By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –
UPCOMING junior star Joshua Mulauzi has remained in the hunt for a medal at the African Under-20 Chess Championship in Seychelles after an eight round win over Ali Mohammed.
The win took the Lusaka-based Mulauzi to five points from the eight rounds and placed him in joint fourth place.
Leader David Silva of Angola defeated compatriot Silvio Famorosa to get to 7.5 points and got confirmed as tournament winner with one round to go.
In the ninth and closing round, Mulauzi faces a tough game against Daniel Anwuli of Nigeria who has a far superior rating.
With players above him facing each other on the top three boards, Mulauzi will be hoping for a win to enable him break into the top three and pick up a medal.
The other Zambian at the tournament is Elias Musonda, the 2015 Zambia schools champion, who suffered a morale dampening defeat to Antenaina Mohamud of Somalia in the same round.
The defeat meant Musonda remains on four points and out of the running for a top three finish and will be hoping to put some respectable performance as he goes into the last round.
In the closing round, Musonda will face Ali Abdullahi Fara, another Somalian who is also on four points but with no world rating.
