Two Malawian players have achieved Woman Candidate Master (WCM) titles at the just ended 2024 World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.
Tupokiwe Msukwa and 14-year-old Rachel Jayloss earned their WCM titles, with Jayloss becoming the youngest Malawian girl ever to receive a chess title.
According to the Chess Association of Malawi, previously, the country had only two titled female players, Woman Fide Master (WFM) Linda Jambo and WCM Ellen Mpinganjira.
At the world tournament, the Malawi Open team has finished 122nd out of 196 countries, an improvement from their starting rank of 124 while the Women’s team concluded the ranked 144th out of 181 countries.
India has dominated both the Open and Women’s categories, emerging as champions, United States and Uzbekistan took second and Open category, while Kazakhstan and the US secured 2nd and 3rd in the Women’s category.
The Malawi Open team registered victories against E-swatini, Lesotho, San Marino, Brunei Darussalam, and Equatorial Guinea and suffered defeat against Croatia, Bolivia, New Zealand, South Korea, Zambia, and Lebanon, finishing 122nd out of 196 countries, an improvement from their starting rank of 124.
Malawi Women’s Team registered victories over Vanuatu, Mauritania, Djibouti, and Bhutan, but lost against Jordan, Philippines, Palestine, Tunisia, Barbados, Bahrain, and Guatemala thereby ranking 144 out of 181 countries.
Speaking in an interview, Publicity Secretary for Chess Association of Malawi, Francisco Mwangupili said they entered with two goals.
“We wanted to finish in the top 100 in both categories and to secure new titles for players. While the top 100 finish proved challenging, the team proudly achieved two new Woman Candidate Master (WCM) titles” he said.
The Women’s team featured WFM Linda Jambo, Susan Namangale, Tupokiwe Msukwa, Anne Simwaba, and Rachel Jayloss, under the captaincy of Gift Howahowa.
The next Chess Olympiad will take place in 2026, with Tashkent of Uzbekistan, set to host.
