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Sports Reporter
TAPIWA Jele from Ihlathi High School beat nine other players to win the 2017 Bulawayo Chess Championship held at Nust at the weekend.

The event was organised by Bulawayo Chess Association (BCA) and this year marked the sixth edition of the tournament.

Jele, a Form 6 pupil who plays for Nkulumane Chess Club, was in fine form and finished with 7.5 points out of 9.

His victory was made sweeter by the fact that he was the youngest contestant.

Jele won the Zimbabwe Under-20 section in Marondera at a secondary schools tournament in April. The weekend win elevated Jele to the second highest BCA rated player with a 1901 rating.

This year’s championship featured players from four other top clubs, who included Ntokozo Mangena from Bulawayo Chess Club, Eshward Mudhumo from Nust Chess Club and ZRP Byo Chess Club’s Mthokozisi Mpofu, Tarcisio Chikandi and Maxwel Masare. Jele’s club mate Phakamani Sithole settled for silver, while Mudhumo took bronze.

The event brought down the curtain on the 2017 regular chess season. The first tournament of 2018 is scheduled for February 21 at Hillside Teachers’ college.

Final Ranking
1 Tapiwa Jele (Nkulumane Chess Club) 7.5
2 Phakamani Sithole (Nkulumane Chess Club) 6.5
3 Eshward Mudhumo (Nust Chess Club) 6.0
4 Mthokozisi Mpofu (ZRP Chess Club) 5.0
5 Khumbulani Chirwa (Nkulumane Chess Club) 4.5
6 Valentine Nkoma (Nkulumane Chess Club) 4.5
7 Maxwel Masare (ZRP Byo) 4.0
8 Tony Sianyenzu (Byo Poly Chess Club) 3.5
9 Ntokozo Mangena (Byo Chess Club) 2.0
10 Tarcisio Chikandi (ZRP Byo) 1.5