Home Chess News FM Calvin Klaasen & WFM Luzia Pires win Zone 4.5 Championship

FM Calvin Klaasen & WFM Luzia Pires win Zone 4.5 Championship

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FM Calvin Klaasen & WFM Luzia Pires win Zone 4.5 Championship

FM Calvin Klaasen of South Africa & WFM Luzia Pires of Angola won the Open and Ladies section of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Individual Chess Championship.

The event held at the Scenery Guest House in Maseru, Lesotho ran from 12th to 6th March 2022.

Proud winners of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Chess Championship - WFM Luzia Pires of Angola & FM Calvin Klaasen of South Africa.
Proud winners of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Chess Championship – WFM Luzia Pires of Angola & FM Calvin Klaasen of South Africa.

The event was a resounding success, with players from 9 federations of the ten taking part. The only country missing from the event was Malawi.

Open Section.

FM Sergio Miguel of Angola was the top-rated player at 2335. FM Daniel Barrish of South Africa was the second top-rated player at 2266.

The Open section had 20 players from 9 federations. 

FM Calvin Klaasen was undefeated in the event with five wins, and four draws to end with seven points.

FM Calvin Klaasen of South African and proud winner of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Championship.
FM Calvin Klaasen of South African and proud winner of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Championship. Photo credit FA Otto Nakapunda.

On the other hand, FM Daniel Barrish had seven wins and two losses to also end with seven points.

FM Calvin Klassen was declared the winner due to a better tie-break and having won his game against FM Daniel Barrish.

CM Paiva Donaldo v FM Calvin Klaasen

Open cross table.
Open cross table.

Ladies Section

WFM Luzia Pires of Angola won the Ladies section with 8 points from seven wins and two draws.

WFM Luzia Pires of Angola proud winner of the 2022 Zone 4.5.
WFM Luzia Pires of Angola proud winner of the 2022 Zone 4.5 Chess Championship. FA Otto Nakapunda.

WIM Jesse February of South Africa was second with 7.5 points.

WIM Esperanca Caxita of Angola was third with 6.5 points.

Ladies cross tables.
Ladies cross tables.

The Ladies section had 18 players from seven federations.

The free day

The participants enjoy a free day without the chess board!
The participants enjoy a free day without the chess board! FA Otto Nakapunda
The free day was a real day of rest ie without the chess board!
The free day was a real day of rest ie without the chess board! FA Otto Nakapunda
Charming beauties from Lesotho.
Charming beauties from Lesotho. FA Otto Nakapunda

The unsung heroes

IA Marius Ferreira of South Africa was the Chief Arbiter.
IA Marius Ferreira of South Africa was the Chief Arbiter. FA Otto Nakapunda
The Deputy Chief Arbiter FA Otto Nakapunda of Namibia showing which direction he wants to go!
The Deputy Chief Arbiter F FA Otto Nakapunda of Namibia showing which direction he wants to go! He was also the unofficial photographer of the event!

Chess facts about Lesotho

The Lesotho Chess Federation was established in 2003 and joined FIDE in 2012.

Tseliso Motloheloa the current President of the Lesotho Chess Federation.
Tseliso Motloheloa the current President of the Lesotho Chess Federation.

Tseliso Motloheloa is the current President of the Lesotho Chess Federation.

CM Tekelo Klaas is the highest-rated player in Lesotho, with a rating of 1812.

Logo of the Chess Federation of Lesotho.
Logo of the Chess Federation of Lesotho.

The federation has just over 340 players registered with FIDE.

Facts about Lesotho

Lesotho is an entirely landlocked country surrounded by South Africa.

Maseru the capital city of Lesotho. Photo credit kiddle.co.
Maseru the capital city of Lesotho. Photo credit kiddle.co.

The capital city is Maseru, with just under a quarter of a million inhabitants. The total population is just over 2 million.

The main ethnic group is the Basotho (99.7%), and the official languages are Sesotho and English.

The territory in 1884 became a Crown colony of Britain by the name Basutoland

Basutoland gained its independence and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966. 

It is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters in elevation. About 80% of the country lies above 1,800 meters. Hence the nickname ‘Kingdom of the Sky‘.

The national dish of Lesotho is ‘Motoho‘, a fermented sorghum porridge eaten throughout the country.

Traditional musical instruments include the lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, the setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the woman’s stringed thomo.

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with King Letsie III as the ruler.

King Letsie III and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho. Photo credits Wikicommons.
King Letsie III and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho. Photo credits Wikicommons.
Ski resort within the Maluti Mountains region in Lesotho. Photo credit kiddle.co.
Ski resort within the Maluti Mountains region in Lesotho. Photo credit kiddle.co.

Lesotho has a winter sports enclave in the Maluti Mountains region where you can ski!

The flag of Lesotho.
The flag of Lesotho.

The blue stripe represents the sky and rain.  The white stripe symbolises peace. The green stripe represents the land and prosperity.  The most prominent figure on the flag is a Basotho hat. The hat is black to represent Lesotho as a black nation.

Links

2022 Zone 4.5 Chess Championship on chess-results.com.

Ajibola Olanrewaju wins 2020 Zone 4.2 Chess Championship.