Kenneth Boikhutswane, "Sabure Become a Grand Master,"  Mmegi/The Reporter, 22 December 2005 (Gaborone, Botswana).

Federation International Des Echecs (FIDE) has awarded Tuduetso Sabure the title of Woman International Grandmaster (WGM) for her win in last month's Africa Chess Championships.

The good news was relayed to Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) president Dabilani Buthali via email. The e-mail also confirmed that Sabure will take part in the Women World Championships next year. Sabure won the Africa Championship held in Lusaka, Zambia with a score of seven points from nine games.

The feat saw her being crowned Woman International Master (WIM) with a GM norm. This is the highest ranking ever in Botswana chess and news of Sabure's rise to WGM comes as a huge bonus. It was earlier thought that after winning the African women title, she would need to win three more titles to earn her final WGM norm.

But after looking at her impressive record prior to winning the Africa Championships, FIDE decided Sabure is WGM material. She is the first woman chess player to get the WGM title in southern Africa. Sabure is currently in her home village Maun and could not be reached for comment.

After her win last month, she promised to work hard to become a WGM. Her title award is a fitting Christmas present for a chess player who has worked tirelessly in a field dominated by men. Sabure has done very well in the past three years and improved her game steadily. Incidentally, Botswana women chess players in the country tend to perform better than their male counterparts internationally.

Botswana now has four titled players, two men and two women. There is a possibility of a third woman getting a title after Sabure's sister Ontiretse finished joint second in the just - ended Africa Junior Chess Championship.

Botswana's titled chessmen are FIDE Masters (FM) Boipuso Samuel and Phemelo Khetho. The women with titles are FM Boikhutso Mudongo and Sabure. No Botswana chessman has got an IM title.

The good performance of local chesswomen is a credit to BCF. Female chess is in its infancy in Africa and Botswana is one of the countries that have taken the onus to develop its women players.

BCF initiated the split of the Africa Junior Championships into two categories - boys and girls in 2002. As a result, Botswana is gaining the most from the fact that many countries still continue to develop their male players at the expense of women.

Meanwhile, Sabure's award has been welcomed by local chess players. Moakofi Notha, who played with Sabure at the Africa championships said that to have a WGM is very important for Botswana chess and should inspire everyone. "For a long time, we needed someone to give everyone a lift, and this is just it. She has demonstrated that it can be done and this has helped remove the huge psychological barrier that has been a stumbling block to us."

Don't be surprised to see more players getting titled in the country." Notha added that he hoped sponsors will consider giving the game more backing as chess players have demonstrated their capability.

An excited BCF secretary Thabani Balang said that chess offers a good opportunity for companies to contribute to nation building. "Chess builds concentration, memory and visualisation skills.

In this way, the human resource aspect is addressed. We are glad for Sabure's achievement and hope she can develop into a world class player. I hope she can be world champion some day," he said.

He promised that BCF will continue to do its best to develop chess players in the country. The next big event is next year's World Chess Olympiad, scheduled for Turin, Italy.

Posted by The Chess Drum: 23 December 2005