Hilma Nalupe
Namibian chess player Heskiel Ndahangwapo recently took part in the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa, India, and although his time there was brief, he learned some valuable lessons on the world stage.
The World Cup, which began on 31 October and will run until 27 November, features over 200 players from around the world who qualified by finishing in the top 100 at the World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, last year.
Namibia attained the 71st position at the Olympics, and Ndahangwapo, who played board one at the time and led the Namibian team, was chosen to represent the country at the World Cup.
Ndahangwapo described his World Cup experience as great.
“The sportsmanship there is welcoming, and I had some good moments. One needs to be well prepared and good at technique, but the overall experience was good, I enjoyed everything from the hospitality to the preparedness of the organisers and the people,” Ndahangwapo said.
Competing itself was not a very easy feat for Ndahangwapo. He said the competition against the players at the World Cup was very different because they were not only elite players but also super grandmasters.
“You try to play your game, but your opponent is always going to cover each base. The competition there was very brutal and more precise, but the experience was worth it,” described Ndahangwapo.
He was unfortunately knocked out of the Cup due to what he described as “lack of precision” and miscalculation of his moves. He chose not to go for moves that were too obvious, which he now believes he should have simply played.
He says that for the next three to six months, he will focus on improving his calculations and refining his openings to enhance his technique.
Ndahangwapo described his World Cup stint as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and hopes to qualify for the next World Cup again.
“I feel very honoured to have the opportunity to represent my country on the world stage. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime. I don’t know if it will happen again, but I’ll try to qualify again and hopefully become stronger before the next one,” he said.
In the meantime, with only seven points to go, Ndahangwapo will focus on trying to achieve his FIDE Master title.