The 2018 edition of the annual National Chess Championship will be played over two consecutive weekends, beginning Saturday, at IPRC-Kigali in Kicukiro.

It is a contest that will determine who takes over the crown from Dr Ben Karenzi, the former commandant of Rwanda Military Hospital, and 16-year old Sandrine Uwase.

The two were last December crowned as the 2017 male and female national champions, respectively.

Rwanda Chess Federation (FERWADE) president Kevin Ganza said: "It is going to be organised differently.

"We used to have it in two phases; pre-qualifiers and finals, but this time around it will be one phase determining the Champion.”

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