Eichab clears out his opponents at Kehat Beukes

The winners - (Left to Right) Dante Beukes, Immanuel Gariseb, Colin Nyandoro, Charles Eichab, Larissa Beukes, Zandell Nakapunda and Michael Haidongo (sited).

The year ended on an excellent note for Namibia's most accomplished and most decorated chess player. CM Charles Eichab took home another gold medal at the recently held Kehat Beukes Memorial Chess Tournament held at Protea Hotel Thuringerhof in Windhoek. The candidate master was ruthless in squeezing 9 (nine) straight wins from all his hopeful opponents. With this victory, Eichab claimed his 4th gold medal this year alone and marked his 50th tournament victory since he started playing chess before Y2K.

As has become tradition during the Beukes Memorial, another underdog emerged victorious over a barrage of chess masters. Colin Nyandoro claimed his first ever silver medal at the tournament when he followed Eichab with an amazing 7.5 out of 9 after beating CM Nakapunda and CM Handjaba who were all tournament favorites. Zandell Nakapunda finished in 3rd spot with a 6.5 total score, closely followed by Gariseb Immanuel and McLean Handjaba with 6 points each. In fifth spot was Edmund Gariseb who put up well fought fights throughout the tournament.

Junior champion Immanuel Gariseb proved why he remains top of his peers as he scoped the best junior gold medal after scoring with Dante Beukes claiming the best Cadet prize with 4.5 points.

Lucky prizes were also included at the tournament this year to give chance to those not in the top prizes a chance at winning N$200 each. Fortune favored Billy Chisenga and Michael Haidongo in this new initiative.

The tournament is held each year in honor of the late Dr. Kehat Beukes who served as Namibia Chess Federation president from 1994 till his untimely death in 1999.

All  appreciation and gratitude goes out to the Beukes family and the main sponsor Bank Windhoek for making this tournament a reality.

No female players participated in this year's Beukes Memorial.

Champion Charles Eichab and Larissa Beukes in the middle.

Final Standings

Place Name                Feder Rtg Loc  Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Eichab, Charles               2100 9        38.5  50.5   45.0
  2   Nyandoro, Collin                   7.5      37.5  51.0   37.5
  3   Nakapunda, Otto               2060 6.5      39.0  52.5   32.5
 4-5  Gariseb, Immanuel             2000 6        37.0  49.5   33.0
      Handjaba, Mclean              2040 6        37.0  46.5   29.0
 6-9  Gariseb, Edmund               2000 5        39.0  51.5   30.0
      Tyane, Billy                  2040 5        34.5  45.0   27.0
      Ehrich, Thomas                     5        34.5  45.0   27.0
      Campbell, Clarence                 5        32.0  42.5   25.0
10-13 Gawiseb, George                    4.5      34.5  45.0   22.0
      Jaftha, B-Jah                      4.5      29.5  36.0   20.5
      Beukes, Dante                      4.5      29.0  37.0   22.0
      Goosaard, Willem                   4.5      27.0  35.0   18.5
14-17 Tjiriange, Richman                 4        34.0  41.5   23.0
      Ndungula, Borro                    4        28.0  34.5   17.0
      Tjirare, Gatsen                    4        27.0  32.5   18.0
      Eixab, Calvin                      4        23.0  29.5   20.0
 18   Schwarz, Bernhard                  3        22.0  27.5   12.0
19-20 Shatipamba, Lazarus                2        29.0  35.5   12.0
      Hoabeb, Joseph                     2        26.5  32.0   10.0
 21   Haindongo, Michael                 1        29.0  36.5    5.0

Final Cross Table
No Name                Feder Rtg  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9  

