KCB has injected sh. 0.5 million into the Kenya Open Chess tournament that kicks off on April 5-10 at the Sarit Expo Centre, Nairobi.
The 31st edition of the competition has attracted over 450 chess players from across the globe who will be battling for various prize purses with the overall winner expected to take home sh. 1million.
The four-day long event has been divided into various categories including open section, ladies' section, veterans, persons with disabilities, universities and junior sections.
Kenya Chess Federation president Benard Wanjala said: "This is one of the biggest chess tournaments in the continent. We are happy to have more than 10 Grand Masters who will help our local players to up their games."
"This event for sure will definitely be one of the toughest tournaments on African soil. We expect more of such events in the future to uplift the standards of chess in Kenya."
Kcb chess team players under the tutelage of Candidate Master Benjamin Magana headline the event following their successful defence of the Kenya National Chess League KNCL in December last year.
"As Kcb, we are happy to partner with Kenya Chess in sponsoring the event. This collaboration will give a platform to our locally talented players to interact with the GM's and other highly rated chess players from across the globe and earn the FIDE ratings in the process," Isaac Babu, the KNCL chairman said.
