Kenyan chess players struggle at World Cadets Championships in Italy
By Rama Mohammed |
Kenyan chess players faced a tough challenge at the World Cadets Chess Championships in Italy, with most finishing at the bottom of their categories.
Kenyan chess players faced a tough challenge at the World Cadets Chess Championships, which concluded on Tuesday in Italy. Africa Under-12 champion Jadon Simiyu was Kenya's top performer, scoring four points from 11 matches. However, he finished 103rd out of 150 participants.
The rest of the Kenyan team also struggled, with 11 other players ranked among the lowest in their respective categories. Herald Kagwe, Aiden Wainaina, Godfrey Gitonga, Mushila Ayan, and David Mutane each managed only three points in the boys' section.
35 members of the Kenyan national chess team under 12 applied for visas to attend a global championship in Italy. Half of them were rejected.
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) November 15, 2024
The Italian embassy denied visas to kids under 12, including African champions in their age group pic.twitter.com/RuQXDQwD3J
In the under-8 boys' category, Ethan Nderitu, Kingsley Nzioki, and Adriel Baraka earned just two points apiece, highlighting the significant gap in performance compared to their global peers.
The girls' performance was similarly disappointing. Olive Wanjiru, Elsie Wangechi, and Rochelle Maria finished with three points each in the under-12 category, while Zawadi Mugo and Elli Kenda scored only two points in the under-10 category.
The tournament was dominated by highly rated players like Kazakhstan’s Shogdzhiev Roman, who clinched the under-10 boys' title with nine points. Roman, a Candidate Master with a 2200 rating, lost just one match in the 13-day event. France’s Llari Marc, rated 2201, finished second with 8.5 points. Egyptian Sameh Mohammed, who secured fourth place with 7.5 points, was the highest-ranked African.
Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala expressed disappointment with the results but outlined plans to improve future performances.
“This is the second youth team we’ve sent to a world event this year. While we performed well at the World Youth Championships in Brazil, the same cannot be said for Italy. We’ve identified the gaps, and starting this December, we’ll focus on high-level training during the holidays to better prepare our players for such competitions,” said Wanjala.
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