Central West Education Division (CWED) has emerged as the overall winner of Chess at the 3rd edition of the Malawi Youth Games currently happening in Lilongwe after winning five gold medals.
South West Education Division (SWED) came second after acquiring four gold medals, while Shire Highlands Education Division finished on third position after winning 1 gold medal.
Speaking during the medal presentation ceremony Malawi National Council of Sports Board Member Mr. Young Chimodzi emphasized on the need for the players to continue working hard to realize their full potential
‘’ I must say that am happy to be here, I see a lot of young faces and am assured that the future of Chess in Malawi is bright. I expect you to continue working hard and improve yourself, as Council we expect to see you again in the fourth edition because I know most of you are young and next year you will be back, explained Chimodzi.
On his part Malawi National Council of Sports Acting Executive Secretary Mr. Shephord Boma advised the students to take sport seriously as it has the potential to shape their future.
‘’ You must first focus on sport and not money, that is how you will be better Chess players. If you focus on money, you will lose direction. Am very much impressed with what I have seen here, if sport is to develop in this country young stars like you need to be given a platform to showcase your talents and through the Malawi Youth Games, we hope to achieve that,’’ explained Boma.
Making his remarks Chess Association of Malawi (CHESSAM) president Mr. Mpilo Mizele thanked MNCS for sponsoring the games and MASSA for managing them
‘’ As CHESSAM we are speechless because this is the first time for Chess to be included in the Malawi Youth Games and we are happy with what we have seen. I want to encourage the young players that everything is possible with hard work and as CHESSAM we believe that the future is in the young ones. As CHESSAM we are also conducting a lot of activities at the grass root and we plan to introduce more youth programs so that young players should have a platform to showcase their talents,’’ explained Mizele.
The Chess games were played in six groupings which include the under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 in boys and girl’s category respectively.
In girls under 8 category Brenda Phiri won gold while Alice Soko won silver and Shyreen Kabowa won bronze. In the boy’s category Ngodya Kapalamula won gold, Ycliff Wilson won silver and Sandifolu Josamu won bronze.
In girls under 10 category Kimbelry Mchacha won gold, Cynthia Sangaloti won silver and Wamapha Njikho won bronze. In the boy’s category Lukas Moffat won gold, Waliko Chilambo won silver and Alfred Vuteni won bronze.
In girls under 12 category, Lexa Shaba won gold, Ireen Mathews won silver and Chrissy Mtima won bronze. In the boy’s category, Beston Phiri won gold, Gift Nzima won silver and Andreya Chipwayila won bronze.
In girls under 14 category, Faith Chandimba won gold, Kettie Namocha won silver and Debora Kaunda won bronze. In the boy’s category, Mphatso Bizwick won gold, Ashley Chawuluka won silver and Gracious Nkomera won bronze.
In girls under 16 category, Trintance Kapalamula won gold, Fedson Enzymia won silver and Joseline Joseph won bronze. In the boy’s category, there were only two contestants Daniel Kondwani won gold, while Josia Mwakiyoma won silver.
In girls under 18 category Shalom Kapende won gold, while Portia Chirwa won silver and Faith Nyambwani won bronze. In boy’s category Titus Saka won gold, Yamikani Misheck won silver and Paul Chimpazee won bronze.
This is the first time for Chess to be included in the Malawi Youth Games. A total of 59 players from all the education division made it to the finals which include 32 boys and 27 girls.