SA draughts grandmaster Melikhaya Nonyukela, of Motherwell, has again proved his prowess in the sport after coming out tops in the World Three-Move Draughts Championship Qualifiers in Germany.
The tournament was played in the ancient town of Korbach in northern Hesse, from September 20-28.
The win secured Nonyukela, 50, a chance to challenge the Italian grandmaster and three-move draughts world champ Sergio Scarpetta.
Nonyukela and Lubabalo Kondlo, of New Brighton, represented SA at the tournament after paying their own travel and accommodation costs and arrived in Germany on September 19 before battling it out on the boards.
Kondlo finished fifth in the qualifiers.
The SA pair also participated in the Three-Move Draught German Open within the world qualifiers event and Nonyukela clinched second place.
The World Three-Move Draught Championship Qualifiers was played at 45 minutes per game with two matches played a day.
“In the eight rounds that I played, I beat six people and had two draws.
“I was nervous, especially when I took the lead in the log — from the first day I was third in the log,” Nonyukela said.
He said each day of the qualifiers brought its challenges and anxious moments.
“The second day I was second, on the third day I led the log with three points clear from my second- placed opponent.
“I started to be nervous, because if I lost we would share first place on the log.
“But by the time they played I already had my two points, which meant I had a comfortable three points which meant I would need to be beaten twice to lose,” Nonyukela said.
He said he was extremely excited to win the world qualifiers event because it allowed him to compete against Scarpetta for the overall world title.
“I saw things that I have never seen before,” Nonyukela said.
“However, we are working on trying to raise funds to bring Scarpetta to SA next year so that he can compete this side.
“We would need to have a sponsor of $10,000 (about R172,300), which can be close to R250,000 [including accommodation and food costs].
“The president of the Italian Draughts Federation is also working on bringing me to Italy to compete there.
“We have never had a tournament of such a magnitude in Gqeberha.
“Our local players would learn a lot — we use a clock, we also write down our moves so that they can get used to seeing that international standard,” he said.
Nonyukela, of Motherwell NU7, learnt from his grandfather how to play draughts in his home village in Ngqushwa, going on to join the Vultures draughts club under Raymond Rulu in Kwazakhele in 1997 — which he credits for much of his later success.
He now mentors other players at the club.
“I want draughts to reach a respectable level where we can get sponsors to compete against people in other provinces so we can learn their style of play, just as we learn from other countries,” Nonyukela said in an earlier interview.
HeraldLIVE
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