winning the NAMSPORTS Independence Blitz Chess Tournament over the weekend. He went undefeated en route to his fourth tournament victory.

Two-time champion James Dimba finished second with 9 out of 11. Goodwill Khoa edged out tournament organizer Otto Nakapunda on the first tie-break, after they both scored 8 out of 11, to claim third place.

Blitz is a very exciting form of chess, with every player getting a mere 5 minutes to complete the game. This somehow levelled the playing field, resulting in a high rate of upsets!

Said Eichab: “Blitz is very psychological. Sometimes you play moves that are not 100% sound but that pose problems that are difficult to solve in the allocated time. So the clock becomes such a huge factor. The ability to manage the clock plus maintaining good positions on the board is crucial for success in blitz competitions.”

Leonard Nghifikwa won the u/20 section with Julian Isaak taking the u/18 prize. The other winners were Lishen Mentile u/16, Abhinav Lahiri u/14, Hiren Naidoo u/12 and Dante Beukes u/10. Mentile defeated strong players to also claim the Best Woman prize.

Officiating at the prize-giving ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sport, Dr. Peingondjabi Shipho said: “I would like to advise the Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) leadership to grow the sport by focusing on school chess activities. The Government will assist you in this regard, through the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture and the Namibia Schools Sport Union. The NCF Exco should work tirelessly to ensure that our youth take part in regional tournaments, especially in neighbouring South Africa, so as to prepare them for the bigger stage. Only then will the senior national chess team be able to perform well at the Chess Olympiad.

NAMSPORTS sponsored N$ 4,000 towards this season-opening event.

Full Results:

Open Category:

1.       Charles Eichab (11/11)

2.       James Dimba (9/11)

3.       Goodwill Khoa (8/11)

Under 20
1.      Leonard Nghifikwa (7/11)

U18

1.       Julian Isaak (7/11)

2.       Hange Tjingaete (7/11)

3.       Immanuel Gariseb (7/11)

U16

1.       Lishen Mentile (7/11)

2.       Dyllan Bedja (5/11)

3.       Kamu Kakunga (4/11)

U14
1.      Abhinav Lahiri (7/11)
2.       Etu Nangula (6/11)
3.       Nicola Tjaronda (6/11)

U12

1.       Hiren Naidoo (5/11)

2.       Mubasen Hochobeb (5/11)

3.       Ileni Kandume (4/11)

U10

1.       Dante Beukes (6/11)

2.       Krishanu Lahiri (5/11)

3.       Kevin Gurirab (5/11)

Picture:
Charles vs Lishen,
Julian Isaaks vs James Dimba