Lack of sponsorship, moral support worries ZCF President

Zambia Chess Federation struggles to raise upkeep and training allowances for its players THE Zambia Chess Federation (ZCF) has expressed disappointment over the poor sponsorship and lack of moral support towards the game of chess in the country.

Speaking in an interview with the Lusaka Star, ZCF President Lewis Ncube said that he was disappointed that no corporate organization came on board to sponsor the trip to the Youth Chess Olympiads which took place in Ukraine.

Ncube said although the trip was partly sponsored by the government through the National Sports Council, the team struggled to raise extra money for the competition.

“We really struggled to find money for our upkeep and training allowances and we often used our own resources,” Ncube explained.

He however said that the national team that was flown to Ukraine to participate in the Olympiads did tremendously well as they managed to finish third  in Africa.

Ncube explained that the team that consisted of chess masters Daniel Jere, Stanley Chumfwa, Nas Lungu and Girard Bwalya managed to finish ahead of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Morrocco and Angola to assume the third position in Africa.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Ncube expressed gratitude to two national players that were conferred with the FIDE Master title by the International Chess Federation Board.

“Our performance was quite impressive as two of our players were at least conferred with the title of FIDE Master, which is only awarded to exceptional performers,” he said.

The 2012 youth chess tournament that started on the 28 September to 10 August 2012 saw the crowning of  Girard Bwalya and Nolita Manda as FIDE Masters.

The Armenian National team finished first whilest the most featured team, the Russians finished second.

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