Alexis Ruziguraand Marie Faustine Shimwa emerged this year’s male and female national chess champions on Sunday at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Technical High School in Kagugu.

 Ruzigura of Eagles Chess Club (ECC) scored six points at the end of a seven-round Swiss system National Chess Championship played over two successive week-ends and it attracted 14 contestants.

 He won six games and lost one game to Godfrey Kabera also from ECC, who finished second with five points.

 Eric Maina, ECC vice president, said: "We are so happy about our members’ performance and wish them the best in the next competitions. We want the other players in our club to learn from them so that in case of a national club competition, we lift all trophies.”

 In the women category, Shimwa, a second year Electronics and Telecommunication engineering student at the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, won all her games in the three-round ladies tournament. Five female players participated.

 "As Faustine (Shimwa) won all her three games, I noted that her performance has considerably improved and this is good for Rwanda Chess,” said Rwanda Chess Federation (Ferwade) vice president, Kevin Ganza.

 The two qualified to represent Rwanda in the Zone 4.2 Chess Championship to be held in Kampala in April. Zone 4.2 comprises Rwanda, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, the Seychelles, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia.