Ottile rises in chess world
A young Namibian chess prodigy has shown a clean pair of heels to Africa's best.
Namibian chess player, eight-year-old Ottilie Yorokee Hinda, has returned with a gold medal from the 10th African Youth Chess Championship held, in Kisumu, Kenya.
The competition was held from 12 to 19 August, with a total of 142 players from 13 countries competing.
East Africa was represented by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Other participating countries included Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Cameroon and Somalia. North Africa was represented by Egypt and Algeria.
There were 12 categories during the one-week tournament.
These included the under-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 categories for both boys and girls. The format was a nine-round Swiss event with time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds. Namibia fielded 17 players, but Hinda stood out from the rest, as she won eight games out of nine.
The competition was very tough for the juniors, because the powerhouses of African chess, Algeria and South Africa, dominated the event.
Hinda was the top seed in her age group for the tournament. Her performance rating was 1 800, which was very good given her age.
By winning first place, she gets to participate in the World Cadet Chess Championship that will be held in Weifang, China in 2019.
Hinda is a women candidates' master (WCM), a title she obtained in Zambia, Lusaka in 2016. She is currently the youngest WCM in Africa.
This is the first time that Namibia scooped a medal at the championship. Hinda is also poised to participate in this year's World Cadet Chess Championship in Santiago, Spain from 3 to16 November, where she will meet the best in the world from Russia, India, China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, which are just a few of the countries that produce the world's chess prodigies.
The majority of the Namibian players were new to the African youth chess event, hence they did not reap the desired results.
Nevertheless, they gained a lot of experience in the process.
Namibia had one of the highest number of entrants at the event, which testifies of the progress chess has made in the country.
African Chess Federation president Lewis Ncube announced at the closing ceremony that the federation will pay all the costs of the winners to participate in China next year.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
The competition was held from 12 to 19 August, with a total of 142 players from 13 countries competing.
East Africa was represented by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Other participating countries included Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Cameroon and Somalia. North Africa was represented by Egypt and Algeria.
There were 12 categories during the one-week tournament.
These included the under-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 categories for both boys and girls. The format was a nine-round Swiss event with time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds. Namibia fielded 17 players, but Hinda stood out from the rest, as she won eight games out of nine.
The competition was very tough for the juniors, because the powerhouses of African chess, Algeria and South Africa, dominated the event.
Hinda was the top seed in her age group for the tournament. Her performance rating was 1 800, which was very good given her age.
By winning first place, she gets to participate in the World Cadet Chess Championship that will be held in Weifang, China in 2019.
Hinda is a women candidates' master (WCM), a title she obtained in Zambia, Lusaka in 2016. She is currently the youngest WCM in Africa.
This is the first time that Namibia scooped a medal at the championship. Hinda is also poised to participate in this year's World Cadet Chess Championship in Santiago, Spain from 3 to16 November, where she will meet the best in the world from Russia, India, China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, which are just a few of the countries that produce the world's chess prodigies.
The majority of the Namibian players were new to the African youth chess event, hence they did not reap the desired results.
Nevertheless, they gained a lot of experience in the process.
Namibia had one of the highest number of entrants at the event, which testifies of the progress chess has made in the country.
African Chess Federation president Lewis Ncube announced at the closing ceremony that the federation will pay all the costs of the winners to participate in China next year.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
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