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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
The CABS-bankrolled 2022 Chess Candidates Tournament which was being held at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo ended on Monday.

The three-day event saw chess players from all over the country compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the land, which was played outside Harare for the first time.

Speaking to Chronicle Sports, Zimbabwe Chess Federation president Mucha Mkanganwi said he is very happy with the way things went throughout the duration of the tournament.

Nomalungelo Mathe

“I’m very happy with where we are, it’s been a very long, fun three days,” said Mkanganwi.

Zimbabwe Chess Federation Bulawayo province chairperson, Elvis Shora also expressed his excitement after successfully hosting the first ever major tournament in the city.

“I’m quite excited because it was an effective and successful event with it being the first outside of Harare, it was well managed, I had competent people,” said Shora.

The tournament’s open section, which had 80 players including one female, saw the winner go home with $432 000, a gold medal and a trophy. The winner, Murima Mugove, finished with seven and a half points from a possible nine, meaning he won seven games, drew one and lost one.

“The feeling of being a champion is so great because I have never been one before but because of hard work, today was finally my day even though I lost some games,” said open section winner Mugove.

The ladies’ section was won by Nomalungelo Mathe, who, like her male counterpart in the open section, finished with seven and a half points from a possible nine. Mathe took home $320 000, a gold medal and a trophy.

The best under-16 boys’ prize was shared by two players, Obriel Nkomo and Fazilahamed Craig who both took home $40 000, while the best under-16 girls’ trophy was won by Matifadzaishe Mhungu and she got $80 000. Mhungu also finished eighth in the senior ladies’ section, winning $29 333.

Mkanganwi thanked their sponsors CABS for making the tournament possible and encouraged players to work harder in order to keep getting better.

Shora also thanked the players for their discipline throughout the tournament.

“Players exhibited the highest level of discipline and our sponsors were very happy,” said Shora.