1  Eichab, Charles               10:W  6:W  7:W  2:W  3:W  4:W  5:W  9:W  8:W
2  Nyandoro, Collin              12:W 13:W  5:W  1:L  8:W  3:W  6:D  4:W 10:W
3  Nakapunda, Otto               13:W  8:W  4:D  5:W  1:L  2:L  7:W  6:W 12:W
4  Gariseb, Immanuel             11:W 17:W  3:D  7:W  6:D  1:L 10:W  2:L 14:W
5  Handjaba, Mclean              21:W  9:W  2:L  3:L 11:W 14:W  1:L  7:W  6:W
6  Gariseb, Edmund               15:W  1:L 10:W 18:W  4:D  8:W  2:D  3:L  5:L
7  Tyane, Billy                  20:W 14:W  1:L  4:L 18:W  9:W  3:L  5:L 17:W
8  Ehrich, Thomas                19:W  3:L 16:W  9:W  2:L  6:L 15:W 14:W  1:L
9  Campbell, Clarence            18:W  5:L 14:W  8:L 12:W  7:L 11:W  1:L 20:W
10 Gawiseb, George                1:L 15:W  6:L 11:D 16:W 12:W  4:L 19:W  2:L
11 Jaftha, B-Jah                  4:L 12:D 20:W 10:D  5:L 18:W  9:L 21:W 13:D
12 Beukes, Dante                  2:L 11:D 19:W 15:W  9:L 10:L 21:W 16:W  3:L
13 Goosaard, Willem               3:L  2:L 21:W 16:L 19:W 17:W 14:L 15:W 11:D
14 Tjiriange, Richman             0:W  7:L  9:L 19:W 17:W  5:L 13:W  8:L  4:L
15 Ndungula, Borro                6:L 10:L  0:W 12:L 20:W 16:W  8:L 13:L 19:W
16 Tjirare, Gatsen               17:L  0:W  8:L 13:W 10:L 15:L 20:W 12:L 21:W
17 Eixab, Calvin                 16:W  4:L 18:L 21:W 14:L 13:L 19:W 20:W  7:L
18 Schwarz, Bernhard              9:L 21:W 17:W  6:L  7:L 11:L  0:W  0:   0: 
19 Shatipamba, Lazarus            8:L 20:W 12:L 14:L 13:L  0:W 17:L 10:L 15:L
20 Hoabeb, Joseph                 7:L 19:L 11:L  0:W 15:L 21:W 16:L 17:L  9:L
21 Haindongo, Michael             5:L 18:L 13:L 17:L  0:W 20:L 12:L 11:L 16:L

KEHAT BEUKES MEMORIAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 2014

N$300 000 up for grabs at Continental Chess Championship

Egypt’s GM Adly Ahmed is the tournaments highest rated player

Namibia is proud to host the 2014 Africa Individual Chess Championship (AICC) this coming weekend in Windhoek at the Safari Court and Hotel. The event has registered close to 15 African nations that will be arriving this weekend. The competition is poised to be the continent’s most exhilarating and competitive chess event this year.

Under the auspices of the African Chess Confederation (ACC), the Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) will be showcasing Africa’s crème de la crème of chess tournaments for individuals from the 12^th to the 23^rd December. The federation agreed late this year to host the championship at short notice, even so the President, Otto Nakapunda was very tenacious in maintaining that the NCF will make it a success. Nakapunda motivated that the federation is very confident and in a buoyant mood to welcome some of Africa’s best chess players to Windhoek this Friday. He explained that this comes just after a fruitful hosting the Zone 4.3 Chess Championship held in the capital in June this year and will thus not be a new experience for him and the organizing team.

Players at this year’s championship will be coming to blows for a whopping US$27 500 (N$315 975.00) total cash prize for the top 8 in the open section and top 7 in the female section. Apart from the cash prizes the chess masterminds will also be sweating unimaginable for the invaluable Grand Master (GM) and Women Grand Master (WGM) titles that will be awarded by the world chess body – FIDE, to the overall winner of each category.

Countries that have confirmed their participation include Sao Tome & Principe, Ghana, Libya, Namibia, Botswana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Algeria, Seychelles, and Malawi. Amongst these Egypt, Nigeria, Zambia and South African have the largest contingents and are all favorites to claim the big prizes.

Top seed players from the female section comprise of Algeria’s WIM Mezioud Amina, Egypt’s WGM Wafa Shrook and South Africa’s WIM Frick Denise. In the tightly packed open segment, Egypt’s GM Adly Ahmed, and GM El Gindy Essam and Algeria’s GM Haddouche Mohamed all lead the pack as likely winners.

The NCF employed some of country’s best players to take-part in this event with some notable absentees however. The Namibian team includes; Candidate Master (CM) McLean Handjaba, the 2013 national champion Goodwill Khoa, junior champion Immanuel Gariseb, national female champion Nicola Tjaronda, Mentile Lishen, Tjatindi Kamutuua and CM Jolly Nepando.  Absentees from the Namibian lineup includes mainly veteran players in likes of Swiss based 2014 National Champion, Leonard Mueller, Sanders Oberholzer, Simon Shidolo, four times national champion CM Charles Eichab and Max Nitzborn. One of the players, Immanuel Gariseb is currently taking part in the African Junior Championship being held in Angola and is said to return in-form to compete by the start of Round 1 on Saturday.

