Milton Kihara wins Lighthouse Chess Club U21 Tournament
Milton Kihara put up a fine performance when he won the inaugural Lighthouse Chess Club U21 tournament. He cruised to a comfortable win with 6.5 points out of 7 games.
James Kabui ended up as Runners Up with 6 points in the same section.
CM Lwanga Odongo won the U18 section with an impressive 6.5 points out of 7 games.
The event was organised by the redoubtable Lighthouse Chess Club who are based in Mombasa. It also coincided with the 2nd edition of the East Africa Lighthouse Junior Open Chess Championship.
A total of 78 players took part in the event at the Oshwal School, Mombasa and which ran from 7th to 10th December 2018.
The U21 section had an impressive prize fund of KES 77,500 (USD 775) with the top player taking KES 30,000 (USD 300). This was by far the biggest prize fund for a Junior/U21 chess tournament in East & Central Africa.
The U21 Section attracted a total of only 12 players but was important on several fronts. Firstly it exposed the U21 players to tough playing conditions which are found in continental events. Secondly it served as a good training session for the 2018 Africa Junior Chess Championship which started in Kampala a few days later.
Milton Kihara & James Kabui were Kenya’s representatives in the Africa Junior Chess Championship.
The U18 Section had 66 players from Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. A wide section of schools was represented in the event.
Participating Schools
- Zanaki Chess Academy from Tanzania.
- Dove Chess Academy from Uganda.
- Oshwal Academy Mombasa.
- Oshwal Academy Nairobi.
- Kivukoni School.
- Logos Christian School from Nairobi.
- Juja Peters Schools from Nairobi.
- Memon School.
- KCB Chess Club.
- Anchor Chess Club.
- Epitome Chess Club.
- Kilifi Chess Club.
- Nairobi Chess Academy.
- Sirio School.
- Light Academy.
- Nyeri Good Shepherd Academy.
- Karima Boys High School.
- Butere Girls High School.
- Ofafa Jericho Boys High School.
- Tritonite Stars.
- Mavens Chess Club.
- Peponi International School.
- KBA School.
- Mombasa Chess Academy.
Links
Website of Lighthouse Chess Club – Lighthouse Chess Club
Standings & results – Lighthouse U21 results & standings
Tournament report – East Africa Lighthouse and Under 21 CC Report-1
Africa Junior Chess Championship – IM Fawzy Adham grabs lead in Africa Junior