Chess: Nakabo lone warrior at Africa event
Female chess player Peninah Nakabo will be looking to qualify for her first Fide World Cup when she competes at the 2021 Africa individual Chess Championship.
The tournament is set for May 17-28 in Lilongwe, Malawi. The best four players will qualify to represent Africa in the Chess World Cup in Sochi, Russia this July.
Uganda’s number two qualified for her first African championship after seeing off competition from two other Ugandans, three Kenyans and players from Mauritius in the Zone 4.4 qualifiers.
The competition was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic recently. The victory earned Nakabo a sponsored trip to Lilongwe to represent the zone.
Others
The other two Ugandan participants were Safina Mugide and Shakirah Ampairwe.
“I’m going for the strongest competition in Africa where most of the players are at the level woman Grand Masters,” says Nakabo.
“I do not care about their ranking, I will go and put up a good show and see what comes out it.”
During qualifying, Nakabo only suffered one draw and did not lose any game to garner 6.5 points after seven rounds.
If she doesn’t achieve the Holy Grail of going to Sochi, Nakabo will accumulate more points in her bid to go above the 1,000 points needed to claim the title of Woman Fide Master that’s within her reach.
The nine rounds Swiss tournament will be held at the Crossroads Hotel, Lilongwe.