Namibia makes first move at Olympiad today

Namibia’s Open and women’s chess teams will today make their first move at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, competing among a record 399 teams from around the world at the Central Asian showpiece.The 11-round Swiss-system tournament starts with the first round today at 12:00 (Namibian time). It will run until 27 September at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre, with 22 September as the rest day.Namibia is represented by national champion International Master (IM) Dante Beukes, who will man board one for the outfit, alongside Candidate Master (CM) Goodwill Khoa on board two and Simon Shidolo on board three.CM Otto Nakapunda is on board four, with second-time Olympiad player Bernhard Schwarz as the reserve. Over the next 11 rounds, the contingent will navigate the 64 squares against a field of 207 teams from 204 nations.Across the room in the women’s section, Namibia boasts 18-year-old Women Candidate Master (WCM) Jamie-Nicole Beukes on board one, alongside national champion Lutopu Khoa.Helvi Shuudifonya, WCM Jolly-Joice Nepando and 12-year-old Shadah Uanguta complete the five-player squad for the Land of the Brave.They are set to battle it out over the board in a field of 191 teams from 188 nations, including India, the defending champions in both the Open and women’s sections.Namibia’s 32-year Olympiad journeyThe team’s head of delegation is Namibia Chess Federation president CM Charles Eichab, the eight-time national champion and 12-time Olympiad player whose own Olympiad journey stretches from Elista 1998 to Budapest 2024.At the time of going to print yesterday, Namibia’s round-one opponents had yet to be confirmed, with the pairings still unavailable.The Beukes siblings enter the Olympiad in strong domestic form after ruling the Namibian Chess Open earlier this month. Dante defended his Open crown with a perfect 9/9, while Jamie-Nicole took the women’s title with 8.5/9.At the other end of the experience scale, Uanguta arrives in Samarkand only months after making history as Namibia’s youngest national team player at 11 years old in March.Nakapunda, meanwhile, provides a link to the beginning of Namibia’s Olympiad journey. The veteran was a reserve when the country made its Olympiad debut at Moscow 1994 and is back at the global team event 32 years later.That inaugural team was led on board one by Leonhard Mueller, now captain of Namibia’s women’s side, while Indian Priyadharshan Kannappan captains the Open team. Eichab, Mueller and Nakapunda were all Olympiad teammates at Elista 1998.Aiming for third World Cup berthNamibia’s Open team will be looking to build on its 101st-place finish at Budapest 2024, while the women finished the previous Olympiad in 130th.As reported by this publication, extra teams from federations with more than one entry were excluded when determining the World Cup qualification places.This saw Namibia’s Open team move up to 72nd among the eligible federations, securing a spot at the Chess World Cup.Namibia fielded three-time consecutive national champion CM Heskiel Ndahangwapo (2023 to 2025) at last November’s World Cup in India, marking the country’s second appearance after Dante made his debut at the event in Baku in 2023.Speaking to Sport Wrap yesterday, Namibia’s reserve Schwarz lamented Ndahangwapo’s absence from the squad.“The energy [in camp] is fine, but we miss our other strong player [besides Dante], Heskiel. He was not released from the Namibian Correctional Service programme in Rietfontein,” he said.“It happened at the last minute, but our coach is helping us physically and technically.”– mariud@nsh.com.na

Namibia makes first move at Olympiad today

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