The league finals were played during a slot that is normally occupied by Botswana Open on Independence holidays, which is a flagship tournament that usually attracts players from outside the country including Zambians who have won it before.
The club walked away with cash prize of P16, 000. The victory did not come as a surprise as the club has been leading the log since the competition started. The side only lost one game to Brilliant Minds chess club.
At the beginning of the season, Mochudi beefed up their squad by roping in some of the best players including the likes of former national champion, Candidate Master (CM) Thuso Mosutha and Monnaatsheko Keletshabile, who is a current member of the national team.
Mochudi chairperson and player coach, Dragon Kesiilwe told Sport Monitor that they sourced sponsorship and they were assisted by Waste 364 Limited and Meshark Tshekedi who is their patron.
“We had a plan and for us to achieve that, we needed strong players hence bringing in Mosutha and Keletshabile. We also have two other senior players in our team. As a FIDE instructor, we trained our youth and women players,” he said.
Kesiilwe also said they did not expect to win the league but rather were motivated to win it. He said the last games Mochudi were against all top five clubs. Kesiilwe said to prevail against them was applaudable and hard fought.
Mochudi were winning the league for the first time. BCF technical and ratings director, Thompson Modisane said the league was a success. Ramotswa chess club finished in position two to win P13, 000 with Chess Motifs coming third and pocketed P10, 500. Position four went to Brilliant Minds receiving P8,500. Young Grandmasters finished fifth to bank P7,500 and P6,500 went to Francistown chess club for finishing in position six.
