Pre-tournament favourites GM Gareyev Timur, a 35-year-old from the USA and WGM Heinemann Josefine of Germany emerged as the open and women’s section champions of the 2023 Kenya Open Chess Championship on Monday 10 April 2023.
The 2016 U.S Open Chess champion accumulated 8 ½ points to emerge as the 2023 Kenya Open Chess champion. Timur managed eight victories and one draw against GM Safarli Eltaj who had to settle for a silver medal with eight points.
Surprises
17-year-old America- Indian chess star Samant Aditya earned a well-deserved bronze medal winning six games and recording three draws against GM Safarli Eltaj, GM Sriram Jha and GM Ponkratov Patel which is a great achievement for a player of his age.
Africa’s top performer was defending champion FM Harold Wanyama of Uganda who settled for a 5th-place finish with an amazing 7 ½ points he was closely followed by FM Daniel Mulenga of Zambia and GM Adham Fawzy from Egypt in 6th and 7th place respectively.
Women’s Section
WGM Heinemann Josefine emerged as the women’s champion scoring a perfect 9/9 points leaving the Egyptian counterparts WGM Shrook Wafa and Shahenda Wafa claiming the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The rising star is unearthed
Malawian teenage Lakshita Dutt demonstrated exceptional talent and tenacity in playing at the highest level at the age of 14. Dutt was placed second among juniors under 20 and 8th among the 92 female participants in the competition.
The Malawian went undefeated in six rounds, lost twice and drew once to conclude the championship with 6 ½ points as she demonstrated that age is just but a number.
The 31st edition of the Kenya Open Chess Championship was valued at USD$43000 courtesy of sponsorship from Safari Communications and KCB Group. And for the first time, grandmasters participated in the championship.