Mdina Chess south qualifiers tomorrow
Southern Region Chess League (SRCL) will hold Mdina Business Solutions Individual Chess Championship qualifiers tomorrow at the Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) in Blantyre.
According to SRCL spokesperson Kissinger Kabuluzi, the seven-round qualifiers will see eight players in the open category making it to the national finals while the same number of players will qualify in the ladies’ section.
“This is the time for chess players in our fold to prove they deserve places in the national finals. As a region with the strongest chess players in the country, we expect fireworks on the chessboards this weekend,” he said.
The two-day qualifiers, whose registration fee is K2 000 for advance payment and K3 000 on the day, will start at 8am.
Meanwhile, at least five players have been seeded for the national finals of this rated contest scheduled for August 24 at Illala Crest Lodge in Mzuzu.
Chess Association of Malawi (Chessam) spokesperson Makhosi Nyirenda said last year’s champion Zambia Godwin Phiri, has been exempted from the qualifiers alongside 2015 ladies’ category champion Margaret Ngugama and the top-three players that will emerge in the Muleso-Mphande Chess Championship in July.
The national champion in the open category is expected to receive K300 000 first prize and a trophy while second-placed and third-positioned players will get K140 000 and K60 000, respectively.
Top-three players in the ladies’ section will get K100 000, K60 000 and K40 000 in that order.
South Africa-based Mdina Business Solutions managing director Tiwone Mdina said his company might spice-up the annual competition with other items such as T-shirts on top of the K1 million sponsorship. n
