Candidate Master (CM) Godfrey Kabera and 20-year-old Saveur Bikorimana emerged as the best local players after tying at 4.5 points at the just concluded Rwanda Open 2020 chess tournament.

The three-day contest started Saturday and concluded Monday evening at Classic Hotel, in Kigali.

The overall winner, however, was Uganda’s International Master (IM) Arthur Ssegwanyi who won all his six rounds and walked away with a trophy and a Rwf 300,000 cash prize. Second was also a Ugandan, CM Bob Bibasa, with 5.0 points.

Four players – Ghanaian Onuoha Gideon Izuchukwu, Burundian Dieudonne Muheto, Kabera and Bikorimana, respectively, were jointly third, with 4.5 points apiece.

The tournament’s best junior was also a Rwandan, 16-year-old Ben Patrick Cyubahiro.

Another upcoming star, Happiness Mutete, 13, was the best lady.

The tournament attracted a total of 49 players from the hosts Rwanda, Burundi, Scotland, Afghanistan, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda.

Rwanda Open is billed as the biggest chess event in the country.