Sports
Victoria Falls’ seven year-old chess champion conquers Zimbabwe
BY NOTHANDO DUBE
Seven year-old Andile Cornelius Mpofu from Victoria Falls chess player is on top of the world after he came second at the just ended Olympiad Chess Tournament held in Harare.
The tournament held on July 30 saw Mpofu being crowned the second best player in Zimbabwe in the under eight category, which saw 354 players participating.
Mpofu is a Grade 2 pupil at Jacaranda Montessori Primary in Victoria Falls and is part of the Ally Chess Academy, a brain child of 18 year-old coach Alpha Mathe (18).
He began his chess journey at the age of four when his coach, Mathe, started him with theory for two years before he had a feel of the board.
The Olympiad Chest Tournament was his third tournament.
Mpofu first competed in a national tournament in November 2021 when he was part of the players at the Zimbabwe Chess Confederation championships in Matabeleland North Province where he was the youngest player and he came top.
Andile Cornelius Mpofu (in green) in action
His second tournament was the most recent Umdala Wethu Inaugural 6th edition tournament ,which was held at Hwange’s Thomas Coulter Primary on July 25 where he also came first and walked away with prize money of US$ 30 in the under nine category.
The victory motivated his coach to register him for the Harare Olympiad Chest Tournament T to give him exposure, which meant five days of preparation after the Hwange event.
The Harare Olympiad Chess Academy tournament was held at Gateway High School
“After registering at Ally Chess Academy we were told to wait for round one which started at 10AM,” Mathe narrated their journey to victory.
“I was nervous because every school that was in attendance was from Harare and just the two of us were from Matabeleland North and what made it more complicated was that those schools brought eight to 10 children per age group.
“Round one pairing was brought forth and Andile sat on the white side against Chikondo Kieth from Hartmann Primary School.
“He started his first move with the simple e4 opening and l could see fear in his eyes because these were new faces to him and eventually he lost his knight in the middle of the game as he was losing focus.
“However, owing to a lot of theory that l had taught him coupled with tactical patterns he brought in a discovered attack eyeing down the opponent’s Queen and after capturing the queen he gained momentum and got his first win.”
“The second round was announced shortly after and Andile was put against Mapetura Omar of Runyararo Primary School in Harare and the game became more intense where he lost his queen for two castles, but it brought in another win.”
Round three was against a player from Jaireh Junior School where the game ended in a stalemate as both players agreed on a draw because of of time limitations.
They only played four rounds.
Mpofu’s last round was against a rival from Haig Park Primary School and the opening was the London System, Mathe’s favourite and he quickly won that game making it 3½ points.
Following the win, Mpofu was crowded by the Olympiad team which announced him as second best chess player in Zimbabwe in under eight.
His coach Mathe is a teenage chess coach from Mkhosana.
He started teaching children chess when he was 15.
He is currently coaching 12 children.
Of the 12, eight are girls.
Mathe said in order to nature the talent, his academy needs financial support.
“As a chess family, we haven’t got sponsors yet but we are in need of them to support us in this journey, “he told VicFallsLive.
“As for Andile after the third tournament, he motivates me to say that in the near future I see him as the face of Victoria Falls, Matabeleland North and representing Zimbabwe in international tournaments and this has motivated others too in our academy.
“My vision is to open a school of chess, which will teach and promote the sport and provide employment to youths.”
About Chess
Chess is a game that promotes logical and creative thinking.
It involves forming patterns and predicting and foreseeing similar patterns.
It is a good educational tool for schools as it helps develop creativity and it is a confidence builder.
BY SEAN MCALISTER
As Letsile Tebogo crossed the finish line as the new 200m Olympic champion at Paris 2024, he slapped his hand against his chest.
The rising star from Botswana stormed to victory in an African record of 19.46 secondsin front of a roaring Stade de France crowd on Thursday (8 August), denying pre-race favourite Noah Lyles the coveted sprint double.
Lyles, who won the Olympic 100m title in dramatic fashion on Sunday, was not able to live with the impressive pace of the 21-year-old and finished third behind fellow American Kenneth Bednarek (19.62) to take bronze in 19.70.
Immediately after the race, Lyles revealed that he tested positive for COVID. The track superstar had to be helped off the track in a wheelchair.
Tebogo dedicated his country’s first-ever Olympic gold to his mother Elizabeth Seratiwa, who passed away last May. He showed his spikes, displaying her date of birth into the cameras and had the initials of her name painted on his fingernails.
