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Allen Khumalo Sports Reporter
THE South African women’s chess team won the Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Association (CUCSA) chess tournament held at Hillside Teachers College yesterday.

The South Africans won the tournament with eleven match points; five points ahead of Zimbabwe who took second place. Zambia and Botswana were third and fourth respectively.

South African chess coach Remondo Solomons attributed the win to dedication and good preparation.

“It all started at home. Personally I think when one is coming to such tournaments, the homework should be done at home so that when you come here you are fully prepared, so if you are going to prepare, prepare at home,” said Solomons.

The preparations, Solomons said, were not only physical, but psychological.

“I said to them they know the theories they did at home and the trick was to be psychologically ready. If something goes wrong they have to act accordingly. In chess, we play with the clock and if you are going to ignore it, suddenly the clock becomes like an extra piece, so I told them that they should play their chess and manage time.”

South African captain Rachelle-Mari Voges said it was a tough tournament.

“It was a tough day because we played all three games in one day, but I am glad we gave our best shot and won,” Voges said.

Bulawayo Chess Association public relations director Russel Dzete said: “Generally the competition was stiff, except for the ladies section where South Africa won all their games with bigger margins. They did very well outclassing every team present.”