Nine-year-old shines at African Youth Chess Champs in SA

NINE-YEAR-OLD Princess Eleanor Ncube, a Grade Four pupil in Victoria Falls is excited about her performance at the recent 2024 African Youth Chess Championships (AYCC) held in South Africa.

A pupil at Mother Touch Group of Schools and product of the Victoria Falls Chess Academy, Ncube won three of her nine games at the tournament that ended on Saturday.

She was accompanied by her mother, Mercy Mushangwe, president of the Victoria Falls Chess Academy and Zimbabwe Chess Federation officials.
Emmanuel Zivambiso, also aged nine, from Jakaranda Montessori Primary School from the academy who was also part of the team of 40 Zimbabwe chess players that took part in different age groups.

“I am so happy to have been part of the 2024 participants at the African Youth Chess Championships. I am very proud of myself for what I managed to do and I am looking forward to participating again next year and hopefully bring a medal for Zimbabwe,” said Ncube.

The best in her age group won six games.
Both Ncube and Zivambiso started playing chess when they were in Grade Two.

The two have participated at various events, including the 2022 African Amateur Individual Chess Championships in Kenya.
Four months ago the duo excelled at the National Association of Primary School Heads (Naph) chess competitions held in Chivhu, Mashonaland East, to make it to the National Under-10 Chess Team that participated at the recent tournament.

They played last year in the Schools World Cup held in Greece and were also supposed to go to a tournament in Georgia, which, however, clashed with the African Youth Chess Championships in terms of dates, and Zimbabwe Chess Federation opted to participate in the former.

The two have won several gold, silver and bronze medals from local tournaments.
Zivambiso said: “I am so happy to have participated in the AYCC where I managed to scoop two and a half points out of nine. It was a tough tournament but I managed to get some points.”

The tournament was inaugurated in 1980 and it has been held annually since 1989 except from 2010 to 2012 and during the Covid-19 era.
A total of 469 chess players from 16 countries competed in the girls’ and boys’ categories from Under-8 to Under-18.

The participating countries were Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. — @ncubeleon