Chess Kenya secretary-general John Mukabi believes the country can graduate into the top 100 nations with a better showing at next year's World Olympiad Chess Championships.
Mukabi said the time is right for the country to improve on their performance at the international level, which has not been satisfactory thus far.
"You know the Olympiad brings together all the countries of the world. Last time we did not perform too well; we entered the competition seeded 112th but dropped down. This time we want to improve on our ranking and be among the top 100," Mukabi said.
The 44th edition of the global tournament will be staged in Russia on August 5-18, 2022 after the 43rd was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mukabi said the ongoing Kenya National Chess Championship is a perfect opportunity to identify and select talented players to represent the country at upcoming international events, including the Olympiad.
"We are going to have two phases of selecting the players, beginning with this championship, which is the first phase. The second phase will thereafter be held to select the final group of players. The current championship is a nine-round event with two rounds per day except on the last day, which will have one," he explained.
"We have around 160 players participating in this event. The competition is quite tough and we have seen some strong favourites drop points already."
The national championship, being held at Luke Hotel, Nairobi from December 26-30, features a ladies' and open category in addition to two more categories for persons with disabilities in which winners will be awarded cash prizes.
The overall winner will walk away with a brand new Mazda Demio whereas cash prizes will also be awarded to the best youth and best university players (male and female).
The tournament comes only a fortnight after the country hosted the Africa Individual Schools Chess Championships in Nairobi, where they emerged top.
