International Master Arthur Ssegwanyi has been pitted against Zambian IM Mwali Chitumbo in the opening round of the Henry Chiluya Memorial Chess Tournament also known the GM Norm tourney.
These two IMs met at the 2016 Tanzania Open Chess Championship, and the Ugandan showed his superiority when he triumphed on board one in the fourth round.
That victory added to five others propelled the East African No.1 seed to the top and he subsequently won the Open.
On Friday, the pair will renew acquaintance on board five, with Ssegwanyi looking to make it two in two while Chitumbo will be looking at avenging that loss. Ssegwanyi, rated 2373 starts the event ranked fifth while the Zambian sits just a place below with a 2334 rating.
The competition’s highest rated player is Egyptian Grandmaster Adly Ahmed and he will be on board one against IM Stanley Chumfwa- the competition’s lowest ranked player- in the first round.
GM Gupta Abhijeet from India is on board two and he’s up against another Zambian IM Phiri Richmond while Russian GM Petr Kiriakov meets IM Gilian Bwalya on board three.
After IM Elijah Emojong’s withdrawal from the competition, FM Harold Wanyama took up his place. Wanyama who landed in Zambia earlier today is yet to be paired, but he is likely to face GM Greenfeld Alon from Israel.
Greenfeld was to meet Emojong on board four, but with the IM out, he remains the unpaired.
Wanyama, rated 2290 enters this round robin event as the second lowest ranked player and as the only FM.
