Why KCB are optimistic of great show at African Individual Chess Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 19.06.26. | 16:04
The event will see elite players from across Africa compete over nine rounds under the Swiss-system format
KCB Chess Team Manager Isaac Babu is optimistic that his team will emerge winners of the 2026 African Individual Chess Championship, scheduled for this month at Cresta Lodge in Jwaneng, Botswana.
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Babu, who will comprise part of the team’s technical bench in the competition, believes the nine-time Kenya Chess Premier League Champions KCB have got all it takes to emerge as one of the best in the continent.
“We are fully aware that we are up against some of the strongest players on the continent, including Grandmasters and seasoned champions,” Babu, speaking at the team’s official departure from Kenya, said. “But we are not going there to participate. We are going there to compete, to challenge for wins in every round and to prove that we belong at the very top of African chess.”
The championship is one of the premier chess events on the African continent as it brings together elite players from across Africa to compete in the Open and Women’s section and will be played over nine rounds under the Swiss-system format.
©KCB BankKCB Chess Team will be represented by Joseph Methu, Woman FIDE Master Joyce Nyaruai, Candidate Master Ian Mutuge, Hugh Misiko, Woman FIDE Master Elizabeth Cassidy, Hawi Kaloki, Candidate Master Emmanuel Egesa, Woman Candidate Master Bella Nashipae, and FIDE Master Jadon Simiyu.
Alongside Babu in the technical bench, will be Vincent Owuor.
“We are proud of the preparation and discipline the players have shown and we are confident that our players will represent us well in the upcoming championships,” KCB Group Director, Marketing and Communications, Rosalind Gichuru, said.
All eyes will be on Cassidy, the rising star and Under-16 continental gold medalist, as she heads into the Africa Individual Chess Championship, marking her as one of Africa’s most promising talents.
She will be joined by FIDE Master Simiyu, the 14-year-old national champion inspiring a new generation.
The Open section is expected to be highly competitive and will feature Egyptian Grandmaster Bassem Amin, rated 2628, alongside elite players from Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The time control for the event is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one.
The Chief Arbiter for the event will be Stephen Ssemmango Kisuze.
