Second round of Kenya World Chess Olympiad qualifiers set for Friday
By Gibo.Zachary, January 12, 2022
Chess Kenya has confirmed that the second phase of the World Chess Olympiad, Kenya Qualifiers, will be held from Friday, January 14, to Sunday, January 16, at KCB Sports Club, Ruaraka, Nairobi.
The federation is seeking to select a strong national team that will represent the country in the upcoming 45th World Chess Olympiad which is set to begin on July 26 until August 8, 2022, to be co-hosted by Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk with the latter holding the official opening ceremony and the competition for the disabled, while the main event will be held in Moscow.
Martin Njoroge who is the reigning national champion and phase one winner, Candidate Master (CM) Ben Magana ( country’s highest-rated player), Joseph Methu (second-highest rated player), and Robert Mcligeyo (best Under-21 player) have been given byes and will now take part in the final qualifying phase in the open section while in the ladies category WFM Sasha Mwongeli (2021 national champion), WCM Joyce Nyaruai (highest ladies rated player) and Triza Mwendwa (Best Under-21 lady), have also been exempted from second phase qualifiers.
After a grueling three-day phase two qualifiers, the top seven players in the Open category will qualify to the final phase of the World Chess Olympiad while the top eight in the Ladies Category will also qualify.
2021 World Amateur Championship U1700 gold medalist Glenda Madelta, Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Lucy Wanjiru, 2021 African Schools Under-10 years gold medalist Elizabeth Cassidy as well as youngster Fantalis Nduta are among the initial 48 invited players to the second phase of qualifiers.
Invited players include Mehul Gohil, Hilary Sagwa, Hugh Misiko, Kanegeni Matthew, Gisore Daniel, Jackson Ndegwa, Chege Kairu, Hinga Githinji, Nyaga James, Elijah Kiburi, Ricky Sang, Jerry Collins, Brian Irungu, Milton Kihara, Cliff Ben, and Glen Kingoina, among others.