Africa-Press – Botswana. Malawian FIDE Master (FM) Joseph Mwale has walked away P12,000 richer after being crowned champion of the 2025 Cracking Series International Chess Challenge following a four day mental battle that ended in Gaborone on Monday.
Hosted under the auspices of the Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) in partnership with CRACKiT, the seven round tournament drew top chess talent from across Southern Africa from July 18 to 21, offering prestige and prize money to match the intense competition.
Mwale, rated 2103 in the world, emerged victorious with six points after securing five wins and a draw, narrowly clinching the title through tiebreaks. His Buchholz Grand Prix (BH: GP) score of 26.5 and five decisive victories placed him ahead of South Africa’s FM Banele Mhango (ranked 2221), who also finished with six points but a lower BH: GP of 24.0.
South African Lwazi Selepe (ranked 2042) took third position with 5.5 points and a tournament high BH: GP of 29.5. International Masters (IMs) Manyedi Mabusela of South Africa and Gillan Bwalya of Zambian completed the top five, both finishing with five points. Mabusela had a BH: GP of 25.0 and four wins, while Bwalya managed a BH: GP of 24.5 with five victories. Candidate Master (CM) Thuso Mosutha, who was placed 8th, overall behind Zimbabwe’s Masango Spencer (6th) and Zambia’s Timothy Kabwe (7th), proudly represented Botswana in the top 10.
Fellow Batswana, Sebetlela Gaasite and Thuto Mpene, who secured 9th and 10th positions respectively, joined Mosutha. In the women’s section, Zimbabwe’s Tanaka Dziyanyi delivered a dominant performance to claim first place with six points out of seven. Rated number 1819, she secured six victories with a BH: GP of 24.5. Dziyanyi, who is ranked number one in this category, said she was pleasantly surprised by her performance.
“I feel good, but I’m honestly surprised. There were a lot of strong ladies from Botswana and I had only hoped for a good showing. I was aiming for a perfect score, but six out of seven is still okay, maybe just one draw would have been ideal,” she said.
Second place went to fellow Zimbabwean Ndou Tatenda (ranked 1697), who finished with 5.5 points, BH: GP 23, and five wins. Third was Zimbabwe’s Shaba Dalitso (ranked 1827) with five points and a strong BH: GP of 28.5 after four victories.
Botswana’s own Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Katlo Banda (ranked 1863) placed fourth with five points, BH: GP 26, and four wins. She was followed by Zambia’s Naomi Mwale (ranked 1754), who also scored five points, BH: GP 25, and four wins to claim fifth position. FM Mwale, speaking after receiving his trophy, described the tournament as one of the most challenging he had played in the region.
“I’m very happy to have won this tournament. It’s my first event in Botswana after a long time, and the field was full of top-rated players from the SADC region. To be victorious here is no small thing,” he said.
He thanked the organisers and the BCF, noting that it had been a long time since such a big tournament was held here and hoped they would continue to organise more events like this. The tournament also featured youth divisions, including Under-18, Under-14, and Under-10 categories, as well as Section A, providing a platform for rising stars to gain exposure and experience. The event’s chief organiser, Moemedi Senwelo said the event was purposefully designed to bring together elite players and aspiring young talent.
“This tournament gives young and upcoming players the opportunity to compete against international masters and top local talent. It’s about growth and exposure,” he explained.
Participating countries included Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi.
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