Rwanda has moved up one slot to number 154 in the latest world ranking published by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) this month.

The improvement follows the Rwanda Open Chess championship held in Kigali from January 29 to February 1, in which several local players performed well and increased their individual ratings. Players from Kenya, DR Congo and Burundi participated in the tournament.

In the East African Community (EAC) region which was on Thursday boosted by the entry of South Sudan as a sixth member state, regional chess power house Uganda is at number 92, Kenya at 121, Tanzania 159 and Burundi at 158. South Sudan is not among the 174 countries listed by FIDE.

Last December, Rwanda had moved up seven places to number 155, two weeks after the country hosted its second rated chess tournament where five local players won enough points to enable them to join the cream of the crop.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw