Gaealafshwe upsets Oatlhotse to take crown
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday March 30, 2016 16:09
Gaealafshwe, who plays for Jwaneng club, last won the title in 2010. He had suffered defeat to International Master, Providence Oatlhotse during the second qualifiers but reversed the trend over the long weekend to grab the crown. He won the title with 6.5 points out of a possible nine after he defeated among others Oatlhotse and FIDE Master, Thato Olebile. Oatlhotse and Olebile were overwhelming favourites, but fell short. Gaealafshwe told Mmegi Sport yesterday that he had to be calm and remain focused to win the title. He said after failing to qualify for the finals last year, he had to work hard to redeem himself this year. He said after losing to Oatlhotse in the qualifiers, he studied the moves that his opponent made.
“The win is important to me and my hardwork has paid off. I was motivated to pull it off. I wanted to prove that I am still a good player,” he said.
Gaealafshwe said the win gives him a chance to get invited for international tournaments. The player will represent Botswana at the 2016 Zone 4.3 chess championships to be held in Mauritius from April 23. The championships is organised by the African Chess Confederation and FIDE would offer the player a chance to upgrade his title to International Master title.
Olebile came second with Oatlhotse finishing third with each accumulating 6.2 points, but separated by tie breaks. In the women’s section, Woman International Master Onkemetse Francis outperformed her opponents, scoring 8.5 points out of a possible nine, winning eight games and drawing one against Woman FIDE Master Thapelo Francis.
The player last won the title in 2014 before it was snatched by WGM Tuduetso Sabure last year. Francis would also represent Botswana in Mauritius.
She also stands a chance to raise her continental rankings as well as increase her FIDE rating. WIM Boikhutso Modongo came second while WFM Thapelo was third.