Team Angola is all set for the 2018 Batumi Olympiad.
The Angolan Chess Federation (Federacao Angolana de Xadrez) last month hosted the National Championship which selected the team.
The event was proudly sponsored by the official sponsors of the Angolan Chess Federation and included Banco BIC, UNITEL and ENSA. 9 of the top 10 players took part with the exception of except the IM Amorim Agnelo who could not participate due to academic reasons.
The event held at Hotel Konjeve, in Huambo ran from 9th to 15th June 2018.
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa, is the capital of the province of Huambo in Angola. The city is located about 600 km SE from the capital Luanda. The city is the second largest in Angola, after the capital city, Luanda.
A total of 40 players took part in the Open section which had an average rating of 1971.
The Ladies section had 17 players.
The event had 9 rounds with a time control was 90 minutes + 30 second.
The total prize fund was approximately USD 3,500 split up as follows;
Open Section
1. USD 1,000
2. USD 745
3. USD 495
Ladies Section
1. USD 500
2. USD 350
3. USD 345
CM Sérgio Miguel & WIM Caxita Esperanca were crowned Angola National Champions in their respective categories.
The provincial squads for Batumi are listed below:
Open Section
CM Sérgio Miguel, IM Luciano Oliveira, IM Erickson Soares, IM David Silva, IM Catarino Domingos and IM Adérito Pedro.
Ladies Section
WIM Esperança Caxita, WFM Ednasia Júnior, WFM Luzia Pires, Erineia Gabriel and WCM Delfina João.
It is interesting to note that IM Adérito Pedro was the winner of the 1993 African Junior Championship which was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
