Zimbabwe Chess Federation team shined at the 45th Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary where they clinched silver after finishing second in Africa.

Zimbabwe is now second to Egypt on the African rankings, the best attained in history.

On World rankings, Zimbabwe moved 25 places up to position 56 thanks to their stellar performance at the tournament.

By finishing second on African rankings at the tournament, Team Zimbabwe grabbed a ticket to automatically qualify for the next edition of the Chess World Cup.

Commenting on the recent achievements, Zimbabwe Chess Federation secretary general Todd Mapingire said the new record is a testament to how chess is developing in the country.

"As ZCF we are honoured and we thank the government for its support and all the cooperates that have been pushing the game of chess.

"This really means a lot to the federation and of course, it goes a long way in pushing the sport to grow," said Mapingire.

On individual levels, four of Team Zimbabwe's players honoured as Emerald Mushore and Vitalis Mapuranga earned Candidate Master titles after their splendid performance in the Men's Open Section, the same with Christine Makwena and Linda Dalitso Shaba who also achieved Woman Candidate Master titles for their good fight.