Namibia off to mixed start in Kuala Lumpur

Namibia’s young chess players have endured mixed fortunes in the opening rounds of the Commonwealth Schools Chess Championships currently underway in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The nine-round Swiss-system competition runs until 11 October and has attracted more than 290 young players from 13 Commonwealth nations competing across the U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19 Open and girls’ categories.

Leading the charge is U7 Open contender Jesse Chikwaya, who has won two of his first three games at Cititel Mid Valley, where Namibia fielded nine players across the different age-group categories.

He opened his campaign on Tuesday with victory over Kenya’s Ethan Sum before falling to Singapore’s 1455-rated Jayden Lee in round two later that day.

Chikwaya bounced back in round three yesterday by defeating Kenya’s Archie Wright, taking his tally to two points and recording a performance rating of 1543.

He is set to face India’s 1436-rated Ramkumar Nishwanth in round four today at 9:00 AM (3:00 AM Namibian time).

Wins on the board

Namibia’s U13 girls Zoe Ikosa and Alicia Muronga both recovered from opening-round defeats to secure their first victories in round two.

Ikosa lost to Sri Lanka’s 1595-rated Tharuli Senarathne before defeating Kenya’s Ariana Njoroge to record a performance rating of 1498.

She was facing Sri Lanka’s 1563-rated Sanuli Ranasinghe in round three at the time of going to print yesterday.

Muronga also bounced back after losing to Malaysia’s 1564-rated Aiman Muhd, going on to defeat Kenya’s Lavenda Chebon for her first point of the tournament and a performance rating of 1483.

She was up against Malaysia’s 1565-rated Izz Rosnizam in round three.

In the U11 Girls section, Toini Shikongo also recovered from an opening defeat against Malaysia’s 1483-rated Selvam Anbu to beat Kenya’s Wamucii Abigail.

The victory gave Shikongo a performance rating of 1442 before she faced Kenya’s 1466-rated Tumi Keli in round three.

Jose Muronga, Namibia’s only U11 Open representative and one of the country’s two rated players at the tournament, has one victory from his opening three games.

The 1452-rated Muronga opened against Sri Lanka’s 1829-rated Rivinu Wickranage before beating Kenya’s Prosper Musyoka in round two.

He then lost to Malaysia’s 1455-rated Khairi Abdullah yesterday and will look to bounce back against Kenya’s Jabali Perez in round four today.

Tough opening

Namibia’s other rated player, Caylee van Wyk, has endured a difficult start against higher-rated opposition in the U17 Girls section.

The 1405-rated Van Wyk lost her opening games to Sri Lanka’s 1506-rated Nethpahani Bandara and India’s 1862-rated A R Ameya, recording a performance rating of 884.

She was attempting to get her first point on the board against Pakistan’s 1555-rated Binte Huda in round three at the time of going to print.

U9 Girls representative Angeline Haihambo also lost her opening two games against Sri Lanka’s 1500-rated Resadi Dinaya and 1421-rated Mohamed Aakifa.

Haihambo was facing Kenya’s Rachelle Kibyego in round three yesterday.

In the U7 Girls section, Penny Shilongo lost her opening game against India’s Arni Ira before receiving a bye in round two to pick up her first point.

She was over the board against Sri Lanka’s Thenuji Dissanayka in round three at the time of going to print.

Namibia’s other U7 Open player, Joshua Muramira, arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday and is set to enter the competition today.

Muramira is scheduled to play rounds four and five today, with the latter starting at 15:00 (09:00 AM Namibian time).

The players are accompanied by Namibia Chess Federation secretary-general Israel Shilongo, who is also serving as head of delegation.

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