UCF confirms Kampala Junior Chess Open
Mlahleki Vusimuzi of South Africa (2nd, men), Du Plessis Anika of South Africa (first, women), International Master Fawzy Adham of Egypt (first, men), and Maria Nakanyike (second, women) of Uganda pose with their trophies during the awards ceremony of the Africa Juniors U-20 Chess Championship at J & M Hotel. Photo | Ismail Kezaala
What you need to know:
- Studies indicate that playing chess plays a big role in improving children's visual memory, attention span, creativity, and reasoning ability among others
Children as young as nine have a chance to grow their chess skills when the Kampala Junior Chess Open gets underway at Kembabazi Restaurant, Naguru on June 3 with four rounds per day. Registration for the event is slated for June 1 with three categories listed namely U-9, U-11, and U-13.
Studies indicate that playing chess plays a big role in improving children's visual memory, attention span, creativity, and reasoning ability among others. These also have a high chance of enhancing a child’s academic performance early on.
The two-day event run by the Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) is meant to grow the game and help Uganda favourably compete with continental chess powerhouses like South Africa, Algeria, Kenya, and Morocco.
It is no secret that the best way of growing a game is by grooming talent early and that is why UCF has laid a plan to organise more such tournaments.
“Uganda is actually lagging behind countries like Kenya and South Africa when it comes to proper chess tournaments for children.
"They are very important for children to develop their game and have fun and the more we have the better,” said UCF secretary-general Ojok Patrick who also thinks that chess is very good for children and the best time for them to start playing is before turning 10 or even younger.
“We have seen that the best time for people to start playing is under 10 years because many of them go on to become chess masters unlike those who start playing chess when they are older,” Ojok added.
