Magana closes in on top spot in chess rankings
What you need to know:
- Magana, who was joint winner in last weekend’s Daystar Open Chess Championship, amassed five points following his performance in the event to move to a rating of 2140.
Former national chess champion Ben Magana moved within a point of leader Nathan Ateka in this month’s rankings released by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Magana, who was joint winner in last weekend’s Daystar Open Chess Championship, amassed five points following his performance in the event to move to a rating of 2140.
Ateka, who has held the number position since July, remains top of the standings on 2141 points despite his dismal outing in Daystar where he finished 10th.
Candidate Master (CM) Magana on the other hand has been in brilliant form winning all the competitions he has taken part in. The KCB Lions skipper is targeting the top rank as he sets sights on securing one of the two automatic slots for next year’s Chess Olympiad set to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“I have seen the rankings and it has motivated me to work hard so that I can take my game to the next level. Hopefully, I can continue my good form in the competitions lined up before the year ends,” Magana told Daily Nation Sport on Thursday.
The new entrant into the top 10 is little known Boniface Kathurima, who moved from 12th position to ninth place with a rating of 2050 while Jacktone Mony is now 10th. Chess Kenya chair Githinji Hinga remains in eighth place, five points behind seventh-place Ahmed Mowlid.
Meanwhile, Chess Kenya has introduced Grand Prix chess events to help in selecting national team players for the 2016 Chess Olympiad.
In the new initiative, Chess Kenya plans to hold up to 10 tournaments by May next year which will run concurrently with the league.
Top performers at the end of the grand prix will earn a place in the national team. The annual Daystar University Chess Championship held over the weekend in Athi River was the first event of the grand prix initiative.
