World Chess Federation [FIDE] has awarded Uganda’s youngster Denise Veronica Butungi a rating following her performance at the recently concluded Zone 4.2 U-16 Team Chess Championships in Mombasa, Kenya.
Butungi, 16, played against five rated players in Mombasa and despite managing only one win at the event, displayed mature and quality chess that convinced FIDE to award her a rating of 1107, making her the 56th rated active player in the country.
Although Uganda finished second last at the Championships, Butungi who captained the team has something to smile about and John Vianney Mukalazi, Director at Chess Life Academy where Butungi turns for training says it will motivate the rest.
“Congratulations to the captain. Earning a rating at your first international tournament and at 16 is not an everyday thing in Uganda. It is a great achievement for her, and this will motivate her colleagues even more,” Mukalzi said.
In the related development, Fide Masters Patrick Kawuma and Haruna Nsubuga earned respectable elos at the Zone 4.2 African Individual Chess Championships in Ethiopia to increase their ratings.
Kawuma is now rated 2313. He joins International Masters Elijah Emojong and Arthur Ssegwanyi – the only two active Ugandans with a rating of +23.
Nsubuga’s rating meanwhile, now reads 2217, and he becomes the third active Ugandan to reach the +22 rating. The other players include FM Harold Wanyama and Edward Ssentongo.
