Africa-Press – Lesotho. Three local chess arbiters; Lebakae Khau, Mafube Masilo, and Khiba Selatela have successfully passed the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) seminar held in Lesotho recently.
The three arbiters were announced by the World Chess Federation otherwise known as Fédération Internationale des Échecs-FIDE, a few days ago. The seminar was organized by the Chess Federation of Lesotho (CFL) under the
auspices of FIDE. Five candidates attended the seminar, the three above mentioned arbiters, Rasephei Hlalele who did not succeed and one from South Africa (SA) – Jabulani Mokoena who also passed.
The lectures were conducted by an International Arbiter (IA) Gunther Van Den Bergh from South Africa. According to FIDE announcement the four arbiters who passed the seminar will be awarded
the title of the FIDE Arbiter, after the approval of the next FIDE Presidential Board Meeting. Lesotho currently have one FIDE Arbiter, the current CFL President Tšeliso Motloheloa who
attended the same course in Botswana back in 2014. With these three; Khau, Selatela and Masilo, awaiting their FIDE titles, there are other three local arbiters; Tlhoriso Morienyane, Thabang Mapena and ‘Mahlaoli
Manyeli who are also waiting for their FIDE titles approval. Morienyane and Mapena attended the seminar in Batumi Georgia during the Chess Olympiad last
year while Manyeli did it in Zimbabwe in 2017. In an interview Selatela who is also the CFL Public Relations Officer (PRO) noted that following their success in the seminar, they are expected to run at least
three FIDE rated tournaments working under already titled arbiter. He further explained the other three arbiters had to wait longer since Lesotho only hosts a few FIDE rated tournaments however he noted the situation is
likely to change as they have a number of FIDE rated tournaments scheduled for 2019 and next year. Lesotho is set to host the African Individuals Zone 4.3 Chess
Championships in 2020. Selatela also stated having one arbiter was a big challenge for the country when they had more FIDE rated chess activities that needed qualified arbiters.
He believes having certified arbiters will also be beneficial to players since arbiters are also mandated among other things to ensure players are well informed with the
laws of the game and latest developments. “Therefore the country will now be equipped with competent players who will not struggle while competing bilaterally, regionally and internationally,” he added.
