One of Namibia’s top chess players Dante Beukes says he is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares for the Chess World Cup, scheduled for Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30 July to 24 August 2023.
Beukes, known for his strategic skill and solid determination, has carefully selected a series of practice tournaments in Europe to fine-tune his skills and sharpen his competitive edge.
He will play three tournaments in Serbia, the Vojvodina Open in Novi Sad from 26 June to 5 July, the Paracinsssss Open in Paracin from 7 July to 15 July and Serbia Open in Belgrade from 16 July to 24 July.
In an exclusive interview with New Era Sport, Beukes shared insights into his tournament schedule, training regimen and aspirations for personal growth.
“Playing in these tournaments is a crucial part of the development of a chess player. Practice and training should go hand in hand. I hope to use these tournaments as an opportunity to make use of all the training that I have done and as a chance to test out some new openings,” Beukes explained.
Beukes, who won the International Masters (IM) title at the 2019 African Youth Chess Championships held in Windhoek, said these tournaments provide him with an opportunity to apply his skills in real-game situations and experiment with new strategies. “I want to make the most of these events and use them as stepping stones towards the World Cup,” he said.
Discussing his training and preparation leading up to the practice tournaments, Beukes highlighted his focus on openings and calculation training.
“My training mainly consists of working on my openings and calculation training. I mainly work by myself, but I also meet with my coach regularly – and sometimes, I collaborate with some friends. Recently, I started seeing a sport psychologist to try and figure out a way to optimise my performance. So far, I think it is going well,” he revealed.
As for his approach to facing strong opponents and gaining valuable experience, Beukes expressed his enthusiasm for playing against grandmasters.
“There is not a specific player that I want to face. I just want to play against stronger players, and especially against grandmasters. It is always more interesting for me to play against stronger players. After all, it is an opportunity to learn something new, and I always back myself to achieve a result,” he stated confidently.
Regarding the formidable level of competition in Europe, Beukes acknowledged the challenge but remained undeterred, saying the continent (Europe) has the highest concentration of grandmasters; hence, they will provide him with a competitive challenge.
“I do not find this intimidating. Even though we do not have many strong tournaments in Africa, we (Africans) are often underrated. I believe this to be my situation,” he said.
Beukes did well in the 2022 South African Open elite championship section when he ended second, only losing out on first place on tie-breaks
This will not be Beukes’ first time competing in Europe, as he previously played in the Czech Republic back in 2019.
Beukes said he aims to gain confidence through these practice tournaments before the World Cup.
“If it does not go the way I would like, I am hopeful that my work with a sport psychologist will help me keep my head up, but I am not too worried about the tournaments going south. Ultimately, this is just an opportunity for me to play chess and to improve myself,” he explained.
He said his goal is to gain the ratings he had lost recently after peaking at 2 299 before losing close to 100 spots.
This will be the 10th edition of the Chess World Cup, where the top three finishers in the tournament will qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament.