Takudzwa Chitsiga — Mashonaland East Province were crowned the 2024 National Association of School Heads chess champions at Chipindura High School in Bindura at the weekend.
The schools' chess tournament catered for learners across all the 10 provinces with Under-13 to Under-20 age groups for both boys and girls.
The three-day tournament saw 280 pupils taking to the chess board and it was Mashonaland East Province thatt came out victorious.
They secured five medals - three gold, one silver, and a single bronze - to dethrone defending champions and chess powerhouse Midlands Province.
Midlands Province, who boast Cheziya High School pupils were second with eight medals - two gold, three bronze, and three silver.
Harare Province was third with six podium finishes two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals as Manicaland was fourth with two gold and two silver medals for a total of four.
Mashonaland West had eight medals a single gold, five silver, and two bronze. Bulawayo with three medals - a gold; silver and bronze - were sixth with Matabeleland North also on three medals -- one gold and two bronze - were seventh.
Eighth place went to the host province Mashonaland Central with one gold and one bronze followed by Masvingo in ninth with one gold and one bronze while Matabeleland South, who had a single bronze medal finished bottom.
NASH head of chess, Reverend Elijah Mazula, said they were happy with the way the tournament went as the level of competition had improved immensely, with each province managing a medal.
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"We are happy that we managed to host the annual NASH schools' chess championship at Chipindura High School in Bindura, Mashonaland Central. The tournament went on well and it is good as it gives students chances to showcase their talents and get an opportunity to represent the country.
"We managed to draw participants from all the 10 provinces and they had each a team of 28 players who range from the Under-13 to the Under-20. Mashonaland East were declared the winner after an outstanding performance by their representatives who managed three gold medals in different categories.
" The tournament went on well and it was incident-free with all the provinces going back to their respective destinations after the Sunday afternoon prize-giving ceremony. We are grateful to Cook More who came up with sponsorship as every participant walked away with 2 kg rice and the winners had medals, four litres of cooking oil, rice, and certificates," said Mazula.
With the ticket to represent the country at the upcoming All Africa Chess Championship in South Africa in July as well as the World Youth Chess Championships in Brazil if they conquer Africa the tournament was very competitive.
"The competition was very tough and all the provinces managed to walk away with at least a medal.
We are now awaiting to name a team that will represent the country on the international scene. The challenge remains sponsorship as most of the students come from underprivileged families and they will need support for air tickets," added Mazula.
