Chronicle Editor
Mandla Moyo, Sports Reporter
AN impressive number of chess players converged on Montrose Girls High in Bulawayo yesterday to witness the launch of a chess academy.
The formation of Check Mates Academy targeting players from all ages is motivated by the impressive showing on the international arena by Tsepo Ndebele, a female chess player who performed exceptionally well in a national chess tournament.
According to Check Mate Academy public relations manager Sylvester Machingura the academy was launched on the backdrop of a celebratory mood as a result of the girl’s exploits.
“We are launching a chess academy in a celebratory mood because it is the first of its kind in Bulawayo to launch a chess academy, which is called Check Mates Academy reason being a motivation that we took from a young girl by the name Tsepo after she had managed to win at the national level during the National Association of Secondary Heads (Nash) Chess championships.
“Therefore we felt motivated by how she played chess and how she won, she was then chosen to go and represent our motherland Zimbabwe in Namibia. That is what drove us to say look, we could be having a lot of Tsepos in the country that are under-privileged but want to proceed with this game. That then pushed us to form this academy, we are doing this in conjunction with Bulawayo Chess Association (BCA) and a number of schools,” said Machingura.
The public relations manager also explained that they intend to demystify the game by taking it from affluent areas to high density areas.
There were more that 150 boards all occupied by the players. A number of corporate organisations made up of banks, Silo and Innscor Group of companies represented by Baker’s Inn were present during the launch. — @mandlamoyo3
Online Reporter