Chess team finish sixth
Namibia's mixed chess team on Sunday finished in sixth place out of 20 countries that competed in the mixed team events at the Africa Games underway in Casablanca.
The team of Nicola Tjaronda, Lishen Mentile, Charles Eichab and Dante Beukes lost their opening match on Saturday at the competition against hosts Morocco.
They, however, pulled themselves together after the defeat and went on to win two matches against Mali and Ethiopia.
Out of the five games they competed in on the opening day, they lost two more against Nigeria and neighbours Angola.
On day two (Sunday), the Namibian quartet played four matches against Cameroon, Mauritius, Malawi and Cape Verde, of which they won three matches. They only lost against Malawi and were within striking distance of the bronze medal, which was eventually won by Zimbabwe.
Team Namibia finished sixth on the log, level on 10 points with Botswana, but who were awarded fifth place, while Nigeria finished fourth on 11 points.
Egypt won the gold medal, after collecting 17 points from nine games, while Algeria took silver on 16 points and Zimbabwe occupied third spot with 12 points.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday, Team Namibia coach Otto Nakapunda said the team punched above their weight.
“We are very excited about the results, because finishing sixth, above the heavyweights in Africa like Morocco, Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya, is a big achievement for these players, as well as Namibian chess,” he said. Chess in Namibia, he added, has grown over the years, despite having minimum resources. He said one can only expect good things going forward, because the foundation that was laid 10 years ago is now yielding results.
“Our goal at the competition was to finish in the top 10, but being in the medal contention on our last day is a good step that we have to build on,” Nakapunda added.
NAMPA
The team of Nicola Tjaronda, Lishen Mentile, Charles Eichab and Dante Beukes lost their opening match on Saturday at the competition against hosts Morocco.
They, however, pulled themselves together after the defeat and went on to win two matches against Mali and Ethiopia.
Out of the five games they competed in on the opening day, they lost two more against Nigeria and neighbours Angola.
On day two (Sunday), the Namibian quartet played four matches against Cameroon, Mauritius, Malawi and Cape Verde, of which they won three matches. They only lost against Malawi and were within striking distance of the bronze medal, which was eventually won by Zimbabwe.
Team Namibia finished sixth on the log, level on 10 points with Botswana, but who were awarded fifth place, while Nigeria finished fourth on 11 points.
Egypt won the gold medal, after collecting 17 points from nine games, while Algeria took silver on 16 points and Zimbabwe occupied third spot with 12 points.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday, Team Namibia coach Otto Nakapunda said the team punched above their weight.
“We are very excited about the results, because finishing sixth, above the heavyweights in Africa like Morocco, Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya, is a big achievement for these players, as well as Namibian chess,” he said. Chess in Namibia, he added, has grown over the years, despite having minimum resources. He said one can only expect good things going forward, because the foundation that was laid 10 years ago is now yielding results.
“Our goal at the competition was to finish in the top 10, but being in the medal contention on our last day is a good step that we have to build on,” Nakapunda added.
NAMPA
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