National chess coach, Charles Eichab clarified however that the youthful male and female players nominated to compete have been training hard and should attain good results and very good FIDE ratings from this tournament.

CHECKMATE OPEN

                                                                CHECKMATE OPEN
                                                                Tournament Regulations


1. VENUE: Protea Hotel Thuringerhof, Independence Avenue, Windhoek.

2. EVENT DATE: 26 (Sunday) October 2014

3.1 REGISTRATION PERIOD: 24-26 October 2014

3.2 REGISTRATION METHODS: sms 081-4006467

3.3 PARTICIPANT’S PARTICULARS: Name, Gender (& Year of birth if born AFTER 1994, ie 1995- present.)
3.4 REGISTRATION FEES: Scholars - N$ 20, Adults - N$ 40.

4. WHO MAY PARTICIPATE: This is an Open Tournament, everybody is welcome.

5. EVENT SCHEDULE:

Setting up and Registration starts: 08h00 assailant

Welcome and Opening - 08h30

Announcements: Tournament Director— Charles Eichab


Round 1 :  09h00-10h00
Round 2 :  10h00-11h00
Round 3 :  11h00-12h00
Round 4 :  12h00-13h00

Break: 13h00-13h45 All participants receive a complimentary cooldrink

Round 5 :  14h00-15h00
Round 6 :  15h00-16h00
Round 7 :  16h00-17h00

Prize Giving: 17h40


6. FORMAT & RATE OF PLAY:
The tournament will be played over 7 (SEVEN) Swiss-paired rounds.

Rate of play will be 25 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move per player per game.

7. PAIRING AND TIE BREAK SYSTEM:

Swiss Manager will be used for the pairings. Please note that the breaks between rounds will be used to do the pairings according to the SWISS SYSTEM.

TIE-BREAK: Direct encounter, Progressive Score and Most Wins.
If players are still tied, then 1 game of Armageddon will be played.

8. PRIZES:
OPEN CATEGORY:

1st Prize =   2000 + Gold Trophy
2nd Prize =   1500 + Silver Trophy
3rd Prize =   1000 + Bronze Trophy
4th =   200
5th =   200
6th =   200
7th =   200
8th =   200

JUNIOR PRIZE:

Best Junior (under 20) = 1st       300 + gold medal
   2nd     200 + silver medal
  3rd      100 + bronze medal

Best Cadet (under 12) = 1st    200 + gold medal
  2nd      150 + silver medal
  3rd      100  + bronze medal


GRAND TOTAL 7,000 sponsored by Borro Ndungula and Brian Jaftha

FINAL LEG OF THE CHESS GRAND PRIX

1.    VENUE: Maerua Mall, at the open area outside FNB and Bank Windhoek Branches. On the 1^st floor near Panarotis.

2. EVENT DATE: 18 October 2014

3.1 REGISTRATION PERIOD: 15-18 (09h00) October 2014

3.2 REGISTRATION METHODS: sms 081-2061439 or register at the venue before 09h00

3.3 PARTICIPANT’S PARTICULARS: Name, Gender (& Year of birth if born AFTER 1994, ie 1995- present.)

3.4 REGISTRATION FEES: Scholars - N$ 20, Adults - N$ 40.

4. WHO MAY PARTICIPATE: This is an Open Tournament, everybody is welcome.

5. EVENT SCHEDULE:

Setting up and Registration starts: 08h00

Welcome and Opening @ 09h40 by Tournament Director Richman Tjiriange 

Announcements from Chief Arbiter Immanuel Gariseb

Round 1 :  10h00-10h50

Round 2 :  11h00-11h50

Round 3 :  12h00-12h50

Break:            13h00-13h50

Round 4 :  14h00-14h50

Round 5 :  15h00-15h50

Round 6 :  16h00-16h50

Round 7 :  17h00-17h50

Prize Giving: 18h30

Vote of Thanks/Closing Remarks

5. FORMAT & RATE OF PLAY:

The tournament will be played over 7 (SEVEN) Swiss-paired rounds. Rate of play will be 25 minutes per player per game.

