Zimbabwe to participate in World Chess Olympiad

Anashe Murombedzi

Zimbabwe has been selected by the World Chess Federation to participate in the World Chess Olympiad for disabled players slated for July 28 to August 5, 2020 in Russia.

Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF) president Dr Collen Tongowona hailed the recognition and inclusion of chess players with a disability and how they want them to participate in the tournament and become professionals.

“ZCF takes disability seriously and we’re still pushing to have many disabled players coming to the game and become professionals. We’re confident that we’ll leave a lasting impression at the coming tournament in Russia.”

The federation’s public relations director, Thabo Elisha appealed to corporates and NGOs to partner with ZCF to promote chess among disadvantaged communities. He said chess is an educational tool that can build unity among different people in the world.

“It is known that chess is played every day around the world and brings people of different cultures and backgrounds together,” he said.

Zimbabwe will be among the selected five teams representing Africa, including Egypt, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya. 30 federations are expected to participate in the FIDE Chess Olympiad Competition for the disabled. The host country will have one team while Europe will be represented by Poland, Israel, Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Belarus, Romania and Montenegro.

Asia will represented by Kazakhstan, India, Philippines, Iran, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

America will have Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, USA and Panama as its representatives.

The FIDE World Chess Championship for the Disabled is an event for chess players with a disability who are registered and approved by their association.