7,000 players register for Kenya National Chess Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 04.04.25. | 20:56
Players will compete in the under-7, under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17 categories
A record 7,000 players will take part in this year’s Kenya National Chess Championships which starts on Saturday at Mangu High School.
This is the highest ever number of participants to take part in the event that be used to pick players to represent the country in various international events this year.
According to Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala, the huge number is a testament of the growth of the sport in the last few years.
“This year we had more than 10,000 players taking part in the regional qualifiers and almost 70% are coming to the nationals. This is a huge increase, as we usually have just half of those who take part in the regionals registering for the national tournament.
“It shows a great hunger for the sport and the great progress we have made in the last few years,” he said.
This year’s event will be used to select the Kenyan team that will represent the country in the Africa Schools Chess Championships to be held in Mombasa from 21-28 May.
Players will compete in the under-7, under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17 categories.
Of the 7,000 players registered for this year’s tournament at Mangu High School, the under-11 category has the largest number of participants at 1200.
There will be three rounds of play on the first day followed by another three on the second day and two more on the last day.
Winners in each category will get trophies while those who finish in the second and third positions will receive medals.
Brookside Diaries are one of the sponsors of the three-day event, having donated Sh.500,000 to be used to buy trophies for the winners and winning schools.
Like it happens every year, new champions are expected to emerge at the end of the three-day event to carry the country’s flag on the international stage.
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