FM Hemed Mlawa wins the Tanzania National Championship
FM Hemed Mlawa emerged as the winner of the Tanzanian National Chess Championship with a total of 6.5 points out of 8 rounds.
The event took place at the Russian Cultural Centre in Dar-es-Salaam over the first two weekends of March 2020. A total of 22 players in the Open section and nine players in the Ladies section participated in the event which doubled up as the Olympiad Qualifiers as well.
FM Hemed Mlawa (left) receives his trophy from Yusuf Mdoe. Photo credit Tanzania Chess Association.
FM Hemed Mlawa was undefeated with five wins and three draws. He drew against Geoffrey Mwanyika, Albert Njau and CM Nurdin Hassuji. It is interesting to note that FM Hemed Mlawa is Tanzania’s highest-rated player with an Elo rating of 1882.
The proud winner of the 2020 Tanzania National Chess Championship FM Hemed Mlawa. Photo credit Tanzania Chess Association.
On the other hand, Nathan Ateka who is Kenya’s top-ranked player is rated 2131.
Prisha Chheda, who is only 13 years old, was the most impressive player in the Ladies section. She won the Ladies section with a perfect score of 6 points out of 6 games!
The top five players in each section will represent Tanzania in the 2020 Chess Olympiad that is due to run from 5th to 17th August 2020 in Moscow.
FM Hemed Mlawa v CM Yusuf Mdoe
Geoffrey Mwanyika v FM Hemed Mlawa
Winners pose for a group photo from left Sharif Rashid Mansour (5th), Geoffrey Mwanyika (2nd), FM Hemed Mlawa (winner), Albert Njau (3rd) & CM Yusuf Mdoe (4th). Photo credit Tanzania Chess Association.Full cross table of the 2020 Tanzania National Chess Championship.
Past winners
2016 – CM Nurdin Hassuji.
2017 – FM Hemed Mlawa.
2018 – CM Yusuf Mdoe.
2019 – Event not held.
Tanzania Chess Association
The Tanzania Chess Association was registered in 1984 and only joined FIDE in 2016.
Tanzania has only taken part in two editions of the Chess Olympiad. These include the 2016 Baku and the 2018 Batumi Olympiad.
