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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter

REGISTRATION for the inaugural Fathers’ Day Chess Tournament set for June 15 in Hwange closes tomorrow, with organisers extending the invitation to participants from outside the coal mining town.

The competition’s registration fee is $3.50 for Under-8, Under-10 and Under-13 participants; $4.50 for secondary school learners and $5.50 for the open category.

Tournament organiser Nothando Dube, founder of the Empress N Chess Academy, said the top three in each category will get medals.

“We are targeting all chess lovers from ECD to the open section. Our vision is to nurture talent from the grassroots. By holding such tournaments, we ensure that chess players, especially learners, are active almost on a monthly basis. 

“For the Fathers’ Day tournament, registration will close on June 12 so that we have enough time to start pairing. However, we know some prefer to register on the day of the tournament so late entries on will pay an extra dollar,” said Dube.

Established in August 2018, Empress N Chess Academy has held five tournaments, the Empress N Chess Academy Official competition on August 3, 2018, Old Mutual Sports Day tournament, Spring Open, Leavers Open on November 15 and the Empress Open in March 2019.

Dube said they will use this competition to prepare players for national tournaments.

“We have an Africa Youth Chess Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, later this year and our hope is to have some of our participants going to represent Zimbabwe. What we’re doing as an academy to help these kids is holding training sessions every Saturday at Lwendulu Primary School. 

“Members pay a membership fee of $5 and a monthly subscription of $2. The money is intended for purchase of equipment, day-to-day running of the academy and also to pay the annual affiliation at the Sports and Recreation Commission,” said Dube.

— @ZililoR