Leemisa Thuseho
LOCAL chess starlet, Lebajoa Tšephe, says the secret to his current good form is holding regular training sessions with top international players.
Tšephe continued his impressive run by winning the 2023 Basotho Year Opener held at Good Night Lodge from 5 to 6 August.
The 18-year-old was too hot to handle as he won all his six games to collect all the six points on offer. Second position went to the 2022 National Champion, Bokang Motsamai who collected five points from the six games played.
Tšephe’s win was on the back of another recent victory when he clinched the 2023 King’s Birthday Open chess tournament held at Good Night Lodge in Maseru from 15 to 17 July.
The King’s Birthday tournament also incorporated a blitz open competition which was played on the last day of the event, and was also won by Tšephe.
Before the King’s Birthday competition, Tšephe was on the back of another victory after winning the 2023 Winter Open Chess tournament held at Good Night Lodge from 1 to 2 July.
Before that win, he had claimed the 2023 Monafils Berea Open chess tournament held at Lioli High School in Teyateyaneng on 10 June.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times following the weekend victory, Tséphe said what helps him maintain his dominance locally is his strategy of always going for practice sessions “with strong and top-ranked players” from outside the country.
“I always request challenges from strong players outside the country,” Tšephe told the Lesotho Times.
“I play them and they beat me most of the time. But that is not what I focus on. My focus is to learn from my mistakes and improve…that is how I improve. The other thing is that I have passion for what I do.”
He also gave credit to the work and contribution of his coach, Moseli Phera, who has been mentoring him from a very tender age.
“I have a very powerful coach; I am where I am today because of him. He always seeks the best for me, and even suggests that I get a more experienced or higher-ranked coach than him, preferably an International Master (IM).”
Tšephe says he is impressed with his performance this season and always strives to improve in every tournament.
“I see great improvement in my performance; I am not competing against anyone but myself. After every tournament, I hope to do better in the following tournament,” Tšephe said.
