Kenya National Chess Championship – Day 1
The Kenya National Chess Championship got off to a smooth start on Jamhuri Day.
The Open section had a massive 106 players competing for the top KES 100,000 (USD 1,000) first prize.
Matthew Kanegeni (2150) who was the 2003 Kenya National Champion is the top ranked player in this event.
CM Ben Magana is the defending champion and he is ranked number 2 with an Elo of 2111. CM Ben Magana has won the Kenya National Champions 3 times (2006, 2013 and 2017).
The Ladies section had an impressive 40 players taking part. WCM Joyce Nyaruai is the top player in the event and the current title holder. The other top players include Gloria Jumba, WFM Sasha Mongeli, Daphne Mwikali, & WCM Lucy Wanjiru.
Round 1
There were no major upsets in round 1 with most of the games being won by the higher rated player. The only notable result was when 13 year old CM Agunda Lwanga (1168) held Martin Njoroge (1819) to a draw.
Round 2
There were a few major upsets in round 2.
Mehul Gohil (1984) was defeated by upcoming youngster John Milton Kihara (1679).
Joseph Maigua (1737) played well to hold defending champion CM Ben Magana to a well contested draw.
Joseph Methu had to dig in deep into his reserves to win against a stubborn Evans Sinoya in a game that last 83 moves!
WCM Joyce Nyaruai fell to 13 year old Naiya Gosrani. The initially well balanced game saw WCM Nyaruai obtain a superior position by move 33 before overlooking a nasty back rank check.
The event continues at Parklands Sports Club and runs until 16th December 2018.
Links
You can find links to the other stories about this event.
Day 4 – Kenya National Chess Championship
Day 3 – Kenya National Chess Championship
Standings & Results of the 2018 Kenya National Chess Championship.
Day 2 – Kenya National Chess Championship
Day 1 – Kenya National Chess Championship
Kenya National Chess Championship details