Kenya enters 12 players to the prestigious FIDE Chess World Cup

Kenya has entered 12 players for this year’s World Chess Federation FIDE World Cup to be held in Batumi, Georgia from Sunday 22 June to Thursday 3 July.

This is the second edition of the prestigious tournament which features just 288 players from around the world.

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Players will compete in three categories: under-8, under-10 and under-12 with each category restricted to just 48 players thereby attracting the World’s strongest players.

The Kenyan team includes seven boys and five girls. St. Peter Juja’s Aiden Wainaina Ngaruiya has been entered in the boys under-12 category.

This is his second international tournament in as many years having taken part in the World Cadets tournament held in Italy back in 2024.

Other top under-12 players entered in the event include: Jibril Gachugu Gathima, Kelly Sosi and Liam Valembia. All the three also took part in the World Cadet tournament held in Italy last year.

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Ryan Kimani Danson, Victor Rotich and Kayden Sankau Oloitiptip complete the list of boys registered for the event.

The five girls entered for the tournament are Zawadi Mugo, Wanjiru Wanjiku Gichugu, Jasmine Ireri, Ayra Mushila and Leticia Wanjiru.

According to Chess Kenya Federation Secretary General John Mukabi, the country’s progress at the junior level is what led to them being invited for the prestigious event.

“We have tried as much as possible to enter as many teams in past international junior events and the world has begun to notice.

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We are confident that taking part in such events will help to grow the capacity of our young players, helping them to get better and better,” he said.

According to organisers, the tournament will be played in two stages: the first one will see players take part in a seven round Swiss system. The second stage will see players who finish in the same position in each group playing against each other.

Winners in each category will receive a trophy and the latest edition of the Macbook air.