Maletzky blitz tourney crowns new champions
The Karin Maletzky Independence Blitz Chess Tournament crowned its 2026 champions, Xavier Amutenya and Neriah Gwanyanya, at Walvis Bay Private School last weekend.
The event was sponsored by Swakopmund-based chess parent Karin Maletzky, who continues to give back to the local chess community.
The annual tournament, held in celebration of the country’s 36th independence, attracted 61 players competing in a mixed-pool 10-round Swiss-format contest of speed and tactical awareness.
Competing in the open section, Amutenya’s title-winning run began with a first-round walkover against Star Kakonya, who was a no-show. He then suffered an early setback, losing to John Lugambo in the second round.
He recovered strongly, going on to defeat Panduleni Iyambo, Confidence John, Thomas Henderson, Hosea Shinana, Reuben Petrus, Israel Shilongo and Antony Yesuf.
Amutenya’s only draw came in the final round against Jonathan Titus, as he finished on 8.5 points overall.
Surprise victory
Reflecting on his achievement, Amutenya admitted he exceeded his own expectations, noting that blitz is not his strongest format.
“The level of competition was very high, and no one could have predicted the winner. My first loss was a wake-up call as I was too slow.
“It caused me to get low on time. My win against Shilongo was especially tough as the position was closed and my time was low, but in the end I managed to squeeze water out of a stone,” he said.
Amutenya is now preparing for the National Schools Individual Chess Championships this Thursday in Swakopmund.
The race for silver was decided on a direct encounter tiebreak after Shilongo and Yesuf both finished on eight points, with Yesuf’s win giving him the edge. Shilongo settled for bronze.
Gwanyanya’s title run
In the women’s section, Gwanyanya also began with a walkover against Magano Shitula. She faced strong resistance during her campaign, losing to Joel-Pahukeni Shigwedha, Imaneul Kooper and Confidence John.
However, victories over Sage Shiweva, Emma Okamaru, Brave Uusiku, Letty Ngula, Emiliha Samuel and Rebekka Nhinda saw her accumulate seven points, enough to secure the title.
Despite the win, she described the result as bittersweet, having aimed for a perfect score.
“I am not satisfied with my performance. I missed out on a perfect score, probably because I lacked practice in blitz,” she said.
Gwanyanya rated the level of competition as average for an open tournament, but highlighted her games against Shigwedha and Shiweva as particularly challenging.
She is also preparing to represent Erongo at the national championships on Thursday.
Junior, cadet champions
The junior and cadet categories featured only open sections. The top performers were as follows:
Juniors: 1 Shigwedha, 2 Titus, 3 Shinana.
Cadets: 1 Phaino Gwanyanya, 2 Uusiku, 3 Havarua.
