Muchiri, Korir bag tens of thousands at third edition of Inter-Universities Chess Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 17.03.26. | 12:47
This is the third time that Chess Kenya has hosted the event, which has become popular over the years for helping to identify and nurture new talents
Rocky Muchiri from Maseno University and Tracey Korir of Daystar University are the winners of the third edition of the Inter-Universities Chess Championships, which concluded on Sunday at the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS).
Muchiri, who came in as the defending champion of the event, collected 7.5 points out of a possible eight.
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He drew in a single game.
The Maseno University student walked away with Kshs 15,000 for his victory.
Kelly Mwaniki from Machakos University was the runner-up and pocketed Kshs 7,500 after collecting 6.5 points.
In third place was Fuad Issa from Strathmore University. He also got 6.5 points and won Kshs.7,500.
Korir, who won for the first time, walked home with Kshs 10,000 after finishing ahead of teammate Flavius Hyacint and Mercy Ingado from Nairobi Polytechnic.
Daystar University won the best ladies' university trophy, with Maseno University claiming it for the other category.
The top 16 players from the men's and women's categories will qualify for the second phase of the event to be held from 26 to 31 March.
The top two winners from the second phase will represent the country at this year’s Commonwealth Chess Championships to be held in Sri Lanka from 16 to 26 May.
This is the third time that Chess Kenya has hosted the event, which has become popular over the years for helping identify and nurture new talents.
The winners of last year’s edition represented Kenya in Malaysia at the Commonwealth Chess Championships.
Elsewhere, plans are complete to host this year’s Mavens International tournament, which is scheduled to start on Thursday at the Kenyatta International Convention Center.
Organizers have announced that foreign-based players will begin to arrive on Wednesday.
The event has attracted three Grand Masters and six International Masters.
The winner of the open category will walk away with an impressive Kshs 750,000 prize fund.
Runners-up in the open category will earn Kshs 150,000, with the third-placed player pocketing Kshs 50,000.
In the ladies’ category, the winner will pocket Kshs150,000 while the runners-up earn Kshs 70,000, with the third placed getting Kshs.30,000.
There will also be prizes for the Best University players in both the Open and Ladies categories, as well as for People Living with Disabilities.