Rwanda Chess Federation (Ferwade) has announced that Knight Chess Club is organizing a new tournament due on May 18-19 in Kigali, thanks to the national champion, Dr Joseph Nzabanita.

Nzabanita, a senior maths and statistics lecturer at the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, is the reigning national chess champion since dethroning Dr Ben Karenzi last December.

Ferwade president, Kevin Ganza, has praised the reigning champion’s initiative as "very commendable”, noting that it sets a good example for fellow senior players.

"It is a wakeup call for other clubs to chip in as we have left a space on our calendar to allow such other tournaments. We support his initiative and we shall help with logistics.”

Nzabanita and teenager Sandrine Uwase, 17, were crowned 2018 national male and female chess champions, respectively, after their individual triumphs during the National Chess Championships held at IPRC-Kigali.

Nzabanita said: "The idea behind is simple. We do have fewer rated tournaments in Rwanda and this is a challenge to players who wish to improve on their skills in playing chess, and to the development of chess in Rwanda.”

"As the reigning National Champion; I thought I could contribute by adding one more tournament, at least this year, hoping that my successors will consider preserving it.”

editor@newtimesrwanda.com