Fide Master Harold Wanyama triumphed in an all-Ugandan affair as he outwitted International Master Arthur Ssegwanyi at the Henry Chilufya Memorial Chess tournament alias the Grandmaster Norm tourney in Zambia.
Wanyama, a late replacement for IM Elijah Emojong opened the round robin event with defeat to GM Greenfeld Alon from Israel, but that defeat was quickly put behind as he inflicted more damage on Ssegwanyi in the second round.
The IM was horribly defeated in the first round. He suffered a back-rank checkmate at the hands of the Zambian IM Mwali Chitumbo – a man he beat last year at the Tanzania Open – and it appears the loss was still lingering in his mind at the time of their contest.
Ssegwanyi had hoped to recover against his countryman, but that didn’t happen and he endured his second defeat, leaving him second last after round two with elos lost.
Heading into the third round, Wanyama sits sixth. Greenfield leads the table standings with 2points followed by the Egyptian GM Adly Ahmed with the same points. The duo remains the only two with a perfect start.
Wanyama’s next opponent, Chitumbo sits third with 1.5 points. Chitumbo drew with his fellow Zambian IM Stanley Chumfwa in the second round. He faces Wanyama who is hoping to restore his country’s pride in the third round.
Ssegwanyi will hope for victory when he meets IM Gilian Bwalya in the third round. Like Chitumbo, Bwalya fell prey to the Ugandan at the Tanzania Open last year. How Ssegwanyi fares in this remains to be seen though, but he can’t afford to lose more elos.