Chess academy established in Victoria Falls

A CHESS academy has been established in Victoria Falls to Spearhead the growth of the sport.

The Victoria Falls Chess Academy was launched on Friday and becomes one of the legacy projects following the visit by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) delegation led by Chess In Education Commission chairman Jerry Nash of US.

Nash, FIDE instructor Anzel Laubscher from South Africa and grandmaster Nigel Short from UK have been in the country for the past week.

They started with a teachers and chess coaches’ trainer of trainers workshop in Harare where more than 60 chess teachers were capacitated with coaching skills and on Friday the team was in Victoria Falls interacting with dozens of learners and their teachers from different Hwange and Victoria Falls schools.

The Victoria Falls Chess Academy was launched as part of the coaching clinic on Friday with businesswoman Mercy Mushangwe as the inaugural chair, deputised by Zimbabwe Chess Federation Matabeleand North province chair Krippo Chivhenge a teacher as her deputy. The other committee members are Cynthia Zivambiso who is secretary and Eldrette Shereni, (vice secretary), Mqondisi Ndlovu (treasurer) and two committee members Paidashe Zengeni and Lawrence Tavagwisa.

The academy has no facilities yet and will be using different schools and a local hotel for games. “The Victoria Falls Chess Academy has been launched. The academy has one sport code which is chess and the main aim is to ensure that both children and teachers understand the advantages of competitive chess and be able to impart skills in other learning areas,” said Mushangwe.

“We want to develop the sport and make sure there are many children who take up chess as a sport in our schools as we promote sports tourism in our resort city and country.”

Zimbabwe Chess Federation president Mucha Mkanganwi who was hosting the delegation in Victoria Falls said having Short who is director of chess development was a blessing for the chess fraternity in Victoria Falls and the country at large. He said having chess structures in Victoria Falls will improve the game.

Short said he was impressed by how active Victoria Falls was as a chess community and said there was great potential for the sport to develop in the city and province.

“Having centres of excellence helps a lot so having this sort of initiative is good and with the availability of facilities such as this one where they have somewhere to play is a good development.

“I think there is a lot of potential here and people should be aware of what is required to reach high standards,” said Short.

Nash said the academy would help in imparting chess skills in teachers and pupils and use chess in delivering learning. “Around the world teachers and parents are realising that chess can have an impact on the success of children and pupils in life,” he said.

Victoria Falls is steadily growing as a sports destination with the Victoria Falls Boxing Academy launched last month. Team Mayweather is expected in the resort town today. Floydd Mayweather is regarded as one of the best ever to step into a ring and fight.