6. GRAND PRI POINT SYSTEM:

The Grand Prix Series consists of 5 (FIVE) legs. The overal winner of the Grand Prix shall be the player who amasses the most points in 4 (FOUR) of the 5 legs. For each Grand Pri leg, points will be allocated as follows to the top 8 (EIGHT) players;

1^st Place                     = 12 points

2^nd Place                    = 8 points

3^rd Place                    = 6 points

4^th Place                    = 5 points

5^th Place                    = 4 points

6^th Place                    = 3 points

7^th Place                    = 2 points

8^th Place                    = 1 point

6. PAIRING AND TIE BREAK SYSTEM:

Swiss Manager will be used for the pairings. Please note that the breaks between rounds will be used to do the pairings according to the SWISS SYSTEM.

TIE-BREAK: Direct encounter, Progressive Score and Most Wins.

If players are still tied, then 1 game of Armageddon will be played.

7. PRIZES:

Open Category

1^st Prize                      = Trophy, Gold Medal & 800

2^nd Prize                     = Silver Medal & 600

3^rd Prize                     = Bronze Medal & 400

N$200 Total for Lucky Prizes to be WON!

GRAND TOTAL 2,000 sponsored per Leg

General Rules:

1. Silence at all times.

2. Cellular phones should be switched off or put on “silent” mode if switched on. No talking while playing allowed.

3. No assistance to chess players will be allowed during their games. A player who offers assistance will be expelled from the tournament.

4. If a player touches a piece, (s)he should move that piece, provided a legal move can be made with that piece. (Touch is a move.)

5. A player may claim a win if his/her opponent makes an illegal move. This claim should be made immediately and not a move later.

6. Each player must press the clock with the same hand that moves the pieces. However, when castling, capturing or completing a promotion, a player may use both hands.

7. Any player who makes themselves guilty of rude behaviour will be disqualified with immediate effect.

The blitz rules of FIDE will apply during this event.

The Appeals Committee to be announced in due course.

Complaints should be directed to the individual members of the Appeals Committee. Should a player be unhappy with the initial decision made by such a member, (s)he may appeal. The remaining members would then weigh in and their decision is final.

...............................................................................

Tournament Director

Richman Tjiriange

 081-2061439

secretary@namibiachessfederation.com

Web: http://namchess.blogspot.com

2014 Namsports Premier Chess League reaches its final rounds

With only 5 rounds more to go, the Bayern Munich of Namibian chess seem to be going another year with an unbeaten run. Capablanca Chess Club stands firm on top of the log with 40 points from 21 games, followed by Gunter Husselman Chess Club (GHCC) trailing behind with 37 points.

Capablanca defeated the only possible title contenders - Gunter Husselman and Indomitable Knights chess club (IKCC) - in the last two rounds to secure a possible 2nd league title after already winning it last year.

At the top half of the standings, the upcoming final fixtures are more decisive in the battle for the 3rd and 4th spot, between The Weekend Chess Academy (TWCA) and IKCC.

While the bottom half sees the most excitement as most teams compete for a top half finish while others struggle to escape downgrading to 1^st division.

All-women's team Queens United, with its fiery duo of newly awarded candidate masters - Jolly Nepando and Toshi Haufiku and an added bonus of two Namibian women champions in the likes of Nicola Tjaronda and Kamutuua Tjatindi may see itself fall into relegation if it continues with its current losing streak, having lost the last 3 rounds.

The Queens may as well be on their way to rescue current relegation line-holders Checkmate chess club who have been relentlessly fighting tooth and nail to escape demotion to the 2015 1st division.

Round 21 last week ended with the following results: Grand Monsters 3-1 Herero Mall; Checkmate 1-3 Poly U-Knighted ; Capablanca 4-0 Indomitable Knights ; Unam Titans 0-4 Gunter Husselman; Poly Rookers 4-0 BYE; ZCA 1-3 Unam  ; TWCA 4-0 Queens United.

THIS IS WHAT THE 2014 NAMSPORTS PREMIER CHESS LEAGUE STANDINGS LOOK LIKE AFTER ROUND 21.

