Chess

Bank Windhoek is proud to announce that they will once again be the main sponsor of the 2011 Bank Windhoek National Junior Chess Championships. It is the fourth year Bank Windhoek is sponsoring the championship and it will take place on 9 July 2011 at the Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in Khomasdal.

Marie Kotze, Communication Practitioner: Stakeholder Engagement at Bank Windhoek said that chess played an important role in the development of the youth.

A team of five players will represent Namibia at the 39th Chess Olympiad scheduled to be held in Khaty-Mansiysk, Russia from 20 September to 4 October.

Max Nitzborn, President of the Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) said that it was the first time that a team was leaving the country to compete with official national colours.

“We registered chess for the first time as a sport in 2005 and today for the first time we receive national colours for international participation,” Nitzborn said, speaking at the National Sports Commission.

Eleven year old Nicola Tjironda and fifteen year old Julian Isaak took top prizes at the just ended Third Bank Windhoek Namibia National Junior Chess Championship held at David Bezuidenhout High School in Windhoek.

The championship was held under the auspices of Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) from 23 to 25 July.

The annual event saw invited players younger than 20 years competing. Tjironda began playing chess two years ago and is described by Max Nitzborn, the President of NCF, as a natural talent and Julian Isaak has been playing for the past four years.

The Bank Windhoek Junior Chess Championship will take place on Saturday at the Van Rijn Primary school in Windhoek. The Bank Windhoek Junior Chess Championship has attracted a lot of interest so far with more than 100 entries received in the various age group classes. The youngest competitor that will participate in the event so far is only eight years old.