“I believe she could be one of the happiest people on the planet” said an emotional Tebogo who had won 200m bronze at last year’s world championships.
Tebogo also paid tribute to the people of Africa, as the first sprinter from the continent to ever claim an Olympic gold medal in the men’s 200m.
“It means a lot to the African continent because now they see Africa as a sprinting home,” he said. “So we just had to make sure that the message is loud and clear.”
“It didn’t take so long, they were just waiting for me to step up.”
The new African star is one of more than 600 IOC scholarship-holders at Paris 2024.
LETSILE TEBOGO: FROM FOOTBALL HOPEFUL TO OLYMPIC CHAMPION
As a youngster growing up in Botswana, Tebogo was a talented athlete with a love for football. However, while speed was unquestionable even back then, his ability with a ball at his feet was less obvious.
“I used to run past people and won medals. I also played football. Every time though I went to play football I was being benched,” he explained in an interview with Runblog.com.
So football’s loss turned out to be track & field’s gain, as the sprinter went from strength to strength, becoming the second U-20 athlete ever to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m with a world record run of 9.96 seconds aged just 18.
At last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, he continued his dramatic rise, winning silver to become the first-ever African runner to reach the 100m podium at the Worlds.
While this was an incredible moment for his country, Tebogo was already thinking about the wider significance of the medal. This was not just a victory for a nation but a continent so famous for its distance runners that was now producing sprinters to compete with the traditional powerhouses of the USA and the Caribbean.
“This medal isn’t for me, it’s for Botswana, for Africa,” he said at the time. “Because Africa has been short of medals in men’s sprints.”
While this year began with hope and promise, tragedy struck when Tebogo’s mother passed away earlier in May. For the young sprinter, with his first Olympics in front of him, this competition would not be just a chance to represent Africa, it would be an opportunity to honour his mother.
In the 100m final last Sunday, Tebogo was one of the athletes most fancied for the podium. However, in the closest final in history, he was edged out of the medal positions, finishing the race in sixth.
Small margins, he would learn, can be the difference between glory and deep-cutting disappointment.
But just four days later, flanked by the world’s most feared sprinters, Tebogo took the race by the scruff of the neck, recording his greatest victory and with it paying a memorable tribute to his mother.
“She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy,” he said.
PARIS 2024 ATHLETICS: MEN’S 200M PODIUM
Gold: Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)
Silver: Kenneth Bednarek (USA)
Bronze: Noah Lyles (USA)
SOURCE: PARIS2024
BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
In a thrilling display of speed and determination, Zimbabwean sprinters Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba have qualified for the finals of the 200m race at the Paris Olympics, joining an elite group of just three Zimbabweans to have ever achieved this feat.
As the crowd held its collective breath, Makarawu and Charamba blazed through their respective heats, finishing third but securing their spots in Wednesday’s finals as non-automatic qualifiers.
They’ll face off against the world’s best sprinters, including Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and USA’s Noah Lyles, in a battle for a historic podium finish.
Charamba, the first Zimbabwean on the track in Heat 1, clocked an impressive 20.31 seconds, just behind Tebogo’s blistering 19.96 seconds and Lyles’ 20.08 seconds.
Makarawu, meanwhile, competed in Heat 3, which was won by American Erriyon Knighton in 20.09 seconds.
Makarawu’s time of 20.16 seconds earned him a spot in the finals as one of the fastest losers, ensuring Africa’s strong representation in the final.
As the nation holds its breath, Makarawu and Charamba are poised to give their best performance yet.
Their qualification has sent shockwaves of excitement through the athletic community, with fans eagerly anticipating the final showdown.
Back in Zimbabwe, supporters from all walks of life are rallying behind the duo, celebrating their incredible achievement.
As the world watches with bated breath, Makarawu and Charamba will step onto the track today at 20:30 hours, carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation.
-
Slider2 years agoInnscor launches brewery to produce Nyathi beer
-
National3 years agoIn perched rural Matabeleland North, renewable energy is vital
-
National2 years agoCommission of inquiry findings fail to be tabled as Victoria Falls councillors fight
-
Tourism and Environment3 years agoStrive Masiyiwa’s daughter opens luxury Victoria Falls lodge
-
National2 years agoVictoria Falls’ pilot dies in helicopter crash
-
National2 years agoHwange coal miner fires workers over salary dispute
-
National3 years agoVictoria Falls bartender gored to death by elephant
-
National2 years agoVictoria Falls town clerk digs in, says won’t be forced to resign