NDERITU Gitonga is optimistic about posting good results ahead of a packed local and international calendar.
Besides, the penultimate stage of the Scrabble Kenya Grand Prix, Gitonga is keen on the World English Scrabble Players Association Championships (WESPAC) and East, Central and Southern Africa Scrabble Championships (ECASA) set for this weekend in Kitui.
With Grandprix events —Nyahururu, Nairobi and Standard Chartered— already held, the series moves to Kitui this weekend before the final round in Bondo next month.
Gitonga won the opening leg in Nyahururu, finished 15th in Nairobi and 3rd in last month’s Standard meeting. He said expressed hope that he will prevail in most events.
“I have had good training for the last month in preparation for the event. I want to try my best to be among the top players that will be selected to represent the country at both WESPAC and ECASA,” he said.
So far, he has accumulated 19 points from three meetings thus a point in Nyahururu for the win, 15 points in Nairobi, and three at Standard Chartered.
"In Grand Prix, the fewer points you earn, the better because a win is equal to a point and in each position you finish, you earn points. As a scrabble player, I have to earn fewer points to top the charts,” said Nderitu.
The Kirinyaga-based player will be up against series leader Allan Oyende who has so far accumulated four points after finishing second in Nyahururu and winning both Nairobi and Chartered events.
In an earlier interview, Oyende said he will focus on correcting his mistakes after winning 15 out of 18 games last month.
Wespa will be staged in Las Vegas in July while the ECASA championship is set for April in Nairobi.
“I had a good run at the end of last year and I have started the year well. With only two qualifiers remaining, my mission is to eliminate errors in my game ahead of Westpac and Ecasa,” said Oyende.
