Home Chess News The 6th Le Pelley Cup – Brian Gabriel Mwangi grabs title

The 6th Le Pelley Cup – Brian Gabriel Mwangi grabs title

March 3, 2024

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The 6th Le Pelley Cup – Brian Gabriel Mwangi grabs title

The 6th Le Pelley Cup ended last weekend with Brian Gabriel Mwangi emerging as the winner of the Open Section to claim his first silverware in his chess career. He scored 3.5 points out of the four round event. Gabriel Njuki took second place with the same number of points but with an inferior tie-break. They both equally shared the cash prize of KES 30,000.

Nairobi Chess Club Chairman Willy Simons (left) presents Brian Gabriel Mwangi the trophy for winning the Open section of the 6th Le Pelley Tournament.

Dr Victor Ng’ani took third place and KES 5,000 in the section that saw 14 contestants battling it out.

This particular section had a fair amount of fascinating battles including one where Dr Victor Ng’ani had a blind moment and got checkmated in 18 moves in his game against the wily Ken Omolo.

Brian Gabriel Mwangi’s win against Ken Omolo was another interesting battle.

Gabriel Njuki in clearly winning position missed his chance to be the sole winner when he allowed James Panchol to snatch a draw in the in the final round.

The thrilling battle between Gabriel Njuki (left) against James Panchol in the 4th and final round.

Rodgers Adai in action and who ended up with 2 points out of the four round contest. — Rodgers Adai in action and who ended up with 2 points out of the four round contest in the Open Section.

U1800 Section

It was a proud moment for the U1800 Section winner, Ezekiel Karani, who grabbed his first trophy in his career. He won this section with 4 points out of four rounds to go home with KES 10,000

Brian Mmata ended up in joint second place with 3.5 points and adding a trophy to his cabinet after his 3rd place in the recently concluded 14th Capablanca Cup. He won a cash prize of KES 5,000.

Cyprian Bwire was third with three points.

This section saw 19 participants slugging it out over four rounds.

Nairobi Chess Club Committee Member Warren Pollock (left) presents Ezekiel Karani with his trophy for winning the U1800 Section.

U1600 Section

The U1600 Section was equally competitive, with just over 27 participants.

At the start of the event, Chris Mwanza, an unrated player, crushed all opposition to win the section with six points out of six rounds. He took home a glittering trophy and a KES 5,000 cash prize. He was a star attraction in the event with his devastating and crushing attacks.

Veteran Francis Ngesa won the runners up with 5 points while Simon Kaseu Kathulu was third with four points.

Thayu Macharia (left) presents Chris Mwanza his trophy for winning the U1600 with a perfect score of 6/6.

U1400 Section

The U1400 Section was equally competitive, with just over 24 participants.

Shirlyn Gathoni Onyango a student of Spleng School cruised to a comfortable win with six points out of six rounds.

Elsie Wambui Kamoni grabbed the second slot with 5 points, while Aseem Sardana grabbed the third slot with the four points.

Shirlyn Gathoni Onyango (left) receives her trophy from Bronwynne van Rijn the Academic Administrative Assistant of The School of Nations.

Other details of the Le Pelley Cup

This annual event organised by Nairobi Chess Club honours the long-serving Chairman, Peter Le Pelley, who passed away in 2010. See the story on Inaugural Peter Le Pelley Cup. More on the life of Mr Le Pelley can be found here –Peter Le Pelley Obituary Revised.

The School of Nations, along Kirawa Road, was the 6th Le Pelley Cup tournament venue. Hiram Gakembu, a long-serving member of the Nairobi Chess Club, was one of the partial sponsors of the event.