Grand Monsters tower over rivals for league glory

Supreme 3D Grand Monsters were crowned champions of the Bank Windhoek Chess Premier League on Monday, securing their fourth league title.Since the league’s inception in 2013, they have won it in 2023, 2021 and 2018The win came after their scheduled final-round opponents, The Zed, failed to show up for the 18th round and automatically forfeited the match.Held every Monday evening at Windhoek’s Nictus Cultural Centre, the Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) national league kicked off on 7 April. It featured over 40 teams and nearly 400 players across the premier league, first division and junior sections (under-12) in a double round-robin format.Heading into the last round, the title race was tight. Grand Monsters and Rubinstein were level on 13 wins apiece, but Monsters held the edge with higher board points (50.5 to Rubinstein’s 49.5). Rubinstein’s challenge slipped away when they fell to third-placed GRIT Chess Titans in their final-round clash.Three match points clearSupreme 3D Grand Monsters wrapped up the title with a commanding 30 match points, finishing three ahead of runners-up Rubinstein (27).Rubinstein impressed with 13 wins and 51 board points, but their four defeats proved costly in the title race.GRIT Chess Titans, meanwhile, were the toughest team to beat all season, suffering only two losses. However, their eight drawn matches limited their points tally, and they had to settle for third with 24.Together, the top three teams were in a league of their own, pulling away from the rest. The only team to come close was fourth-placed Zandell Chess Academy (22).All smiles at the titlesReflecting on the triumph, players Mbitjita Kahuure, Lazarus Shatipamba and Petrus Kawende beamed with pride. The crown was the first for Kahuure and Kawende, while for Shatipamba it was his second.“I am very excited for this win, it’s a big step in my chess career,” said Kahuure.Kawende added: “I am at a loss for words to describe the feeling. But I was very confident heading into the round. Even if the opponents had shown up, I am confident we still would have won. It was a do-or-die situation, so we had come prepared to give our all.”Shatipamba credited their consistency. “[The Zed] didn’t show up because they are scared of us. We are champions because we deserve it [from being on a winning streak, having only suffered two losses and two draws all season]. Big thanks go out to our sponsors 3D Printing by Emanuel Sihlahla and Supreme Betting.”Other league winnersThe first division also delivered a competitive season, with Sunrise SolarSteins taking the honours ahead of GRIT Badgers in second and Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) in third.The junior league was dominated by Windhoek Afrikaans Private School (WAP), with The Rubys second and GRIT Badgers third.– mariud@nsh.com.na

Grand Monsters tower over rivals for league glory

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Republikein 2026-10-12

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Grand Monsters tower over rivals for league glory

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