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Queens of Chivhu

Godknows Dembure, who teaches at Makumimavi Primary School, is doing in Chivhu what Katende did at Katwe, a slum in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, after meeting school dropout Phiona during a missionary-run outreach.

At Nharira Primary School, his previous workplace, Dembure established a chess club named Queens of Chivhu inspired by Queen of Katwe to help girl students improve their critical thinking and mathematics skills through chess. Dembure had himself learned to play chess when he was a trainee teacher.

"When I started this chess project, it was as a kind of antidote to the problems that existed in the area where I was teaching. Child marriages, pregnancy and dropout rates were high, prompting me to look for a way to help these girls gain confidence and wriggle out of the situation they were in," Dembure tells TRT Afrika.

"When I started this chess project, it was as a kind of antidote to the problems that existed in the area where I was teaching. Child marriages, pregnancy and dropout rates were high, prompting me to look for a way to help these girls gain confidence and wriggle out of the situation they were in," Dembure tells TRT Afrika.

Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) data shows that rural girls are twice more likely to be married before 18 than their urban counterparts.

Zimstat also notes that 33.7% of girls aged under 18 are already married, which works out to one in three girls under 18. In comparison, only 2% of boys get married before reaching the age of 18.

Zimbabwe is among the 20 African countries where child marriages are rampant.

Funding challenges

In Zimbabwe, chess is still considered an elite sport, played mostly in the country's top schools. A rural chess hub like Chivhu is the exception. Girls emerging from Dembure's Queens of Chivhu club have already triumphed at various levels of the sport, competing in and winning local, national and international competitions.

Dembure says funding to enable his wards to attend competitions is a challenge in the absence of income-generating avenues. Parents in the area already struggle to pay for their children's education so, there's little else they can provide for chess.

Sometimes, Dembure ends up funding the club with his own earnings so that the girls can go to tournaments and gain competitive experience.

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Zimbabwe's chess 'queens' are checkmating adversity - TRT World

GM Hikaru Nakamura smashed records on Saturday when he scored 75 wins and 276 points to claim his fifth Bullet Brawl crown along with the $400 first prize. After falling short in the previous edition, he was nearly invincible in the two-hour, 106-player arena, conceding just three draws and five losses during the event.

GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Jose Martinez rounded out the podium with scores of 234 and 213 respectively but were unable to stifle a rampant Nakamura. WGM Meri Arabidze's 32nd-placed finish was enough to snag her the $100 best female prize, while NM Emilio Castellanos topped the Community Bullet Brawl tournament.

Thanks to the community's excitement around Bullet Brawl, the event is now being held weekly and will take place next on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 10.00 a.m. PT/19:00 CEST.

How to review games?The games from July's second Bullet Brawl can be found here.

Nakamura held an iron grip over the field after an indomitable start. Despite an early draw with Naroditsky, he was able to build a 29-game win streak, one of the most impressive in Bullet Brawl history. This early buffer meant that the eventual second-placed Naroditsky barely had a chance despite putting together a 68/78 score.

GMs Oleksandr Bortnyk, Dmitry Andreikin, and former world championship challenger GM Gata Kamsky were just some of the famous victims of Nakamura on Saturday, but his most impressive games often came at the expense of lower-rated titled players, where he was able to show off his ability to launch blistering attacks in the blink of an eye.

The battle for second place was a tighter affair. While Naroditsky was hampered by a late start, he steamed ahead of Martinez and fellow streamer Bortnyk. The American GM benefitted from a morale-boosting 78-move win over Nakamura in the second half of the event and consistently added points to his score courtesy of his world-class flagging ability.

Competition for the top female prize was at an all-time high in July's second edition of Bullet Brawl, and Arabidze had to outlast IM Anna Sargsyan as well as multi-time winner IM Karina Ambartsumova; both finished within 20 arena points of the Georgian WGM. Arabidze proved to be clinical when attacking and made king-hunting a priority.

Standings

Bullet Brawl is an exciting new titled arena that features Chess.com's top bullet specialists that now takes place weekly on Saturdays. The format is a two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control; the prize fund is $2,500.

Much like Titled Tuesday and Arena Kings, Bullet Brawl often features top GMs, including Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky, Andrew Tang, Tuan Minh Le, and many more!

