St. Patrick’s Boys Secondary School Iten, St. Monica’s Girls High School and Mudasa Academy Kisumu emerged winners in this year’s Kenya National Youth Chess Championship 2023 held jointly in Kisii Boys High School and Kereri Girls High School in Kisii county.
The tournament attracted 3,246 participants comprising 2,089 boys and 1,157 Girls (Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 & Under-18 for Open & Girls categories) drawn from all parts of the country.
In the Primary School category, winners were Mudasa Academy Kisumu Primary School which had 63 participants with a total of 265.5 points and were awarded with a trophy, certificate of merit and a token of Ksh10,000, Sukari Presbyterian Academy Primary School were the runners up with 42 participants and 32 participants accumulatively got 387 points and were awarded with a certificate. Msingi School Academy Primary School were the 2nd runners up with 15 participants and had 69.5 points and awarded with a certificate of merit.
Best secondary schools boys’ category was led by St. Patrick’s Iten Boys Secondary school with 30 participants with 115.5 points and awarded a trophy, certificate of merit and a token of Ksh10,000. Kisii School Boys Secondary school was the runners up with 29 participants gaining a total of 95.5 points and got a certificate of merit while Friends School Kamusinga Boys Secondary school with19 participants gaining 94 points and awarded a certificate of merit.
The Girls Secondary School category saw St. Monica Girls High School emerge the winners with 30 participants and 149 points and awarded a trophy, certificate of merit and Ksh10,000 token.
Moi Girls High School Eldoret were the runners up and with 30 participants garnering 94 points and a certificate of merit while Sing’ore Girls Secondary School with 36 participants becoming the 2nd runners up with 128 points and awarded a certificate of merit.
Chess Kenya President Benard Wanjala said that that the championship had the highest ever numbers registered, highly driven by the Chess in Schools programme that has taken root in every part of the country.
“Chess Kenya decentralized hosting of the National Championship, which was originally a Nairobi affair, to other regions as a way of reaching out to grassroots talents,” Wanjala said.
He added that the move also aimed to promote regional integration and appreciation of national diversity through sports.
“This has seen several regions host the competition such as; Friends School, Kaimosi Girls (Western Region, 2018); Bishop Gatimu Ng’andu Girls jointly with Ruthagathi Boys (Central region, 2019); Khadija High School (Coast Region, 2021) and Moi Girls High School (Uasin Gishu, 2022).
Kisii region was the latest host and brought together over 6,000 people comprising participants, hundreds of chess referees (Arbiters), Chess coaches, parents and teachers accompanying the participants to Kisii town,” Wanjala said.
The event was graced by Governor Simba Arati, Kisii County Director of Education (CDE) Philip Chirchir and Kisii County Commander Charles Losur Kases.
CDE Chirchir lauded Chess Kenya for efforts to grow Chess that has so many wholesome benefits to children.“We have very many students in schools who do not fit in mainstream sports. Chess does not require much investment besides chess boards. I will be at the forefront to encourage all principals in Kisii County to buy chess boards for their students,” Chirchir said.
Arati recognized the board game as a fast-growing sport and its positive impact to lives of the participants.
“Indeed, Chess is a growing sport discipline in the country and I thank the organizers for choosing Kisii County to host this year’s National Youth Championship. This will help create awareness that Chess is an important sports activity in all aspects, just like athletics and soccer. It also goes a long way to demystify Chess as a sports activity for everyone and not for a select few,” he said.
He added: “It is important that the school children have been involved as a way of training them to improve cognitive skills like memory, planning, and problem-solving. Chess also inculcates the spirit of concentration, focus and social relations.”
By Felix Wanderi
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