Training for Zimbabwe Chess Teachers

A FOUR-member International Chess Federation (FIDE) delegation is in the country helping the Zimbabwe Chess Federation conduct training for teachers and will visit Victoria Falls on Friday for sport development in the resort city.

Zimbabwe Chess Federation secretary-general Todd Mapingire said Chess In Education Commission chairman Jerry Nash of USA, who is the head of the delegation, and is accompanied by FIDE instructor Anzel Laubscher from South Africa and grandmaster Nigel Short from UK.

“It’s going to be a four-member delegation that is going to be heading to Victoria Falls on Friday morning,” said Mapingire.

He said today the team is having the preparation of the teachers’ course at Joina City in Harare where about 70 of them are participating.

The training for teachers started on Tuesday and will end tomorrow when the participants will write an examination that will make them schools instructors.

“It’s an honour that we are having this course in Harare and some of the participants is Jerry who is the head of delegation and is the Chess in Education Commission chair.

“Most importantly, the Zimbabwe Chess Federation president Muchanakira Mkanganwi will be accompanying the FIDE delegation so at the end of the workshop they will heading to Victoria Falls for an interaction with the chess community and pupils.

It is Nash’s first time in Africa and Zimbabwe and Mapingire said hosting him and the delegation is an honour for the sport and good for sport tourism.

“We are honoured to be hosting Jerry. The Victoria Falls visit is being organised by Crippo Chvhenge the Matabeleland North chairperson and Mercy Mushangwe. They will be there until Sunday as we are also trying to showcase as a federation the magnificent Victoria Falls,” he said.

Chess is one of the rising minority sport codes in the country.

In August 2017, World Chess Federation president Kirsan Nikolayevich IIyumzhinov visited the country and said Zimbabwe was likely to host the Chess World Cup in 2021 before Covid-19 disturbed.

— @ncubeleon