Equity Chess team continued its winning streak, with Equity’s Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Jully Mutisya winning the Women’s category at the inaugural Nairobi County Chess Championship held at Wadi Delga Club, Nairobi.
After a tough match against KCB’s Joyce Nyaruai in Mombasa a week earlier that ended in a draw, WCM Mutisya had an opportunity to settle the score. Mutisya played aggressively in the tournament, outwitting all but one of her opponents in the eight-match event to take gold. Nyaruai finished as the first runner-up, after defeating Equity’s Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Sasha Mongeli, who took home the bronze.
WCM Mutisya welcomed her win, saying, “My earlier draw against Joyce (Nyaruai) has been on my mind, but beating her today and winning the overall title is a double victory for me. I prepared hard for this encounter, and I’m happy to have won. This win demonstrates that anyone can bounce back and succeed, both in chess and beyond, as long as they stay focused.”
Equity teammates Mark Waswa and Hugh Misiko were first and second runners-up, respectively, in the Open category, which KCB’s Ben Magana won by a 0.5 margin. South Sudanese player Gong Thon Gong, who had dominated the tournament a week earlier in Mombasa, finished in a distant fifth place.
Equity also won the Best Corporate Team title, and Equity’s Kyle Kuka received recognition for outstanding performance in the Under 1800 category. With these recent victories for the “brown bankers” in Nairobi and Mombasa, the focus now shifts to the National Chess League, where defending champion Equity currently holds the lead.