Malawi’s Women’s Chess Team has bounced back from yesterday’s defeat to the Philippines with a 4-0 victory over Gabon at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Tupkiwe Msukwa defeated Pauline Onanga, Rachel Jaylos beat Felicia Ngoua Oyane, Anne Simwaba defeated Lyne Oussou, while Shalom Kapende beat Krisytna Elisee.
Head of Delegation for the Malawi National Chess Teams at the 2026 FIDE World Chess Olympiad, Francis Kudzala, says the victory is a comeback for the women’s team after they lost all four games against the Philippines yesterday.
Msukwa lost to Ruelle Canino, Jaylos was defeated by Jan Fronda, Kapende lost to Shania Mendoza, while Ellen Mpinganjira was defeated by Mhage Sebastian.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s Open Team has also bounced back, beating Sierra Leone 3-1 in the second round.
Chiletso Chipanga defeated Mansfield Gerard, Joseph Mwale beat Brian Beckley and George Mwale defeated Ronald Lwebuga, while Aaron Phiri lost to Samzu Agbaje.
The result follows a 3-1 defeat to Greece in the opening round, where Mwale lost to Dimitrios Mastrovasilis, Chipanga was defeated by Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis, George Mwale lost to Ioannis Papadatos, while Nyambalo drew with Dimitris Alexakis.
The 46th Chess Olympiad started on Tuesday and will run until 27 September 2026.
