2025 Kantinti Memorial Chess Championship
The 2025 Kantinti Memorial Open Chess Championship, which ran from 4th to 6th April 2025 at The Nob View Hotel in Ntinda, Kampala is one of the five Grand Prix events in the Uganda Chess Federation’s calendar. It had three sections: the Open, Ladies, and Juniors.
IM Arthur Ssegwanyi won the tournament with 5.5 points out of six rounds, beating a field of about 60 participants. He went home with a cash prize of UGX 1,000,000 and a glittering trophy.
FM Patrick Kawuma grabbed the silver medal with five points, while Garang Panthoum Madol of South Sudan also took the bronze with five points but a lower tie-break.
WFM Sana Omprakash Kayyar, on the other hand, dominated the Ladies Section with a decisive six points out of six rounds to go home with UGX 700,000 and a trophy. She beat a field of 20 participants. WFM Peninah Nakabo snatched the silver medal with 4.5 points, while Joan Ahereza took the bronze medal with 4.5 points but a lower tie-break.
The Junior Section was also a hotly contested affair, with just under 30 players competing in the various age-group categories. Malcom Nabeeta was triumphant, scoring a perfect eight points out of eight rounds.
The Open Section is organised in memory of Shadrack Kantinti, a Ugandan legend who featured for the national team a record eight times at the Chess Olympiad from 1998 to 2018.
Game Corner
Past winners
2024 – Not held
2023 – Gong Thon Gong
2022 – Rajab Kamoga
2020 – FM Patrick Kawuma
Shadrack Kantinti
Shadrack Kantinti was an 8-time record Olympian for Uganda who passed who passed away in June 2019. He played in 1996, 2000 to 2010 and 2018 editions of the Olympiad. In the 2006 edition, he scored an impressive seven victories out of 13 games.
Bob Bibasa, a close friend, had to say.
‘Kantinti was a very humble guy in real life but a monster on the chessboard. You could not tell when and how he is going to sacrifice because a number of his games culminated with a sacrifice!’
Photo Gallery & Poster
Links
2025 Kantinti Memorial Chess Tournament on chess-results.com.
Gong Thon Gong wins 2023 Kantinti Memorial.
2023 Kantinti Memorial Open Chess Championship on chess-results.com.
FM Patrick Kawuma wins 2020 Kantinti Memorial.
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Article by Kenya Chess Masala.
