IT had been billed to be a close contest for the presidency but the Zimbabwe Chess Federation's elective annual meeting witnessed a high degree of maturity and selflessness when two of the contestants agreed to unite.
Todd Mapingire and David Mutenure were vying for the ZCF president's position, but they agreed to smoke the peace pipe before the election had started, during last Saturday's indaba in Harare.
With voting being a ticket system in which a president was to be elected with his team, the two candidates reached a compromise before the election which saw former secretary-general Mapingire becoming the new ZCF president.
Mapingire took over from Mucha Mkanganwi, who decided against seeking another term. Mkanganwi challenged the new leadership to be resolute in undertaking their roles
"The presidium as an institution requires it to be protected and stand true with integrity as its backbone," Mkanganwi said.
"It must be fair and just. It must not be prone to gossip and rumours. It must be consistent, predictable and reliable. If it fails these tests, it can be hijacked, captured and possibly manipulated," he said.
In the agreed set up, Mapingire will be deputised by Elvis Shora and Mutenure.
Speaking after his ascendancy to power Mapingiresaid he was delighted to lead the federation, promising to carry on the projects that the former board had embarked on, in which he was a key part as secretary-general.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Mapingire described his election and coming together of the two candidates as good development for chess.
"Firstly, I would like to thank the members for showing confidence in me that I should lead the federation for the next four years. David (Mutenure) withdrew to support my candidature."
"We sat down with David and put forward what we both wanted to offer to chess and we agreed to put our minds together for the greater benefit of chess.
"The decision which we made was for the greater good of chess," Mapingire said.
Mutenure agreed with Mapungire's sentiments.
"Todd did not win, I did not win, the winner today is the sport of chess" said Mutenure.
Mutenure revealed that in the run up to the election the two camps held meetings to map a forward.
"We had meetings and to be honest you would see that what he (Mapingire) wants and what I want is for the good of the sport so it was from this background that we agreed to work together for the good of the sport.
"At the end of the day, it is chess which has won," said Mutenure.
The ZCF elective AGM was graced by African Chess Confederation president, Tshepiso Lopang, together with Zone 4.5 president Susan Namangale.
