The 5th Edition of the Rwabushenyi Chess Championship got underway Thursday 15th January at the Pope Paul Memorial Hotel in Ndeeba. 171 participants are taking part in the tournament and several prizes have been staked for the top winners in the different categories.
The tournament has also attracted participants from the region including Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and Somalia who will be taking part in the four day Tournament which runs from January 15th – 18th.
The top cash prize of Shs 1.2m and a trophy will go to the winner of the open category (rated), 2nd winner Open category Shs 600,000 and a trophy, 3rd winner open category Shs 300,000 and a trophy, 4th winner open category Shs 100,000, 5th winner open category Shs 100,000, 6th winner open category Shs 100,000, 7th winner open category Shs 100,000 while the 8th winner open category will walk away with Shs 50,000.
A cash prize of Shs 700,000 and a trophy has been staked for the winner in the ladies category (rated) while in the 2nd and 3rd winner will walk away with a cash prize of Shs 350,000 and Shs 200,000 and a trophy for each respectively.
In the under 15 and 10 years category (unrated) first, second and third winner will each walk away with a trophy .
Defending Champion Ivy Amoko is favoured to win the top ladies category prize while USPA Chess player of the year Arthur Ssegwanyi and Harold Wanyama are favoured to win the open category.
Uganda Chess Federation President Vianney Luggya apologized for the delay in the start of the Tournament as the venue had been moved from Hotel Africana to Pope Paul Memorial Hotel due to lack of enough space.
“We received a last minute notice from Hotel Africana that they couldn’t accommodate the 171 participants because they didn’t have enough space” Vianney remarked.
“I’m a grateful to CAA the organisers of the event, the President of the Federation and the Participants. Thank you for working as a family and i wish you the best of luck” Mrs. Rwabushenyi remarked.
The Rwabushenyi Memorial Chess Championships is sponsored annually by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in honour of Late Rwabushenyi who contributed immensely to the development of chess in Uganda and also contributed immensely to the growth and development of Uganda’s Aviation Industry.
