KCB has unveiled a squad of six players that will represent East Africa in the inaugural World Rapid Chess Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany from August 25-28.
The team will be fighting for top honors in a 12-round Swiss tournament over three days under rapid time control.
Benjamin Magana will captain the team. He will be joined by Robert Mcligeyo, Martin Njoroge, Joseph Methu, Joyce Nyaruai and Isaac Babu-who is also the team manager.
The tournament has attracted 43 teams from all over the world that will be competing for a prize purse of €250,000 (Sh39 million).
The tournament requires that at least one of the players be female and also a player who never achieved FIDE (International Chess Federation) standard or is unrated-someone who has not played at least 5 games with already rated players.
Speaking during the unveiling of the team, the captain said that this tourney was a perfect test for the team to weigh their skills and prowess in the game.
“This competition poses a good test for us to weigh our skills and prowess in the game. We are going to Dusseldorf to show the world that Kenya has quality players who can compete on the global stage,” he said.
KCB’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Rosalind Gichuru said that she expects the team to put Kenya on the map as chess masters.
“Our team is embarking on a pursuit in Germany to compete against the world’s best in chess. We expect a tantalizing showpiece that will position us on the global map as the undisputed chess masters,” she said.
The championship will have a few grand masters including Viswanathan Anand from India, Vladimir Kramnik from Russia, Hou Yifan from China and Mariya Muzychuk from Ukraine.
During the tourney, 2-match points are given for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss where the team gathering the most points will be crowned champions.
