Nine hundred chess players from 29 countries participated in the Common-wealth Chess Champion-ship that was held in South Africa earlier this month. It coincided with the 95th birthday celebrations of Nelson Mandela who was born on July 18.
The Championship was declared open by President Jacob Zuma and attended by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and his wife. Kasparov completed a seven nation tour of Africa with his trip to the Commonwealth Chess Championship.
The tournament was won by Indian grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta. In a stirring closing address to players and celebrities, President Zuma explained that
