Malawi Chess team off to Norway for World tourney
Malawi Chess squad left on Tuesday for World Chess Olympiad to be held in Oslo Norway from 1-15 August.
The squad camped for 10 days in Lilongwe to prepare for the tournament under the guidance of FIDE certified coach Joseph Chalemba.
The team comprises Chiletso Chipanga, Alfred Chinthere, Joseph Nyambalo and Joseph Mphungo in men’s category while Ellen Mpinganjira, Vitumbiko Gondwe, Royce Msiska and Desdarata Nkhoma would represent the country in women’s category.
Chalemba said the players were ready for the competition after the training.
“We are ready for the competition and we should expect to do better as people should know that it is a world tournament which draws the best players all over the world,” Chalemba said.
He said tournaments were important to the development of the game in the country as they expose the players to highly competitive international games.
Norway has waived expenses to process the visas for the players through their Embassy in Lilongwe.
The waiver of expenses for the processing of the visas has assisted the Chess Association of Malawi to save K400,000.