Mazila, Abiater dominate board at Grootfontein Open

The Namibia Chess Federation’s (NCF) Bank Windhoek Grootfontein Open concluded last weekend, with Bernard Mazila and Rebekka Abiater dominating the open and women’s section, respectively.Held at Grootfontein’s Omulunga Community Hall, the championships saw a turnout of 41 participants compete across the open and women’s sections, as well as the junior and cadet sections.Gobabis Secondary School’s Mazila clinched gold in the open section ahead of Grootfontein Hospital nurse Godfrey Ziyamba, who secured silver as runner-up and Otjivanda Secondary School’s Obrien Mazila, who settled for the bronze medal.Reflecting on clinching the open section’s overall title, Mazila admitted that despite the trophy and title meaning a lot to him, he is most proud of seeing his hard work pay off.“Seeing how far I have come through consistent effort and focus is everything. I have been working to improve step by step, and this tournament felt like a reward for the time and discipline I have put in.There is still more to learn, but this experience gave me a strong sense of progress and reminded me why I love the game,” he said.Regarding his prior preparation, Mazila said he focused on studying previous chess games. “I paid close attention to patterns and decision-making. Overall, it all came down to composure and trusting the process.”In the women’s section, Etosha Secondary School’s Abiater clinched gold, followed by silver medallist Venasias Shimanya from Frederick Secondary School and bronze medallist Wellemina Shimanya from Omulunga Primary School.Speaking on her victory, Abiater said winning against older players was a huge confidence boost. “It showed me that I am ready to partake in this coming weekend’s Bank Windhoek Junior Closed Championship in Swakopmund. Praying, practising and self-determination helped me achieve victory,” she remarked.Junior, cadet winnersMeanwhile, the junior section was led by Abraham Shapange (Otjivanda SS) as the gold medallist, followed by silver medallist Lemuha Lemuha (Grootfontein SS) and David Indongo, who took bronze.The cadet section saw McDonald Shimanya of Francis Galton PS reign supreme to clinch gold, followed by Grace Mbetjiha (Wilhelm Nortier PS, silver) and Alistair Mvundundu (Nomtsoub PS, bronze).Tournament director and NCF Zone 5.2 chairperson Medusal Shimanya said the individual awards were given to Shilongo Brownie as the best local player, and to Francis Galton’s nine-year-olds McDonald Shimanya and Aiden Baptista as the youngest players in the competition.Shimanya noted: “I am happy to have witnessed young, talented and future champions all compete in the same competition across all categories, and despite the age and gender differences, they were able to emerge victorious.”He expressed excitement regarding the NCF Zone 5.2’s players Rebekka Abiater, alongside McDonald, Wellemina and Venasias Shimanya, qualifying to compete at the national level at the junior closed championship this weekend.“Venasias and Wellemina have also qualified alongside Ndapandula Nangolo to compete at a continental stage, as they’ll represent the country at the prestigious African Schools Individual Chess Championship in Kenya later this month,” he remarked.– mariud@nsh.com.na

Mazila, Abiater dominate board at Grootfontein Open

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-20

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Mazila, Abiater dominate board at Grootfontein Open

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-20

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