Women’s Candidate Master (WCM) Jolly-Joice Nepando and National Master (NM) Heskiel Ndahangwapo were the big winners at the recently concluded 2023 Namibian National Chess Championships Closed.
The 9-round event—held from 17 -21 March at the Nictus Cultural Centre in Windhoek—was aimed at crowning this years’ open and women’s chess champs, as well as choosing the Namibian male and female national teams. After a mentally taxing five (5) days of competitive play, it was Heskiel (7 points) and Jolly (8 points) who emerged victorious.
In the open section, Heskiel was followed by last years’ winner, Candidate Master (CM) Charles Eichab (2nd, 6.5 points) and Bernhard Schwarz (3rd, 6.5 points); whilst in the women’s section, Jolly was trailed by reigning champ Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) Rauha Mulisa (2nd, 7.5 points) and Lusia Namushinga (3rd, 6 points). The remaining national team spots for men went to CM Otto Nakapunda and NM Goodwill Khoa, whereas it was WCM Jamie-Nicole Beukes and WCM Nicola Tjaronda who filled the last vacant spots in the women’s team.
Whilst the crème de la crème of Namibia’s chess players were battling it out for top honors in the Closed section, WCM Lishen Mentile (5 points, Women) and Philip Mootseng (8 points, Open) secured their status as elites by winning the B-Section, thereby booking their spots in next years’ Closed section. Lishen was shadowed closely by Martha Shikongo (2nd, 5 points) and Venasias Shimanya (3rd, 5 points). In contrast, Philip was way ahead of his rivals Ivan Boois (2nd place, 6.5 points) and Lazarus Shatipamba (3rd, 6.5 points).
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the president of the Namibia Chess Federation, Goodwill Khoa thanked everybody who helped make the tournament a success. He congratulated the winners, wished all the participants well in their future endeavours, and invited them to the next event on the calendar, the 2023 Namibia National Junior Open Chess Championships.
For more pictures of the event, Visit Namibia Chess Federation Facebook Page