POS. TEAM                      Played/    Wins      / Draws/      Loses/       Game-Points/     Match-Points

1. Capablanca CC               21            19                 2               0                       74½                        40

2. Gunter Husselman CC     21            17                3               1                       71                           37

3. Indomitable Knights CC  21          16                 2               3                       63½                        34

4. TWCA                            21           16                 1               4                       62                           33

5. Poly U-Knighted CC       20           9                    6               5                       43½                        24

6. Unam CC                        21          9                    3               9                       43½                        21

7. Grand Monsters CC        21           9                    3               9                       42                           21

8. ZCA                                21           8                   3               10                    40½                        19

9. Herero Mall CC               20           7                    3               10                    33                           17

10. Queens United CC         20           6                    3               11                    28                           15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Relegation

11. Checkmate CC              21           4                    3               14                    27                           11

12. Poly Rookers CC           20           4                     2              14                    23                           10

13. Unam Titans CC             19           3                     0              16                    15½                        6

14. Police CC                       8              0                     0               8                      0                              0

The league continues tonight (MONDAY O6 October 2014) with the Round 22:  **

Fixtures for Round 22

Queens United                      vs                    Herero Mall

TWCA                                 vs                    UNAM

ZCA                                    vs                    Police

Poly Rookers                       vs                    Gunter Husselman

UNAM Titans                      vs                    Indomitable Knights

 Capablanca                         vs                    Poly U-Knighted

Checkmate                           vs                    Grandmosters

**All games are played in Windhoek at Protea Hotel Thuringerhof every Monday from 18h30 to 22h00.

Uapingene faces chess prodigies at World Junior tournament

A total of 48 countries will be competing in Pune, India as from the 5^th to 20^th October for the prestigious World Junior Chess Championship title.

Uativi Jossy Uapingene (20) is one of the only four African players that are competing in the open section of this tournament alongside Mohamed Saim from Algeria, Mohammed Nader from Egypt and South Africa’s Reddy Ananta.

The tournament is open to Under 20 players from all over the world and includes a number of junior chess powerhouses in the likes of China’s youngest Grand Master (GM), 14 year old Wei Yi, Russia’s GM Vladimir Fedoseev who tops the starting ranks with the highest world FIDE rating at the tournament and the Netherlands’ highest ranked junior player GM Robin van Kampen.

Eighteen players in this tournament have GM titles and more than a handful are chess prodigies who started playing the mental sport as early as age 4. China’s Wei Yi for instance reached his GM level last year at the jaw-dropping age of 13.

Uapingene is not worried about his highly ranked adversaries however. He has been training hard these past months and says he is confident and ready to compete with any player from any country. The 2014 UNAM chess victor and third place runner-up at this year’s National Junior closed championship traveled to India for studies in August and has been preparing for the competition ever since.

Current Namibian Junior champion, Immanuel Gariseb and 2^nd runner-up William Kamberipa could not travel to India for the tournament due to grade 12 exams and so Uapingene as 3^rd place qualifier is carrying the country’s flag in Pune instead.

Development Officer Charles Eichab of the chess federation says that, ‘…this is yet another milestone for Namibian chess as this is the first time we sent a player to the World Juniors. Namibia has been represented at three international events and one regional event this year alone not including two other international tournaments scheduled before the year ends.’

Eichab explained that this is all done as a part of the Namibia Chess Federation’s (NCF) long-term developmental strategy plans that will see Namibian players grow in strength from continued international exposure.

The tournament is 13 rounds long with round 1 starting on 6^th October and round 13 ending on 19^th October.

Check the pairing and results on the link below..

http://www.chess-results.com/tnr147550.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=1&flag=30&wi=821

Eight new FIDE Arbiters for Namibia

Several goals were set earlier this year in April at the National Sports Conference focused around the theme of ‘creating a winning sporting nation’ and the Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) as one of the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) affiliated sport codes present at that indaba embarked on a challenge to be one of the very first sporting codes to achieve these set national sporting goals.

One of the major goals that the NCF seeks to carry out is that of capacity building and nationalizing of the chess as a dominant sport code in the country.

The NCF has for some time struggled to host FIDE (World Chess Federation) rated tournaments on its own, so much so that the employment of arbiters from neighboring countries had to be undertaken in order for the country to host any international or regional chess tournaments.

As of September this year, this privation of chess arbiters has fortunately become a thing of the past.

Eight newly qualified FIDE arbiters join the ranks of the three Namibian existing FIDE arbiters after attending and passing a FIDE arbiter’s course held in the capital between 12 to 14 September. This course was held by the NCF under the auspices of FIDE through the facilitation of internationally acclaimed FIDE lecturer and FIDE Arbiters' Commission Councilor IA Werner Stubenvoll from Austria.

