The last Kenya National Chess Championships were held in 2015 when Ken Omolo and Riya Shah were crowned. See story on 2015 Kenya National Championship.
The 2016 edition was not held due to bitter wrangles within the federation.
The good news is that Chess Kenya have just released the following details on the 2017 Kenya National Chess Championship which will also serve as the first phase of the 2018 Olympiad Qualifiers. The First Phase will be held from 19th to 22nd October 2017 over 8 rounds in Nairobi.
The National Champions (Men & Ladies) will qualify directly for the Final Phase. If ladies are less than 24 in the first phase, then the number of shortlisted Lady players will be revised.
The 2nd Phase of the Olympiad Qualifiers will be held in Mombasa from 24th to 26nd November 2017 over 6 rounds to shortlist 10 players from each section for the Final Phase.
These 10 players will join the 2017 Kenya National Champions in the Final Phase, to make 11 players, who will play a single round robin to select the top 5 in both the Open & Ladies Section to form the team.
The Final Phase will be played over two weekends: 1st & 2nd December 2017 over 4 rounds in Kisumu and then from 9th to 12th December 2017 in Nairobi over 6 rounds to shortlist 5 players in each section who will qualify for the Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, 2018.
List of past Kenya National Chess Champions is shown below;
1990 – Lawrence Kagambi
1993 – Humphrey Andolo
1994 – Lothar Nikolaiczuk
1995 – Humphrey Andolo
1996 – Philip Nicholas Odhiambo
1997 – Humphrey Andolo
1998 – Humphrey Andolo
1999 – Humphrey Andolo
2001 – Kenneth Ajode Omolo
2003 – Mathew Kamau Kanegeni
2005 – Nathan Mukaka Ateka
2006 – Benjamin Omondi Magana
2007 – Peter Gilruth
2013 – Benjamin Omondi Magana
2014 – Mehul Gohil
2015 – Kenneth Ajode Omolo
For the Ladies this is what we have
2005 – Linda Abur
2013 – Sharanya Iyengar
2014 – WFM Sanjana Deshpande
2015 – WCM Riya Shah
