Record league winners Dmark got off to a resounding start in the National Chess League with two unblemished victories on Sunday at Hotel Africana.
The league giants eased past University side Ndejje in the opening round, winning all their boards with great ease, before marching on against Makindye in similar fashion in the subsequent round.
And in doing so, they ended the day as the only team that won all their boards. They lead the table standings with 6points.
Dmark surprised their opponents with their mode of lining up. The 2015 league winners had FM Patrick Kawuma- their highly ranked player now after partying company with IM Arthur Ssegwanyi- on board two and the second ranked player in the team Walter Okas on board three.
Normally, the top seeded player in the team sits on board one followed by the second on board two and it goes on in that sequence, instead the side had former national team coach, CM Bob Bibasa with a FIDE rating of 2095 on the first board. Ordinarily Bibasa should have sat on board three.
Defending champions Kireka won both their games, but had a tough time coming through in the second round. The side met Bank of Uganda led by the country’s seventh seed Allan Mathias Ssonko in the second round and had to put up grit fight to edge the determined bankers.
Kireka won the first three boards through FM Harold Wanyama, FM Haruna Nsubuga and Simon Gonza commonly known as ‘Gonzalez’, beating Ssonko, Hassan Nyangabyaki and Neogy Sepuya respectively, but lost the last two boards with the federation’s publicity David Muwanguzi who recently walked down the aisle out-thinking Kireka’s Edger Ntende and Penny Esther Nannozi losing to Woman Fide Master Grace Kigeni.
Earlier in the first round, Kireka lost board one by a bye. The club had lined up Wanyama, but the FM arrived late in the venue. According to him, there was a bit of ‘miscommunication’ as he told team captain Ivan Kaddu he’d not make it on time for the first round due to other personal engagements, meaning a substitute was to be lined up.
The side left the board unattended to and lost it by a bye, but they bossed all their remaining boards, winning the round 4-1.
Kireka faithful expected to see their new signing Ssegwanyi on board, but his debut was prolonged. The IM, besides his new club turns for a Kenya club Equity Bank and he had travelled to Kenya for a league engagement as Equity were facing rivals KCB.
While most games went as expected, there was a shocker on board 13 in the second round as seven-year-old Gabriel Kirabo playing for Mulago Pawns beat UCU Queens’ Grace Isabellah Asiimwe in the most embarrassing way.
The kid mated his opponent on move 12, and before other boards could start off, the game was done. Kirabo’s game was the first to end, and he helped his side beat the Queens 3-2.
Mulago Pawns is made up of kids under the age of 10.
Seven teams including Dmark, Crestals, Mulago Knights, Chess Warriors, Kireka, SOM Katwe and Lweza are all on six points having won their first two rounds, but Dmark lead on tie-break.
