Francis sisters give impressive showing in Baku
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Thursday September 8, 2016 14:59
Despite the Francis sisters being in a team that is otherwise performing below par, Tuesday night saw the Woman International Master, Onkemetse ending Round Five as the top ranked player in the Botswana team and among the Top 20 in Board One, remaining undefeated since the beginning of the world showpiece. She now has 3.5 out of a possible five points.
In the five games Onkemetse has played thus far, she secured three draws in the opening round against Austria, in the third round against Malaysia, and in the fifth round against South Korea on Tuesday evening, in a round in which all the Botswana women emerged with draws.
She was the only one to secure at least a draw against Austria and Malaysia as the rest of her teammates fell. Onkemetse’s impressive showing at the world stage is against the backdrop of being thrown into the deep end, playing in the toughest of boards, as Botswana women’s Board One player.
Her sibling, Thapelo is the second best performer in the Botswana team with two points so far after Round Five, having secured a draw in Round Two against Angola, a full point in Round Four against Nepal and a draw against South Korea.] Woman International Master, Boikhutso Modongo, winner of the historic Chess Olympiad board prize medal in 2002, had to return home to attend her sibling’s funeral.
Modongo had won one game, which ended in a 2.5-1.5 victory over Angola in Round Two before flying back home.
Mbo Mabedi, playing Board Two for Botswana women, and Palesa Mooketsi managed their first ever Olympic point with a 0.5 point against South Korea in Round 5 when the two teams played to a 2-2 draw.
After a series of losses in the opening three rounds, the men’s team at last redeemed themselves against lowly placed Tanzania, beating them 4-0, to ensure that Mosenya Ndawana (Board One), Thuso Mosutha (Board Two), Moakofi Notha (Board Three) and Otsile Mapini (Board Four) all recorded their first full points in Round Four.
However, the 4-0 victory was soon followed by a 3.5 point defeat to Barbados in the fifth round as Notha, the leading player in the Botswana men’s team with two points so far, managed a draw.