International Master (IM) Arthur Ssegwanyi has topped the Uganda April FIDE ratings that were released earlier this month.
At 2395 elo (rating), Segwanyi moved closer to the 2400 mark that remains a Gold standard in the East African region and is closer to setting a new record as no player in the region has ever surpassed the mark.
Arthur became a Fide Master (FM) in 2014 and an IM in 2015 after winning the Zone 4.2 ahead over the more fancied Egyptians.
This qualified him for the World Cup where he played the famous game drawing with Anish Giri in the first round. He has cemented his name as the highest rated player and consolidated his position by winning several events.
The rankings pit the ever green FM Kawuma Patrick at in second on 2323, who leapfrogs 2019 All Africa games Bronze Medalist and National team coach FM Harold Wanyama with 2312 in the 3rd place.
Wanyama has been a top flight player in Uganda for in the last 14 years and was favorite to cross the 2400 mark as early as 2010 when he was at his peak.
It is always a very painful wait for ratings with all players rushing to pick up elos before they retire. Other players like Wanderema Ignatius, Maguzi Peter, Mathew Kibuuka, Nkonge Moses etc fall in the bracket of those that played great chess in Uganda in unrated events
In the 4th position is IM Elijah Emojong at 2283 who appears to be in semi-retirement while Okas Walter sits in 5th at 2220 sealing the 2200 club.
In 6th position is Allan Ssonko, 7th FM Haruna Nsubuga, 8th FM Bibasa Bob, 9th Munanira Isaac and 10th Gonza simon who seals the 2100 club as well.
The average rating of the players is 2214, a clear indication of Uganda’s regional giant status and a force to be reckoned with.
Uganda has an Elite group of 20 chess players above the 2000 mark thanks to the commitment of Uganda Chess Federation (UCF).
The new entrant in the top 100 is Ssenabulya sharif at Elo 1708 who is battling to reach 2000 rating points so as to claim his Candidate Master (CM) title that was conditionally awarded after his exploits at the 2019 Africa Individual Schools Chess Championship hosted by UCF in Kampala, Uganda.
Ssenabulya is a promising talent and was part of the 2019 Uganda U16 zone 4.4 gold medal winning team.
In Uganda several players would have accumulated enough Elos to challenge the 2400 rating mark, winning titles and invitations to quality events, but the absence or cancellation of the would be rated events in Uganda kept them at bay.
However in 2017, UCF led by president Mwaka Emmanuel prioritized rating of all events, including the National League and this has seen a surge of rated players from about 60 players to over 500 rated players and the number of chess clubs rising to 62.
Mwaka exclusively told ChimpReports, “The events were opened, boosted extra finances and rated which attracted several foreign players with events averaging 4 to 5 federations mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Seychelles, Burundi, Serbia, DRC, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania among others.”
He added, “The rating of all UCF calendar local events, opening all events to other federations increased cash prizes and broadcasting of live events contributed heavily to Uganda Chess Federation’s (UCF) rapid growth and development, emerging as the best performing federation with 37 international medals in 2019.”
Currently, only two ladies appear on the top 100 list in the country namely WFM Ivy Amoko at 1864 and Nakabo peninah at 1730.
Although only 2 ladies appear on the top 100 open list of Uganda, the number of rated ladies has soared from less than 10 rated players in 2017 to about 40 players as shown on April rating list.
The latest Junior entrants on the list are Kawuma Patricia and Nankya Janelle Mubiru with UCF hoping to bring on board several other junior players.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, UCF through the grand-prix system had selected 14 Players who would go on to challenge for the top five slots.
The top 5 players were expected to attend the zone 4.4 competitions, African Individual, 44th Chess Olympiad in Russia, 3 GM norm events, not forgetting all finalists that were scheduled to benefit from training programs from foreign GMs (Armenia).