Chess in Botswana

Francistown to select chess players for Botswana Games
KUSHATHA TABENGWA
Correspondent

FRANCISTOWN: Francistown schools will hold a two-day chess tournament to select players to represent the region at the third Botswana Games in December. The tournament starts tomorrow at Master Spei College.

Gaborone hosts the Botswana Games in December. Players under the age of 19 drawn from schools around Francistown will compete in the selection tournament and 10 would make the final squad.

Tournament organisers' spokesperson, Kabelo Masale, said although only 10 would make the cut, some reserve players would be selected based on their skill and talent. "It is not that 10 is a fixed number, if there are some players who show skill we are also going to take them to the Gaborone camp," Masale said. A side selected from the north, which includes Francistown, won the competition at the last Botswana Games in 2009.

Three players made it into the junior national team. "This year we want all our players to be selected for the nationals and we are going to select the best players during the tournament," he said. Chess is a relatively new sport in Botswana and Masale hopes the tournament will raise awareness and attract many young players. Capital Bank, Jama Investments, Pie City, Book World, Francistown Nissan, Francistown Toyota and Botash sponsor the weekend tournament.

Source: http://www.mmegi.bw