Teenager Elizabeth Cassidy wins Kisumu Open Chess Championship

On her way to the top, Cassidy upset national lady champion Julie Mutisya in round two of the event held at Jalaram Academy.

Mutisya was playing her first tournament of the year after she won the national championships held in December and with it drove away a brand new Nissan Note car.

The ladies' national champion had to settle for second place on five points as she won all her games from the third round to the end.

Kenyan teenagers completely dominated in the ladies category, with Shukri Shakira, another teenager, finishing third on 4.5 points. She was followed by Channel Mackenzie, who finished fourth with four points.

In the men's category, Ugandans dominated, winning the first two positions. Nyola Wasswa was the winner after collecting six points and earning the Ksh40,000 prize fund that was on offer.

In second position was Haruna Nsubuga, who finished in the runners-up position with 4.5 points.

South Sudanese Madol Gong finished in third position after collecting 4.5 points.

Ricky Muchiri from Maseno University was the highest-ranked Kenyan, finishing in fourth position with 4.5 points.

It was a tough outing for most of the Kenyan men's players, with former champion Martin Njoroge finishing in tenth position after collecting four points.

Mavens International Open tournament

Elsewhere, Fide Master (FM) Harold Wanyama is the latest top player who has registered to feature in the upcoming Mavens International Open tournament.

Wanyama joins three Grand Masters (GMs) who have registered for the second edition of the tournament to be held from Thursday, 19 to Sunday, 22 March.

Organisers have announced that all Grand Masters and the first 10 International Masters will be given free accommodation during the tournament, which has attracted an eyewatering Ksh2 million prize purse.

The three Grand Masters who have entered the event include Ukraine-based GM Bernadskiy Vitaliy, the Czech Republic’s Plat Vojtech and Hungary’s Czebe Attila.

Another three International Masters (IM), Silva David from Angola, Arthur Ssegwanyi from Uganda and Zambia’s Andrew Kayonde, will be taking part in the tournament.