Big field for Kaimosi competition

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

More than 1,200 participants have been invited for this week’s national youth chess championship finals at Kaimosi Girls’ High School.

They will take part in 12 age categories in the chase for places to national teams set to represent the country in various international tournaments this year.

They include the Africa Schools Chess Championship to be held in June in Pretoria, South Africa, the World Youth Chess Companionship 2018 to be held in October in Greece, the World Cadets Chess Championship to be held in November in Spain, and the Africa Junior Chess Championship in December in Uganda.

Kenya will host the Africa Youth Chess Championship in August this year. Chess Kenya chairman Bernard Wanjala thanked the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) for supporting the competition.

“We are grateful that KAS has given us 600 chess boards to run the national championships,” he said.

The KAS acting chief executive officer, Gordon Oluoch, will be one of the chief guests during Sunday’s closing ceremony at Kaimosi. Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo will also attend.