Ndahangwapo: Namibia’s second at World Cup

Chess
Mariud Ngula
  • 16 Hours Ago
Namibia’s three-time and reigning chess champion, Candidate Master (CM) Heskiel Ndahangwapo, became only the country’s second player to compete at the Chess World Cup last weekend.

He is following in the footsteps of Namibia’s first International Master (IM), Dante Beukes, who made the country’s debut appearance in 2023.

Hosted in Arpora, India, in the state of Goa, the global showpiece features over 200 players from more than 80 countries, putting their strategic skills to the test in a two-game, head-to-head knockout (single-elimination) format until 27 November.

CM Ndahangwapo left for the International Chess Federation (FIDE) showpiece on Wednesday and participated on Saturday, going up against Russian Grandmaster (GM) Vladislav Artemiev, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN).

Namibia’s champion faced tough competition, paired against a much stronger Russian opponent with a FIDE rating of 2637, which is 543 points higher than his own 2094 rating.

Ndahangwapo ultimately came off second-best in both encounters of the first round to bow out of the competition. He is set to return home from India tomorrow, having gained invaluable experience from the world stage.



Pride and gratitude

He reflected on his participation with pride and gratitude, thanking the Namibia Chess Federation for fielding him to take up the country’s sole qualification spot.

“It was always going to be hard. Facing undeniably stronger competition was an opportunity of a lifetime,” he wrote on his social media.

Namibia qualified following its 72nd-place finish out of 100 teams at last year’s 45th World Chess Olympiad in Hungary, with 100 being the qualification cut-off for World Cup participation.

Ndahangwapo admitted he could have played the first game better, citing his lack of precision in the opening, which led to a difficult position to defend. He noted the second game suited his style more and that he handled it better.

“At one moment, I thought I was winning, only to see Artemiev place his bishop on e3 on the 32nd turn. [That brilliant move shifted the balance of the game and ultimately led to him winning the match.]

“All in all, Artemiev was very kind and open. I’ll cherish the postgame analysis we had and the honour of playing on the top boards. I hope to come back stronger next time,” he said.

In July this year, Ndahangwapo made history as the only Namibian player to have won the national title three years in a row (2023, 2024 and 2025).

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