About Us
CLUB HISTORY:
A brief history and summary of our club:
1. The school was founded on the 6th of February, 2015 in the Kwekwe High School Hall. My wife, ‘Enita’ and I ‘Will’ put our names together to call the new school of chess THE WILLENITA SCHOOL OF CHESS. We then went on and participated in about eleven chess tournaments that year.
2. We were able to clinch FIRST position tournament after tournament. Owing to this clean sheet, we were then crowned the best chess club in Zimbabwe for the year and I was crowned the best coach that same year. The parents of the chess players who travelled sponsored each of the trips we made.
3. We’ve had a lot of our players qualifying to play for Zimbabwe at the Africa Schools Individual Chess championships and at the African Youth Chess Championships in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa from 2015.
4. Due to lack of funds, we failed to travel in 2016 and did not manage to participate in any tournament. We went on and closed in December 2016, only to re-open in June of the next year. We intend to stay afloat and not close anymore.
Our Club’s mission statement:
Assist all willing individuals, either absolute beginners or proficient club players, from four to any adult age; master the tactics and strategy of the game of chess to the extent that they will excel in competition of any level, either local, regional or international.
Our club services:
All willing individuals from all walks of life; beginning from nursery through primary, High school, tertiary education and all career adults and retired. Basically , we serve any human being who feels the need to enhance his chess skills.
Our current membership:
We currently have enrolled 15 Chess players in Gweru, 59 in Kwekwe and 11 online
Participants. However, due to the publicity we have recently received, we have had
Several enquiries and we are bound to see our numbers growing in days to come.
Our club’s home ground:
Mbizo Youth Centre in Mbizo, Kwekwe. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake Centre in Gweru.
Our club’s main facilities:
.The club currently owns four chess sets and two chess clocks.
Our club has been fighting to retain all enrolled members by encouraging them to attend all practice sessions and stay current on their monthly subscriptions.
A flier has been circulating on social media to alert more people about the school. The school really has become visible and surely out of obscurity.
Our main goals:
To run two major rated tournaments per year; The Willenita Individual Grand Chess Fiesta- August of each year and
The Willenita Team Grand Chess Fiesta- November of each year Attain a FIDE Academy status by registering with FIDE (World Chess Federation) by year end, 2018.
Ensure that the trainer attains a FIDE trainer’s status and to get more chess trainers on board to ease the pressure on the current sole trainer.
To open three more branches in addition to the current two; in Gokwe; Kadoma and Bulawayo by year end.
To open branches in every major city and town in Zimbabwe by end of 2020.
To open a website on which online training will be provided to all willing individuals from around the world, beginning in Zimbabwe.
Establish a monthly newsletter for the club detailing the school’s achievements, new enrollments and milestones reached.
To acquire 100 chess sets and 50 chess clocks.
To travel to and participate in a tournament at least once a month with at least 20 Willenita Chess players.
To make one regional trip/tour to play against other Chess academies, schools and in major tournaments at least once a year.
To have some of our chess players qualifying for the African Schools Individual Chess Championships (ASICC’s),the African Youth Chess Championships (AYCC’s) and the World versions of the same tournaments each year.
To help our players attain chess titles (candidate master; FIDE master; International Master and Grandmaster).
To host at least two annual Chess camps for all willing scholars where a renowned player will be invited to take the players through a rigorous and very effective Chess training.
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