It is not pleasant news from Mombasa, Kenya where the Ugandan U16 chess team is taking part at the Zone 4.2 U-16 Team Chess Championships.
The young stars captained by board three player Denise Veronica Butungi started the tournament on a not so bad note following their 2-2 draw against Tanzania in the first round, but were made to suffer early defeats as they lost to two Kenyan teams in the subsequent rounds.
Uganda lost 4-0 to Kenya Four in the 3rd round before falling to Kenya Two in the 3rd round by the same score. Marvin Atuhaire Bagonza and Pauline Biyinzika, the two Ugandans who each managed a point against Tanzania were unable to out-think their opponents in the subsequent rounds.
The two losses leave Uganda comprised of four players including Alicia Bwengye, Butungi, Biyinzika and Bagonza bottom of the scoreboard heading into the fourth round today. Uganda plays Kenya Three on Tuesday in the fourth round before meeting Kenya One in the fifth round.
Kenya Two currently leads the table having won their first three games.