The KCB Chess Club asserted their dominance in the Kenya National Chess Premier League this weekend, delivering back-to-back victories against the KU Chess Club and Nairobi Chess Club in the league games played at Daystar University-Main Campus to assert their prominence in the sport.
The team started on Saturday with a 4-1 thrashing of Kenyatta University as KCB’s formidable 5-star lineup of Ben Nguku, Ben Magana, Ricky Sang, Philip Singe, and Gloria Jumba independently outplayed their counterparts Adol Makuch, Shem Aberi, Nhial Jeremiah Machar, Nelson Likaya, and Vivian Lucy from KU. KCB’s Ricky Sang was not lucky as he lost to Nhial Jeremiah Machar of the KU Chess Club.
KCB Chess Club returned to the board on Sunday, playing against the Nairobi Chess Club, registering four wins and a draw. KCB’s Joseph Methu, Ben Magana, Robert McLigeyo, and Joyce Nyaruai trounced Mehul Gohil, Pierre Carbonnel, Vasanth Ramesh, and Olive Sang of the Nairobi Chess Club, respectively. Ben Nguku was held to a draw by Artem Gurevich of the Nairobi Chess Club.
KCB Woman Candidate Master Joyce Nyaruai expressed her contentment after her triumph, saying,
“We had a fierce encounter, especially against the Nairobi Chess Team, which happens to have players from across the continent, but our determination and practices came in handy, and we managed to secure the two overall wins over this weekend. Fast forward, we are returning to more training as a team to ensure we finish the league on a high.”
These consecutive wins come after the KCB Chess Club returned from Germany for the World Teams Rapid Championship. The team emerged as the top team in Africa and secured position 21 in the World Chess Rankings.
Joyce commented on the team encounter in Germany,
“We had a good encounter back in the competition facing top teams from around the world. We went into the competition, being ranked at position 31 out of 36 teams present, but I’m happy that the team put in the much effort needed, strengthened their rankings, and climbed ten positions up. We are currently ranked as the top team in Africa and 21 globally.”
The next league tie will be played on 6/7th October, and then the action will head to the Mombasa open on 20th October for the National Championships.
