Top seeds struggling in ongoing Mombasa Open Chess Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 13.10.24. | 12:53
More than 200 players are taking part in the event with a prize fund of Sh.220,000
The ongoing Mombasa Open chess championships at Light Academy are proving to be a graveyard for all the top seeds as they are nowhere near the prize bracket four rounds into it.
Instead young and up-coming players are dominating especially in the Open section.
KCB’s Robert Oluka is firmly at the top of the standings, with maximum points after four rounds, having won all his matches and is on the way to winning his first-ever Mombasa Open title.
Teammate and University student Brian Irungu is second with 3.5 points. Irungu has won three out of his four matches and drawn once.
The next three positions are occupied by players from South Sudan who have collected 3.5 points and remain on course to win the Sh.50,000 on offer for the Open winner.
Gon Thon Gong leads the South Sudanese battalion in the third position and is followed by Ngong Samuel and James Panchol respectively.
Ugandan Haruna Nsubuga the tournament’s top seed is ranked in 11th position with three points.
Two-time winner Mehul Gohil is ranked 13th after picking just 2.5 points. The big-talking Gohil was one of the tournament’s favourite and had said he was using it to prepare for the upcoming Kenya National Chess Championships in December.
In the ladies category, all top players are in the driving seat. Former national champion Joyce Nyaruai beat Madelta Glenda to remain in the top position with four points.
Julie Mutisya remains in second place also with four points after she edged out Shannon Bulimo. Kimani Wanjiru, Sasha Mongeli and Daphne Mwikali complete the top five positions.
In the under-17 category, Kimani Hubert has maintained his great run and is still on top of the ladder with three points same as second-placed Brian Kimondo.
More than 200 players are taking part in the event with a prize fund of Sh.220,000. After the Mombasa Open, the Nairobi Open chess Championships is next in line from October 18-20 at Wadi Degla Club in Runda.
The tournament has a prize fund of Sh.200,000 to be competed for in various categories.
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