THE 2025 Minerva Zimbabwe Open Chess Championship is set to return for its fifth edition on 20 August, and for those who remember the former Zim Open, this event brings back fond memories.
A select few players continue to treasure a time long past, when many of today’s competitors were either swaddled in their cradles or had not yet graced the world with their presence. For those fortunate individuals, the mere mention of the revered old chess event ignites a cascade of nostalgia, taking them back to the humble confines beneath the modest roof of the Lonrho Pavilion, when January evenings were permeated with excitement and trepidation.
Back then, chess had transcended into an elaborate theatre, and the Pavilion served as its venerable old stage, filled with the symphony of clattering pieces and the rhythmic ticking sounds of analogue chess clocks that punctuated the atmosphere. Spectators would be seen meandering through the playing hall, hands clasped behind their backs, as if bearing the immense weight of history itself while savouring the thrill of the competition.
This August at Joina City in Harare, that sacred feeling is returning with a promise of new experiences.
Minerva Risk Advisors, like a masterful curator, is rejuvenating that legacy not by copying the past, but by reinventing it with profound respect and creativity. Through their innovative approach, they are infusing new energy and relevance into timeless principles, ensuring that the essence of tradition is celebrated while adapting to the intricacies of modern times.
The memories of yesteryear have not faded, they are being reimagined in a contemporary language marked by digital clocks, Digital Game Technology (DGT) chess boards and online pairings.
The magic, however, remains.
Zimbabwe Chess Federation is hosting this year’s tournament, which is generously sponsored by Minerva Risk Advisors and New World Property Managers. This year’s edition of the tournament has embraced a broader vision, welcoming participants and chess enthusiasts from all corners, creating an inclusive and rich atmosphere.
The 2025 Minerva Zim Open is not a tournament reserved for the elite few. It is a gathering of the regional chess soul.
The inclusion of generous free entries for past champions and seasoned veterans over 50 is a powerful statement.
There is a home for every player, from the fierce battlers in the Open A Section, with ratings gleaming above 1900, spirited participants in Section B and the Ladies Section.
It is hard not to smile at the thought of it, boys and girls under 16, scribbling moves with disciplined hands. Meanwhile, the weary corporate warriors, their minds worn from endless meetings, will be trying to remember long-forgotten chess openings. Throughout the spacious playing hall, veterans will have a chance to bridge the gap of time by sharing quiet nods of recognition with old friends.
With the playing hall on the sixth floor, glass-lit and modern, it might seem a far cry from the charm of the quaint Lonrho arena. Yet, in the quiet concentration of each match, in the touch of clocks and the unspoken language of locked eyes over 64 squares, something familiar stirs. The room hushes in the same way. The tension coils in the same stillness. Nothing has changed about how the game of chess is played, but new experiences are being made.
Notable changes are that the tournament is no longer held at the old location, it is now at a venue towering over downtown Harare, which offers a cosmopolitan pulse the Pavilion never knew. There are mobile phones to be surrendered now. Prizes, once modest and symbolic, now rise to meet ambition, USD1500 for the Open A section champion, with tablets, shields, and medals awaiting others across sections.
Yet the spirit of that old, cherished event has not vanished. It has matured.
Chess in Zimbabwe has evolved, yes. But it has not forgotten.
There is a line that runs from the past into this very moment. It knits through the memories of end-of-year tournaments under Lonrho’s rafters, through chess leadership transitions, and into the present, where Minerva’s careful revival now resides.
The Minerva Zim Open tournament is a cathedral of memory, opened anew.
