Uganda Chess Stars - Emojong, Namaganda - on Quest for Next Level

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The charm of a chess title - International Master or Grandmaster - has not worn out in Russia, Europe or any of the chess-full countries of the world. Therefore, imagine what the titles mean if you come from a country where there is yet no IM or GM!

Chess Blog wishes the Uganda Chess stars best of luck in their quest for the next level. FIDE Master Elijah Emojong, could move up to IM level if he wins the Zonal 4.2 Africa Chess championships to be held this weekend in Abuja Nigeria. Emojong could become the first IM of Uganda if he wins!

Emojong who has already qualified for this years’ 40th World Chess Olympiad to be held in Istanbul, Turkey August 2012, is the only Ugandan male chess player to go for the tournament. Emojong is not the highest rated chess player in Uganda, but he has been the most active tournament player lately.

Accompanying him is the only woman chess player representing Uganda at the tournament - Christine Namaganda. Namaganda, who finished 5th at the Kenyan Open Chess tournament two weeks back, could become FIDE Master (FM) too, if she wins top spot in the female category. But the run to regain her glory as Uganda’s number one female chess star has not been easy for the 26-year- old Christine Namaganda, and has since missed out on the Olympiad slot that was filled by Phiona Mutesi, Rita Nsubuga, among others.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
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