KCB Chess Club raid Strathmore University ahead of 2025 league
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 28.01.25. | 15:12
According to KCB Chess Club team manager Isaac Babu, they have now completed their signings and are ready for the league
Former Kenya National Chess Premier League champions KCB have raided Strathmore University for top player Ian Mutuge as the Bankers seek to reclaim their title.
Mutuge becomes the fourth major signing by the Bankers who also officially lured back former national champion Martin Njoroge.
They join Hugh Misikho who single-handedly helped Equity Bank to win the league last year and Kenya’s top-rated player Hawi Kaloki who is moving to the club from Mavens Chess Club.
According to KCB Chess Club team manager Isaac Babu, they have now completed their signings and are ready for the league.
“Our focus has mainly been on youth players because we are looking at the future and we are confident that the new additions will help us greatly to achieve our goals,” he said.
The Bankers are already witnessing the results of their signings as they were declared the Best Corporate team at last weekend’s Eldoret Open Chess Championship.
Babu also revealed that veteran player Philip Singe has joined the team’s technical bench as assistant coach to former national champion Ben Magana.
Singe has been a player for the Bankers for close to a decade and brings plenty of experience to the technical bench.
Mutuge is currently the sixth highest-rated player in Kenya with a rating of 1959. He has had a great performance in the last year including earning a Candidate Master title at the World Chess Olympiad held in Hungary last September.
Njoroge was dropped by the Bankers last year but he brings a lot of experience to the team.
He was the national champion in 2022 driving away with a brand new Mazda Demio but since then his performance plummeted.
Njoroge has shown some vast improvements over the last few months and is likely to play a big role in helping the Bankers to another league title this year.
The league begins in March. A captains' meeting to discuss the modalities of the competition is scheduled for this weekend at KCB Sports Club.
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