World Youth Chess Championships team unveiled

By Joel Odidi

Kenya will present a team of 12 players to this year’s World Youth Chess Championship in Halkidiki, Greece between October 19 and 30 in Halkidiki, Greece.

The team, which is made up of players selected during the Kenya National youth Chess Championships last month, will represent the country in the Under 8,10,12,14,16 and 18 boys and girls categories.

This will be the 11th time that Kenya will be represented at the World Youth Chess Championship after making a maiden appearance at the global event in 2000.

Purity Maina ( Foreground left) and Elizabeth Gathigia in a battle of supremacy during an inter-schools championship . [PHOTO: COURTESY]

During the first phase of selection process in February, all local layers under the age of 18 were given a chance to prove their worth with top eight finishers short-listed to advance to the second and final round of selection played in a round robin format last month.

In a bid to popularise the sport among the Kenyan youth, Chess Kenya introduced the sport in schools programme in 2002.

Among the Schools which benefited from the programme sponsored by Fidelity Commercial Bank include Nairobi School, Lenana, Alliance Boys, Maseno School, Kisumu Boys, Mombasa Secondary School for the Physically handicapped, Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls, Nile Road, Pumwani secondary and Our Lady of Mercy, Nairobi.

Senior ranks

The programme has reached more than 1,000 players, some of who have since graduated to the senior ranks.

They include Purity Maina and Elizabeth Minayo, formerly of Nile Road, who have been selected to the national women’s team to represent the country at this year’s World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia between September 19 and October 4. Other top local chess players are Wycliffe Ogutu and George Mwangi.

The youth team will start a three-week non-residential training in early August.