FM Joseph Mwale and Priyasha Shriyan are the 2022 Malawi National Champions.
FM Joseph Mwale, Malawi’s highest-rated player (2151), took gold with 7 points out of 9 rounds.
Proud winners of the Open section.
Priyasha Shriyan, who is only 16 years old, dominated the Women’s section and won it with 8/9, two points ahead of the runner-up. It is the second time she has won the Malawi Championship. The first time was in 2020.
Proud winners of the Ladies section.
The National Chess Championship of Malawi took place at the Grand Palace Hotel in Mzuzu from 14th to 18th April 2022.
Twenty-six players battled it out in the Open and 13 in the Women’s category.
The event served as a qualification for the 44th Chess Olympiad scheduled for Chennai later in the year. The top 5 players in each category made it to the national team.
FM Joseph Mwale v Hubert Nanthambwe
Praise Kalambo taking on eventual winner FM Joseph Mwale.
CM Alfred Chimthere, the 2020 Malawi National Champion, ended in a joint third position with 6 points or fifth in the ranking.
CM Alfred Chimthere v Francisco Mwangupili
Royce Msiska taking on Priyasha Shriyan.
Priyasha Shriyan v Susan Namangale
Qualification for the National Championship
Unlike Kenya, which has an open National Championship, Malawi has a more competitive two-stage process.
Malawi has three regions, namely the South, Central and Northern region. In these regions, qualifiers take place in which the top 8 players from each section qualify for the National Championship.
Then seeded to the National Championship are the previous year’s champion and a Presidential nominee.
The playing hall of the 2022 Malawi National Chess Championship.
Prize fund
FM Joseph Mwale went home with the top prize of MWK 250,000 (or USD 300) plus a laptop. The total prize fund in the Open section was MWK 825,000 (USD 1,000).
Priyasha Shriyan, on the other hand, took home MWK 200,000 (USD 250) plus a tablet. The total prize fund in this section was MWK 5550,000 (USD 700).
