Kenya Open Chess: GM Timur wins title, Magana placed 17th
German WGM Josefine Heinemann (left) and GM Timur Gareyev pose for photos with their trophies after being crowned the Ladies and Open section winners respectively of the 2023 Kenya Open Chess Championship on April 10, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Eltaj was second with eight points, while Indian IM Samant Aditya (2496), Pavel (2496) and Uganda FM Harold Wanyama (2303) all tied third on 7.5, with tie-breaks being used to separate them.
- At position 17 with seven points, Candidate Master and Kenya’s top seed Ben Magana was the best home player in the championship. The Open section attracted 353 players.
Grand master (GM) Timur Gareyev of the United States of America and German Woman Grand master (WGM) Josefine Heinemann are the Open and Ladies sections’ winners respectively of the 2023 Kenya Open Chess Championship.
In clinching the top honours in the competition that attracted 374 participants from 22 countries, the two top players lived up to their favourites tag.
Gareyev, who is rated 2602, pocketed Sh1 million for his triumph in the Open section, while Heinemann (2274) received Sh500,000 for winning the ladies contest.
The six-day event held at Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi was the most contested chess championship ever held in the country, with all the top 10 players in both the Open and Ladies sections receiving cash prizes.
Also awarded cash prizes were the top three players in the veterans (+50 years), Persons With Disability Open and Ladies Sections.
“To be honest, I got lucky in this tournament. All my opponents were tough and there were numerous close matches,” said Timur, 35, who has several chess titles to his name including 2016 US Open Championship and 2018 North American Blitz Championship.
He topped on 8.5 points with Azerbaijan GM Safarli Eltaj (2601) being the only player who held him in a tough round seven clash held Sunday.
Gareyev Monday completed his impressive performance with victory over Latvian GM Nikita Meshkovs (2585) in round nine. Russian GM Ponkratov Pavel (2580), Indian GM Sriram Jha (2310), International Master (IM) Gillan Bwalya (2405) and Fide Master Prince Mulenga all of Zambia are the other top players the US national outwitted on his way to the title.
Eltaj was second with eight points, while Indian IM Samant Aditya (2496), Pavel (2496) and Uganda FM Harold Wanyama (2303) all tied third on 7.5, with tie-breaks being used to separate them.
At position 17 with seven points, Candidate Master and Kenya’s top seed Ben Magana was the best home player in the championship. The Open section attracted 353 players.
In the Ladies section that had 92 participants, WGM Heinemann won all the nine rounds to top with nine points.
She was followed by Egyptian WGM sisters Wafa Shrook (2138) and Wafa Shaheda (2099), who tied on 7.5 points.
Ugandan Woman Fide Master Gloria Nansubuga (1459), Kenyan Woman Candidate Master Joyce Nyaruai (1662), Shrook, Shahenda and Kenyan Woman Fide Master Sasha Mongeli (1695) are the top players whom Heinemann defeated on her march to the title.
Nyaruai was Kenya’s best performer in the ladies section as she finished fifth with seven points.