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Nakamura Breaks Bullet Brawl Record With 75 Wins - Chess.com

Published 11:54 am Friday, July 14, 2023

Meet Fletcher, hes a 3.5 year old, 70lb German Shepherd mix.

Fletcher is incredibly smart and is the only dog at our shelter that has earned his K9 Good Citizen certificate. He has worked so hard and given so much to learn how to be the best good boy for his new family.

Hes playful, friendly and affectionate. He loves people and always wants to make them happy! He gets super excited when he sees people. His favorite thing to do in the whole world is be near his humans, and feel loved and appreciated.

Meet Chess!

He is approx. 2 years old! He is already neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and ready for his forever home! He is VERY social and LOVES attention. He likes to stick his arms and paws outside of his cage and steal any and everyones attention! He is vocal and likes to talk with you! He also likes to give little love nibbles!

Chess has been in our care for about a month now, and is still waiting to find his perfect forever home.

If youre interested in meeting or adopting Fletcher or Chess please visit http://www.foothillshumanesociety.org/adopt and submit an adoption application.

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Foothills Humane Society's pets of the week - Fletcher & Chess ... - Tryon Daily Bulletin

The 2023 European Senior Team Chess Championship kicked off this Wednesday in the city of Swidnica, Poland.

The event is played in two age categories 50+ and 65+, with separate prizes for Womens teams. The 50+ championship is played as a 9-round round-robin tournament, and the 65+ tournament is played according to the swiss system. A total of 28 teams from 13 European federations compete in the Championship, represented by 80 players.

The Opening ceremony of the event took place shortly before the start of the first round on Wednesday, 12th of July. The tournament director Mr. Aleksandar Sokolski and the Chief Arbiter of the event Mr. Tomasz Delega addressed the players before the games. The games started after the distinguished guests performed the first ceremonial moves.

After three played rounds in the 50+ section, Teams of Slovakia and England 1 tie for the top scoring perfect 6 match points. The leading duo is followed by England 2, Denmark Write Upp and Polish Amateurs team who tie for the third place with 4 match points, each.

Slovakia 65+ team emerged as the sole leader in the 65+ category with all three victories and perfect 6 match points. Hungary is second with 5 points, while four teams score 4 match points tying for the third place: England 1, Germany 1, Sweden 1 and Polish Lower Silesia team.

All pairings, results and rankings can be found here.

The live broadcast of the games can be followed through the official website of the event or from the following links:

The tournament is organized by Adolf Anderssen Foundation (Funacja im. Adolfa Anderssena), in co-operation with the Polish Chess Federation and the Lower Silesian Chess Federation, under the auspices of the European Chess Union.

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European Senior Team Chess Championship 2023 started in ... - European Chess Union

Pawn Chess Club at Casino in the Lower East Side. | Photo by Isabel Mnter

Pawn Chess Club at Casino in the Lower East Side. | Photo by Isabel Mnter

If youve ever been captivated by the chess players of Washington Square Park or Union Square Park but didnt have the nerve to actually play a game with them, youre not alone.

Chess, especially compared to its board-counterpart checkers, can seem like a complex and daunting game, with its variety of strategies and patterns, along with its lengthy duration. Historically, its held a myriad of stigmas; some associate it with nerd culture, while others associate it as a hobby amongst the wealthy.

And while chess, indeed, was initially played by noblemen during the Renaissance (pre Beyonces), a lot has changed since then. Somewhere between the tables being set up in New York Citys parks and Anya Taylor Joys captivating performance as Beth Harmon in The Queens Gambit, chess became accessible and cool.

New Yorkers, predominantly young, have been gathering to play rounds upon rounds of the board game in the downstairs room at Casino, an Italian restaurant in the Lower East Side. These game nights are organized by Pawn Chess Club, started by friends Isabel Mnter and Simone Robert, whose first meeting was in May.

At Pawn Chess Club, theres no pressure to be the next chess wunderkind. All levels of players are welcome, and beginners are especially encouraged. Just show up with an open mind and a penchant for learning, and maybe grab one of their signature Casino Cosmopolitans to sip on as you play.

The groups next gathering is slated for the upcoming weeks in July, and they plan to host the game night every three weeks on Tuesdays. Keep tabs on their Instagram to get the down-low on the meeting dates, and get ready to make some moves.

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Pawn Chess Club in NYC Resumes This Month - Thrillist