Two hundred junior chess players will be battling for honours when the City Tyres sponsored National Chess Championship gets underway this Saturday and Sunday at City Oil, Kira Road branch.
Women Candidate Master Phiona Mutesi, made history in last year’s edition win the Open category that featured boys and becoming the first female to beat her team-mates in the opposite sex.
This year’s edition which is sponsored by the leading tyre distributor City Tyres will see Mutesi, once again coming under attack from Stella Babirye, Richard Buyinza, Richard Kato, Benjamin Mukumbya and Derrick Nyombi.
The sponsors have also provided a trophy that will see 20 selected professional chess players playing that includes Fide Master Harold Wanyama, International Master Elijah Emojong, Olympians Arthur Ssegwanyi and Patrick Kawuma slugging it out for a trophy and cash prizes.
“UCF is proud to partner with our sponsors, and is highly grateful for this benevolent gesture that seeks to promote chess among youngsters, which is well in line with FIDE, the world chess governing body’s cardinal objective of promoting chess at schools.”
The Open winner becomes the national junior chess champion and is alongside the other winners in the various categories eligible to represent Uganda at the Africa Junior Chess Championship due in South Africa and World Junior Chess Championship to be held later this year.