Minerva Risk Advisors has injected US$10,000 into the sixth edition of the Minerva Zim Open Chess Championship, reaffirming its commitment to the growth and development of chess in Zimbabwe.
The chess tournament, which has become one of the country’s major chess events, will run from August 19 to 23 at Heritage Village, Corner Kirkman Road and Harare Drive, with organisers expecting up to 400 players from Zimbabwe and across the SADC region.
Minerva director for marketing and outreach, Nicholas Chekera, said the company had committed US$10,000 in cash to the Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF), with additional expenditure going towards planning, player regalia, food and other requirements to ensure the tournament’s success.
“This is just for the tournament, but what we want to do is to make sure that we have a hand in chess in the schools, chess in the community and chess in the region,” Chekera said.
He said Minerva’s support was not limited to the annual tournament, as the company was looking at broader initiatives that could help take chess to more people, particularly young players.
“Chess is one of the lesser-publicised games in the country. There’s quite a lot of sponsorship going into soccer and other deemed bigger sports,” Chekera said.
“For us, as Minerva, as a giant in the insurance industry, we saw it fit to pretty much hand-hold chess as a federation in the country, to bring it up to where we feel it actually should be sitting.”
The partnership between Minerva and the ZCF has now spanned several years, with the insurance company reaffirming that its support would continue beyond this year’s tournament.
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The sixth edition is expected to attract players from Zimbabwe and other countries in the region, with registrations still coming in from local competitors and foreign federations.
ZCF tournament director Ogab Dozva said the organisers were targeting a field of up to 400 players, noting that last year’s tournament attracted close to that number.
“Registrations are still coming in, especially from the federations from outside the country. Even our local players are very enthusiastic about this particular tournament,” Dozva said.
The tournament has also retained its corporate section for the second consecutive year, with organisers hoping to encourage more companies to participate and support chess.
According to Chekera, the corporate section is intended to give businesses an opportunity to embrace chess as a strategic sport while following Minerva’s example of supporting its development.
“We want all the corporates also to start getting to engage in a sport that actually stimulates strategy,” he said.
Dozva said Minerva’s continued involvement was a sign of a strong partnership that could inspire other companies to invest in chess.
“Minerva Risk Advisors isn’t just backing a tournament; they’re investing in the minds that will shape our future,” Dozva said.
He said the federation was grateful for Minerva’s continued backing and hoped the partnership would encourage other corporates to recognise the value of chess in developing young people.
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