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Kondlo, our very own grandmaster of mind games

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Draughts champion Lubabalo Kondlo empowers others despite lack of funds. Picture: Werner Hills
Draughts champion Lubabalo Kondlo empowers others despite lack of funds. Picture: Werner Hills

Draughts grandmaster Lubabalo Kondlo has an incredible story to tell.

Kondlo (46), who hails from New Brighton in Port Elizabeth, wanted to be the world’s best player so much that he asked the global draughts governing body – the World Draughts Federation – to buy him a plane ticket so he could travel to Mississippi in the US to challenge Italian draughts grandmaster Michele Borghetti.

Kondlo secured a R1 500 sponsorship from German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW).

“I had sponsors to travel when VW offered me R1 500, which could only take me from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg,” the player said.

“That was when I wrote to the draughts world governing body requesting them to buy me a plane ticket because once you are in the final you are guaranteed to receive money.”

The winning purse was $3 000 (R43 000) – 60% of the total prize money, with the runner-up getting the remaining 40%.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Draughts Association member was guaranteed prize money even if he lost.

Kondlo easily beat Borghetti 5-0 in a go-as-you-please world title match – a freestyle format of play with basic restrictions, as opposed to the more stringent three-move format.

The opponents were meant to play 24 games over six match days, from September 8 to 14, but the Italian gave up after five games.

“I prepared myself from March this year and practiced different ways that could help me beat him, as I know the Italians are great and they grew up playing this game.”

Kondlo reminisced about how it all started.

“I started playing draughts in Port Elizabeth at the age of seven.”

He said he was spotted by an old man called Jimboy Mqotsi, who has been with him through thick and thin.

Despite being good in other sports such as soccer and rugby, Kondlo was encouraged to stick with the game he loved – draughts.

The decision paid off when, years later, he managed to beat celebrated world champion Ron “Suki” King of Barbados.

Having tried his luck at Moroka Swallows, Kondlo was able to mingle with the late David “Pine” Chabeli, who took a group of young guys to his house in Johannesburg where he got the chance to play king.

Kondlo, who has won four US titles, is the first draughts grandmaster in Africa. However, he said he was not well-recognised in the country.

Despite a lack of support from draughts federations, he empowers primary school pupils in his home town by teaching them how to play the game.

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