Ladies chess team shines in Madagascar

The ladies team competing at the ongoing 2019 Zone 4.3 individual Chess Championships held in Madagascar is reportedly performing wonders. As of early this week, Women International Master (WIM) Onkemetse Francis was said to have won all her three played rounds while Women Fide Master (WFM) Naledi Marape was sitting at two points from her three games. Natalie Banda had 1.5 points. The Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) spokesperson Kutlwano Tatolo said that the ladies were in high form and they expect a medal in the ladies section. Francis who had been out of action for some time is said to have come out with guns blazing and serves as motivation to youngsters of Marape and Banda. The ladies section has countries of Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola all competing at the highly competitive event. The experienced side of Francis is expected to find it hard when she faces stiff competition of highly ranked players from Angola and South Africa. Meanwhile, the open section has brought together countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mauritius among others. The freshly crowned Metropolitan National Championships gold medalist, Fide Master (FM) Phemelo Khetho and runner up, International Master (IM) Providence Oatlhotse represent Botswana. Khetho was said to have 1.5 while Oatlhotse had only one point in the bag. However, Oatlhotse is also expected to put his foot down and make his presence felt as one of the powerful players competing in Madagascar.In 2018, Khetho won a silver medal while Francis settled for a bronze medal. Botswana will once again this year pin her hopes not to lose grip on the two medals but rather improve for the better. The team is expected home on the 5th of May 2019.