Apart from the eight FIDE arbiters, six participants of the same FIDE course also qualified as National arbiters bringing the number of qualified chess arbiters to an outstanding 18 – which is more than enough to host several national and international tournaments countrywide.

El-Shaddai Aluteni and Melitta Kgobetsi-Mathe made history by qualifying as Namibia’s very first female FIDE arbiters.

The other newly qualified FIDE arbiters include Charles Eichab, Billy Chisenga, McLean Handjaba, Otto Nakapunda Immanuel Gariseb and Peter Gallert. Whilst the six National arbiters are Regnald Hangula, Johannes Nyandi, Titus Uukelo, Kandoza Shituna, Tuahepa Casper and Brian Jaftha.

The boost in manpower comes just at a time when the NCF is endeavoring in hosting training seminars in all regions and at the same time spearheading a chess-in-schools initiative which will see chess being made part of the Namibian school primary and secondary curricula.

Junior players represent Namibia at World Youth Chess Championships (WYCC) in Durban

Namibia’s team comprises of 17 junior players all slated in the 6 separate age groups which are further divided into boys and girls sections . The junior team is as follows;

U8 ; Mika Oberholzer, Galeshewe Jane, Lure Horn,
U10; Ditshaba Jane, Joshua Oberholzer, Kisha van Wyk,
U12; Dante Beukes, Kevin Gurirab, Aldo Horn,
U14; Hiren Naidoo, Anthony Van Der Meer, Elvira Tibinyane
U16; Tibor Trepper, David Wilbard, Lida-Marie Calitz
U18; Montgomery Gurirab, Mamiki Hangero,

These top chess junior players all come from different towns of Namibia and qualified to represent the country during a closed tournament in held in Windhoek in July.

The juniors together with FIDE trainer Goodwill Khoa, Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) Vice-President Melitta Kgobetsi-Mathe and a number of parents left for Durban last week Wednesday (17^th September).

Amidst a well-attended tournament of over 950 players from 88 different countries from all 6 continents the junior team has a mammoth of a task to bring home any silverware. However as accompanying Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) Vice-President Melitta Kgobetsi-Mathe stated via telephone, “…the children are gaining immense exposure and experience from this tournament alone so any medal will be a mere bonus.”

A mother of one of the junior chess players herself, Melitta pointed out that this is the only way Namibian future chess players can grow into players of the same caliber as their Indian and Russian opponents. She explained that, “Namibia has for long remained below average in the sporting arena and it is about time that our kids grow into a culture of competing at an international standard where they will be able to play and win against countries with rich sporting traditions.”

After the first five thrilling rounds team Namibia has amassed a total of 9 wins and 3 draws with six more rounds to go. The tournament is swiss-paired and is has 11 rounds in total.

The team returns from Durban on the 30^th of September.

*The results of all the games are available online at http://www.chess-results.com/tnr144252.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984 all the games are shown live on http://www.2014wycc.co.za

NCF ID numbers:

As promised here is a list of registered NCF members and their allocated NCF I.D numbers. The NCF ID number will be used to identify members at NCF tournaments and events.

To receive an NCF ID number simply register and become paid-up NCF member. All NCF members receive a complimentary membership card with a unique ID number for life.

If you're an NCF member and your name doesn't appear on the list below it means that you have not fully registered as a member and need to complete a membership form and make the appropriate registration fee.

NCF I.D No: Name: Surname:

P0001 Emmanuel Sihlahla
P0002 Borro Ndungula
P0003 Charles Eichab
P0004 Otto Zandell Nakapunda
P0005 Melitta Mathe-Kgobetsi
P0006 Fremantle Kuhanga
P0007 Brian Jaftha
P0008 Edmund Gariseb
P0009 Max Nitzborn
P0010 Beverly Tjatindi
P0011 McLean Macsko Handjaba
P0012 Thomas Ehrich
P0013 Rauha Shipindo
P0014 Dyllan Bedja
P0015 Nicola Tjaronda
P0016 Richman Tjiriange
P0017 Lishen Mentile
P0018 Bruce Tawanda Nyazika
P0019 Moffat Nghishekwa Shitilifa
P0020 Richard Nyatoti
P0021 Joseph Nitzborn
P0022 Leonard Nghifikwa
P0023 Tonata Uuwanga
P0024 Joao Baptista
P0025 Immanuel Gariseb
P0026 Silvanus Beukes
P0027 Florian Beukes
P0028 Jolly-Joice Nepando
P0029 Mubasen /Hochobeb
P0030 Mutago /Hochobeb
P0031 Matjua Kajovi
P0032 Tibor Trepper
P0033 Simon Shidolo
P0034 Johannes Nyandi
P0035 William Kamberipa
P0036 Colin Nyandoro
P0037 Bernard Swarts
P0038 Claudio Adolfo
P0039 Jossy Uapingene
P0040 Dante Beukes
P0041 Lutopu Lubinda
P0042 Montgomery Gurirab
P0043 Stefanus Kandorozu
P0044 Kamutuua Tjatindi
P0045 Joerg Botha Walter
P0046 Milton Bryan Augumeb
P0047 Goodwill T. Khoa
P0048 Sanders Oberholzer

