Mphungu gets Fide Master title
Gerald Mphungu has made history as Malawi’s first Fide Master (FM) after perfecting his class during the on-going World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway where he scored six points out of nine games.
The 23-year-old Presidential Championship titleholder won five games, shed two draws and lost two matches at the prestigious international event. He now remains with two steps to earn the most desirable title of a grandmaster.
Mphungu’s success means he is now the country’s best male chess player on top of Malawi’s eight highest rated players and Candidate Masters (CM) Nyambalo, Chipanga,Chimthere, Petros Mfune, Richard Mbedza, Dr Francis Banda, Paul Kuphwatheya and former ladies national champion Linda Jambo.
Chess Association on Malawi (Chessam) president Kezzie Msukwa, who travelled with the team to Norway, wrote on his Facebook wall that he will give the lad K100 000 ($268) for making the country proud.
Wrote Msukwa: “Dear Colleagues and all chess loving Malawians! It does not get sweeter than this. I am a proud president of the Malawi Chess Federation today that we have the first ever Fide Master in Malawi.
This is the second time for the chess gladiator, who pursues bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Polytechnic, to do well at a high profile international competition after he finished on position 13 out of 164 contestants during this year’s World Amateur Chess Championships in Singapore in May.
Meanwhile, according to Chessam publicist Gilton Mkumbwa, who is an arbiter at the international games, Malawi’s men’s team moved 22 steps up the rankings ladder from 134 to 112 after round eight of the 11-round contest in Norway.
