The Rwabushenyi Memorial Chess Open that will see its best five players represent Uganda in the World Cup in Azerbaijan come 2016 gets underway on Saturday, December 5 at Hotel Africana.
The Open is organized in memory of the late Cyril Rwabushenyi, the former chairman of the Chess Federation.
The 5th edition will also see chess players from Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda compete in a bid to better their World Chess Federation [FIDE] rankings. More than 200 players are expected to participate.
The action is slated for the first two weekends of December (5th – 6th and 12th – 13th) with four rounds played each weekend.
The fact that it’s an Open, any chess player is free to compete as long as the requirement – which is payment of Ugx. 10, 000 for registration – is met. The first round will see all participants play, with winners proceeding to the next round of 30 players.
The third round comprises of 12 players, who will then fight to make it to the final five. The reward for these top five is representing Uganda at next year’s World Cup that will be held in Azerbaijan and the African individuals, which will be hosted in Uganda the same year. The winner in the first phase will walk away with Ugx. 1,000,000.
Fresh from Las Vegas, where he took part in the Millionaires Chess – the highest paying open in the world -, defending champion Harold Wanyama will now set his eyes straight for this year’s edition. Nothing more beautiful will end his year on a high than retaining the title he won last year.
Arthur Segwanyi, the highest ranked Ugandan by FIDE, and Elijah Emojong, the second rated, are both expected to join 3rd best Harold Wanyama at the competition. The winners will most likely face off with Africa’s best players next year in the African individuals as well.
The National Chess League, meanwhile, will resume on December 20 with table leaders Dmark Chess Club tussling it out with a university club, Ndejje Slayers, who are 28th on a 29-team log.
Prior to the qualifiers, DMark brightened their chances of retaining the league by beating their top rivals City Chess Club [CCC] 3-1.
