Africa-Press – Lesotho. Chess Federation of Lesotho (CFL) has since March 5 hosted the ongoing 2022 Zone 4.5 individual chess championship under the auspices of the African Chess Confederation (ACC).
The games, playing at Scenery Guest House, will end on Sunday this week. This is the regional tournament which was supposed to be among the 10 countries inclusive of Lesotho, South Africa
(SA), Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia but Malawi could not make it. The games are playing in accordance
with International Chess Federation (FIDE) regulations and the tournament was open to all players from the federation within the zone 4.5 region, who are
affiliated to FIDE. According to the press briefing that was released on the March 3, the tournament is played under the open section and women section where each team is playing with five players in each category
while the host participates with seven players on both categories, one as a reserve to even an odd number in case of need. Lesotho, being the host, is
represented by six players in both categories, making it six men and six women without reserve players. The press briefing also stated that the championships are played as 9 Round Swiss System Tournament with the use of
digital clocks in which the time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move
starting from move one. “At the end of the tournament, the winner in the open section will be awarded the International Master (IM) tittle and the winner in the women’s section will be awarded the Woman International
Master (WIM) tittle respectively on the ratings of 2200 for IM and 2000 for WIM. Prizes in the first to the seventh place will range between 1 500 United States
Dollars (USD) to 200USD in the Open section while on the Women’s section will be 1000 USD to 200 USD. CFL Secretary General (SG) Tlhoriso Morienyane has on Monday told Informative Sport expressed
gratitude over the fact that this is Lesotho’s first huge tournament. Asked about the impact that the tournament will bring to the federation, he said it is going to give them the
best experience which they could not get with local tournaments like the annual BMI Open Chess Tournament. “It is the first time our players participate
in this tournament since 2012, when the federation attained membership of both Lesotho Sports and Recreational Commission (LSRC) and Lesotho National Olympic
Committee (LNOC). The winner in these games will be the regional champion, meaning after this competition most of our players will be competent enough for
international tournaments, with better skills in tournament regulations, the environment and intensity,” the SG said. He however showed that for them to
participate in this tournament, it is a practice for preparation of the biggest of all tournaments, the Chess Olympiad that was supposed to play in Russia this year. He said unfortunately because of the havoc happening in that country, another host will be announced soon.
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