Dimba wins blitz chess tournament

UNAM student James Dimba was crowned the new Independence Blitz Chess Tournament (IBCT) Champion at the UN Plaza last weekend.

Mubasen /Hochobeb won the under-10 section, as Nicola Tjaronda checked her way to under-12 glory. The under-14 winner was Spatzi !Noreseb, and Julian Isaak took the under-16 title, with Jeremy-Dean van Rooyen and Dantago Boois rounding of the winnings in the under-18 and -20 categories.Dimba, a Zambian playing in his first tournament in Namibia, walked away with the Job Ndimwedi floating trophy plus the top cash prize, scoring 10 points after 11 hard-fought rounds along the way. Goodwill Khoa finished half a point behind him with tournament host Otto Nakapunda a further half point behind in third. The Best Girl title went to Lishen Mentile.Former champion Charles Eichab, who was honoured at the prize-giving for winning the tournament three times in a row, had an off day and could only amass 7.5 points.A record 96 participants took part in the event, which shows that the tournament is growing in popularity. The first tournament in 2006 attracted only 14 players.The open chess tourney is traditionally played on the last Saturday before Independence Day, and this has grown into one of the main attractions on the chess calendar.The next tournament on the chess calendar is the National Championships which will be held at Hotel Thüringer Hof between April 8 and 11. The championships also serve as the qualifying tournament for the 39th World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, later this year.Defending champion Eichab will look to outsmart seasoned campaigners Leonard Miller, Otto Nakapunda, Goodwill Khoa, Frans Denis and Max Nitzborn, who doubles as the president of the Namibian Chess Federation. Lischen Mentile is the favourite for the ladies’ crown, with Nicola Tjaronda likely to be her main opposition. The federation hopes to have a larger pool of female participants this year.