Madibaz chess players fighting fit for USSA checkmate

Nelson Mandela University’s chess team are as ready as they can be for their quest to outmanoeuvre their peers at the University Sports SA tournament later this month.

This is the word from leading players Gerald Wagner and Barry Letsebe, who will be key to the Madibaz cause in Pretoria from November 29 to December 3.

With places in the USSA team for the Fisu Games at stake, and individual performances counting towards overall tallies, there will be plenty of motivation in the competition hall to be the last man or woman standing.

Wagner and Letsebe, who will go to battle as members of a 10-man, two-woman team, go into the event on the back of some impressive results and with half an eye on getting that nod from the national selectors.

Letsebe, 21, has won five medals from different tournaments this year. These include a gold at Mandela University’s team event and a team bronze at the Cucsa Region V Games in Pretoria.

He also recorded a famous victory over a 2050-rated master — the third-highest title a player can achieve in the sport — in a rapid tournament in Gqeberha.

It was easily one of his best performances and helped him break through his glass ceiling.

“I have become more confident with the white pieces,” the first-year IT student said.

“I’m no longer so scared of players who are rated higher than me. I have come close to beating a few this year.”

He has also become more adept at positional and tactical chess, which enables him to filter out uncomfortable opening sequences.

Letsebe believed that this skill would stand him in good stead against his USSA rivals, who would have placed a lot of emphasis on their opening plays in preparation.

“I will look to keep the game simple to avoid any tactical complications as they would have surely checked the variations with an engine.

“The aim is to keep the position equal until we are both out of preparation and on our own.”

As contests wore on — one round could last up to six hours — fatigue would also become a factor, he said.

Wagner, 24, who will toe the USSA line for the third year running, agreed that mental and physical fitness would be important determiners.

His goal is to improve on the six-and-half and seven points out of nine he has achieved in his previous two attempts.

To score more than seven points, he said the opening, middle and end game became equally important phases.

“I have tried to improve the areas in which I was lacking while staying true to my style of play,” Wagner, who represented SA at the Fisu Mind Games World University Championship in Uganda this year, explained.

Even when he is not preparing for a tournament, he makes a point of playing chess every day to implement and fine-tune new intel.

Besides the best tertiary players in the country, the competition format and time control are challenges that loom large.

“I am no stranger to the format but it can be both physically and mentally demanding,” Wagner, who believes in being active beyond the chess board, admitted.

When all has been said and done, Wagner’s fighting spirit and the ability to stay in the moment are the most underrated weaponry at his disposal.

Despite being considered underdogs in some kingdoms, he had high hopes for the Madibaz as they had “the passion and fighting spirit to perform well”. — Full Stop Communications

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