Chess: Lenana joins list of schools playing chess

Lenana School Prinicipal William Kemei keenly watches as his pupils are trained on how to play Chess in School at the weekend. Sept 17, 2017. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Lenana newest member of schools with chess

Lenana School has incorporated chess in its co-curriculum activities.

At the weekend, Chess Kenya took more than 500 students of the school through a two-day intensive introductory training session.

The students received training from four world federation (FIDE) certified trainers led by Chess Kenya Federation’s president, Benard Wanjala, the head of chess in schools Shem Vilebwa, national trainer Everlyne Gichuru, and chess promoter Duncan Opiyo, who will also serve as a resident coach.

The programme was supported by the Kenya Sports Academy, which supplied 150 chess boards and three support staff to oversee the training.

According to the Lenana School principal, William Kemei, the school has been keen to expose its students to a variety of sports disciplines to ensure that talent is identified and nurtured.

“We have invested in a state-of-the-art facility which we hope will meet all students’ training needs. I want to thank Chess Kenya for bringing this prestigious sport to the school and we promise to support it to ensure students benefit from it,” he said.

Chess Kenya president Benard Wanjala noted that chess is more than just a sport. “Students who play chase derive many educational benefits such as improved concentration, improved memory, logical thinking, and the art of patience,” he said.

He added that there are currently 106 schools that play chess spread in all parts of the country.

“Last year, 960 students participated in the regional qualifiers held in various parts of the country. 300 students qualified for the national finals held at Alliance Girls High School and those who performed well were selected to represent the country in the Africa schools championship held in Harare, Zimbabwe, last month,” added Wanjala.

In December, Chess Kenya will send its best players to the Under 16 World Olympiad in India.

 

[Gilbert Wandera]