Ugandan Samuel Were claims Bungoma Open Championships
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 25.11.24. | 14:03
Were beat Agoot Abuk from South Sudan in the last round to finish at the top with a maximum of six points and walked home with Ksh30,000
After a gruelling tournament, Ugandan Samuel Were emerged as the winner of this year’s Bungoma Open Chess Championships.
Were beat Agoot Abuk from South Sudan in the last round to finish at the top with a maximum of six points and walked home with Ksh30,000.
Patrick Kawuma who had been leading until the second day could only manage the second position despite winning against Omondi Suleiman in the last round as he finalised on 5.5 points.
Defending champion Mehul Gohil finished in third position after collecting five points.
Mehul admitted to having blundered in the first game which eventually cost him victory.
“I made a crude blunder in game one by failing to convert an attack. Surprisingly, I also ended up winning two games from lost positions.
I have become an expert at winning lost positions and losing won positions,” he said the former Bungoma Open Chess Championships winner.
Meanwhile, Giovanni Farina Otieno drew with Italian Loberti Tommaso in the ninth round of the ongoing World Cadets chess championships in Italy.
The result means Otieno now has 2.5 points and is the highest-ranked Kenyan in the under-10 category of the 13-day event.
In another match, Kayden Sankau Oloitiptip beat Jayden Kihuria in an all-Kenyan affair and collected his second point in the tournament.
Dylan Wema failed to collect his third point after losing to Osmolovski Nikita from Luxembourg.
Africa under-12 champion Jaydon Simiyu suffered a big setback when he lost his round nine match to Zhandos Akarys from Kazakhstan.
The result has left Simiyu with four points and far from his ambition to finish with six points. With two matches to go, it means he has to win all of them.
Mushila Ayaan picked a draw against Liam Valambhia in an all-Kenyan affair match.
Elsewhere, players from North Africa dominated at the just concluded Africa Junior Chess Championships in Egypt.
International Master Wafa Ahmed from Egypt won the event after collecting eight points. He was followed by compatriot George Samir who collected 6.5 points.
The two Kenyan representatives Christian Mugambi and Bradley Wathimba got three points each after playing nine matches.