2014 Junior Chess Champions crowned at Windhoek Show Grounds

Following a splendid hosting of the National Junior Championship in Swakopmund for the second year running, junior chess players aged 5 to 20 once again made it to the capital for the final segment of the junior tournament where they showcased an array of classical chess skills at the Windhoek Show Grounds.

Only the top 10 from different age groups made it through to the closed tourney in which only Namibian players could part-take, unlike the open tournament which allowed all juniors including foreign nationals to partake.

In a quest to crown a new national junior champion for each age group, the Namibia Chess Federation made camp at the Windhoek Show Grounds for a three day mind bobbling chess championship witnessed by parents, coaches and spectators from around the country.

Children as young as 5 showed up to play 7 rounds, in a tournament that saw the tournament favorites showcasing just why they continue to be crème de la crème of their age groups.

Grade 12 learner, Immanuel Gariseb, who is nothing short of a familiar face at Namibian chess tournaments walked away as overall winner of the tournament. This triumph marks Gariseb’s third gold medal this year after scooping first place at the 2^nd Leg of the Chess Grand Prix in April in Windhoek and the Open-National Junior Championship in Swakopmund earlier this month.

William Kamberipa came in 2^nd with a score of 5.5/7, grapping his second silver medal in a raw after finishing 2^nd in Swakopmund. Also repeating his Swakopmund performance was third place runner up and UNAM Chess Club player Jossy Uapingene.

Isaskar Hamaseb from Okahandja tantalized his opponents as he scooped gold with a perfect score of 7/7 leaving 2^nd place for Hochland High School matric student, Montgomery Gurirab, a who finished with 5.5/7 followed by Leonhard Tjirare from Paresis Secondary School with a 5/7.

The under 16 received more excitement as Sixteen year old Nicola Tjaronda, who is Namibia's current Women's champion defeated her male counterparts with no sweat as usual as she matched on to claim her gold trophy. She was followed by Tibor Trepper in 2^nd and Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool (WAP) learner Lida-Marie Calitz in 3^rd.

Anthony van der Meer proved to be the most improved player as he charged on from round one sacrificing his strong pieces for his opponents’ minor pieces which either resulted in quick checkmates or long tactical endgame defeats for his nemesis. After coming in first place, Anthony proclaimed that he allowed his opponents to think he was weak during his below average performance in Swakopmund, which he says helped him surprise his opponents in Windhoek. In 2^nd place was Mubasen /Hochobeb followed by Hiren Naidoo in 3^rd.

The U12 section saw the making of a young chess protégé, Dante Beukes who threshed his entire opponent and finished off in a “Harry the Terminator” style with an undefeated and undisputed score of 7/7. Kevin Gurirab claimed 2^nd price and Aldo Horn taking 3^rd spot.

In the under 10 section, Joshua Oberholzer also repeated his Swakopmund fit as he came in 1^st place. Behind him in 2^nd and 3^rd were Keisha-Catriona van Wyk and Jane Ditshaba respectively.

The youngest champion of the tournament was 8 years old Galeshewe Jane, who was followed his playground rivals Mika Oberholzer in 2^nd and Lure Horn in 3^rd.

The first place winners, male and female in each age group at this tournament will be representing Namibia in Durban, South Africa at the World Youth Chess Championship (WYCC) between the 19th and 30th September 2014 with all expenses covered. Whilst second and third place runner-ups of each age group also represent Namibia in Durban but at their own expense. The NCF will only assist them with free transportation to and from Durban.

The overall winner from the under 20 section Immanuel Gariseb will be representing Namibia at this year’s World Junior Chess Championship in Pune, India, from 5th October to 20th October 2014.