Sandile Mfundisi emerged victorious at Prestige section of the 2016 Lesotho Open as he held his nerve in the final round to head home a 1/2 point ahead of the field of 44 players.
He was made to wait before claiming the prize however as the final standings were decided by board 1 match which proved to be the last game in the entire event to finish. Clive Mthunzi eventually had to agree to a draw on board 1 after pushing for many hours against the local hero Tokelo Klaas and this left both players in a tie for second place. They were joined by WFM Jesse February who beat the ever consistent Alfred Pesa in the final round to also secure her place on the podium.
Klaas ended as the top ranked Lesotho player and earned over 60 FIDE rating points for his efforts. He is expected to improve to number 3 in Lesotho as a result of his efforts.
Congratulations are also due to Khanyapa Theko; Nyofane Katleho; Motlohi Motlatsi; Mohlahli Motsie; Maepe Thabang; Sekhoto Lehlohonolo; Motlomelo Khotso and Mohale Lebona
who all achieved full FIDE rating results in the tournament.
There were over 120 players participating across the 3 sections which also saw 40+ players in the U/14 section and a further 40+ players in the Open category.
We look forward to seeing the overall impact of the tournament when the February FIDE rating list is released next week.
Final results are available at http://www.chess-results.com/tnr202904.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&wi=821 and the games from the top 10 boards in each round will be uploaded shortly for those that wish to retrieve them.
He was made to wait before claiming the prize however as the final standings were decided by board 1 match which proved to be the last game in the entire event to finish. Clive Mthunzi eventually had to agree to a draw on board 1 after pushing for many hours against the local hero Tokelo Klaas and this left both players in a tie for second place. They were joined by WFM Jesse February who beat the ever consistent Alfred Pesa in the final round to also secure her place on the podium.
Klaas ended as the top ranked Lesotho player and earned over 60 FIDE rating points for his efforts. He is expected to improve to number 3 in Lesotho as a result of his efforts.
Congratulations are also due to Khanyapa Theko; Nyofane Katleho; Motlohi Motlatsi; Mohlahli Motsie; Maepe Thabang; Sekhoto Lehlohonolo; Motlomelo Khotso and Mohale Lebona
who all achieved full FIDE rating results in the tournament.
There were over 120 players participating across the 3 sections which also saw 40+ players in the U/14 section and a further 40+ players in the Open category.
We look forward to seeing the overall impact of the tournament when the February FIDE rating list is released next week.
Final results are available at http://www.chess-results.com/tnr202904.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&wi=821 and the games from the top 10 boards in each round will be uploaded shortly for those that wish to retrieve them.
