The 2023 edition of the Uganda Open Chess Championship is set to commence on Friday, 6th October, the Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) has announced.
The edition is scheduled to take place at Nob View Hotel in Ntinda between 6th-9th October.
This year’s edition is set to attract creme dela creme of the region unlike last year when only IM Elijah Emojong of the traditional top six took part in the competition.
Aside from handing players with the opportunity to become champions, this event will also serve as a Qualifier for the World Chess Olympiad.
As the second Grand Prix Circuit in the UCF calendar, it will be used to award part of the 2024 Olympiad qualifying points to the top 20 players.
It will be played in three categories including the Juniors, Ladies and Open categories, and will be open to all players with a FIDE ID.
It will be an eight-round event and will be run according to the Swiss Pairing System.
The official classical FIDE ratings will be used for pairing and rating purposes, and the time control for all games is 90 minutes+30sec classical where a default losing time will be 60 minutes.
There will be no draw offer allowed until black completes its 30th move.
Rajab Kamoga comes as the defending champion in the Open category while WCM Shakira Ampaire is the defending champion in the Ladies category.
The first and second rounds will be played on Friday, 6th October after the opening ceremony.
Courtesy Photos
