Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE prisons’ chess team qualified for the next round of the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners after finishing on top of their group yesterday.
The tournament which started yesterday ends later today and Zimbabwe will be hoping to take it a step further in this edition after a second-place finish in the previous edition. The tournament is organised under the chess for freedom initiative by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Cook County Chicago Sherriff Office in the United States of America.
Participating in group four of the global showpiece, Zimbabwe topped their group after losing just one match against Greece. In their first match, Zimbabwe overcame England 3-1 before going on to lose 2, 5-, 15 against Greece.
A 4-0 win over Romania followed the defeat and in the fourth match they got the better of Netherlands 4-0. Zimbabwe went on to win 4-0 again against Slovenia before registering another same score line win against Jersey. In their last match, the Zimbabwean inmates won 3-1 against Bulgaria.
After topping the group, Zimbabwe will today participate in the Championship Round (final groups) where there will be two groups of four teams each. The top teams from both groups will play in the final.
The goal of the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners is to produce chess as an efficient tool for re-integration of inmates. – Follow on Twitter @brandon_malvin
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