IM Arthur Ssgewanyi who is rated 2381 was the overall winner of the 2016 Kireka Open Chess Tournament which came to an end last week after 4 tough days at the Memrito Hotel, in Bweyogerere, Uganda.
FM Haruna Nsbugua tied with Arthur Ssgweanyi with 7/8 but he had a lower tie break and hence ended up in 2nd place.
They each shared a total cash prize of UGX 1.5 million (USD 450).
This 4 day event attracted all the big names in Ugandan chess including veterans like Edward Ssentongo and Joseph Kaamu who were regular visitors to Kenya in the late 1990’s. In fact Edward Ssentongo was the 1992 Kenya Open Champion!
Missing in action was IM Elijah Emojong who is rated 2351.
In the Ladies section WFM Ivy Amoko was the clear winner with 7.5/8 points to prove once again that she is the top lady player in the region. She went home with UGX 700,000 (USD 200).
The level of competition was intense as demonstrated by the fact that FM Harold Wanyama 2269 and Kenyan Ben Magana 2149 only managed 5.5/8 points to end up in 7th and 11th position respectively in the ranking.
