Doctors dominate at Kiambu Open Chess Championship
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Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 11.05.26. | 18:02
The two-day event was held at Zetech University College and brought together more than 200 players
Dr. Madelta Glenda and Dr. Victor Ngani are the new winners of the Kiambu Open Chess Championship.
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It was a remarkable comeback for the two medics who had earlier struggled to make a mark on the local scene.
The two-day event was held at Zetech University College and brought together more than 200 players.
For Glenda, who won the ladies category, it had been a long time since she finished on the podium and going into the weekend's event, she dug deep to emerge victorious with an impressive 5.5 points.
Glenda is a former World Amateur Chess Champion- a feat she achieved in 2021 in Greece. She also won the Africa Amateur Chess Championships held in Mombasa in 2022.
“It is great to be back, and this event was very tough,” she said. Glenda collected Ksh30,000 for her victory. Nashipae Bella finished runners-up in the ladies category, walking away with Ksh10,000, after finishing with five points. In third position was former national champion Joyce Ndirangu.
For his win in the men's category, Ngani collected Ksh40,000.
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“This is my first win in Kiambu, and I must admit it was not easy. The competition was mostly from the young players who have grown tremendously,” he said, after collecting 5.5 points on his way to clinching the title.
Ngani is a former Kenya National Chess Champion, a title he won in 2018. He was also the head coach at last year’s Africa Youth Chess Championships held in Zimbabwe, where the Kenyan team emerged top.
He has been appointed as head coach of the National Olympiad Team. Sudanese Peter Majur finished in second position with 5 points.
Youngster Faraja Muli finished in third position and was one of the revelations of this year’s event.
The next major event is the Kakamega Open Championship that takes place on Saturday, 30 to Sunday, 31 May at Golf Hotel. The two-day event has a prize fund of Ksh200,000, making it one of the richest local grand prix events.