Rwanda hosts its second rated national chess tournament this week, with the six unrated players, who qualified for the tough test last month hoping to join the cream of the crop if they manage to snatch any point in the nine-round contest.

 To get the coveted World Chess Federation (FIDE) rating, a player must get at least a draw against a rated player in the tournament which kicks off on Thursday at IPRC-Kigali, in Kicukiro.

 A win (1.0), or a draw (0.5), is the basic requirement to secure a rating but higher scores imply starting off at a higher rating.

 The first ever such event in Rwanda was held in February when Kenya’s KCB Chess Club dominated the three-day Rwanda Open Chess competition where six locals got the FIDE rating to then put the tally of rated Rwandans at 14.

 Rwanda currently has 15 rated players and, getting more rated players means the country’s world ranking improves.

 While Rwanda’s December global rating remains fixed at 162nd as it was last month, Uganda has moved three slots up to 99th while Kenya slumped two down to 122nd.  Burundi remains at 163rd but Tanzania also improved one slot to 164th.

 Lately, the six debutants hoping to get the coveted international rating include Ian Murara, 13, a grade nine pupil at Green Hills Academy and five other adult players.

 According to Rwanda Chess Federation Executive Secretary, Alain Patience Niyibizi, Kenya’s Peter Duke Michieka, a FIDE arbiter, will be in charge of the tournament.

 The winner will be crowned 2015 National Champion and will also qualify for the Olympiad qualifiers scheduled for May next year. The Olympiad will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in September, 2016.

 Meanwhile, on Saturday, a separate two-day female national championship will also start at the same venue to determine the 2015 female national champion.