The 2022 Kenya Open got off to a thrilling start at the Luke Hotel, in Nairobi. Round one saw Christian Nderi of Kenya, who has a rating of 1478, crushing top seed IM Arthur Ssegwanyi of Uganda, who is rated 2412!
IM Slayer of the day – Christian Nderi in action.
IM Arthur Ssegwanyi v Christian Nderi
IM Arthur Ssegwanyi of Uganda who is the top player in East Africa.
CM Ben Magana is the top-ranked Kenyan player at 2088 and ranked 6th at the start. Joseph Methu of Kenya is the defending 2019 Kenya Open Champion. The 2020 edition was not held due to Covid.
2019 Kenya Open Chess Champion Joseph Methu.2021 Kenya National Chess Champion Martin Njoroge and 2019 Kenya National Chess Champion Mehul Gohil in action during the 2022 Kenya Open.
Spicing up the event are players from South Sudan and Lesotho.
South Sudanese players are James Panchol and Adol Makuach Dau, while Motlomeio Monaheng is from Lesotho.
Cash Prizes
The top prize in the Open section is KES 120,000 (USD 1,100). The prize fund in total is just above KES 550,000 (USD 5,000), making it one of the most lucrative events in the region.
Ladies Section
WCM Joyce Nyaruai of Kenya is the top-seeded player in the Ladies’ section. WCM Lucy Wanjiru, the 2019 Kenya National Ladies Champion and WFM Sasha Mongeli, the 2021 Kenya National Ladies Champion, are the other top players in the event.
