Two Rwandan chess players left for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Thursday to compete in the Zone 4.2 individual championship, which starts on Saturday.

Reigning women national chess champion Marie Faustine Shimwa and her Knight Chess Club colleague, Valentin Rukimbira, were selected by the Rwanda Chess Federation (FERWADE) to take part in the tournament.

The week-long has attracted players from Rwanda, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burundi and hosts Tanzania.

"Visiting federations are allowed to enter a maximum of five players in each category, but our players are usually constrained due to their work schedules,” said FERWADE vice president, Kevin Ganza.

Only the host federation reserves the right to field up to seven players in each category.

In accordance with World Chess Federation (FIDE) regulations, the Championships is open to all players from federations within the Zone 4.2 region affiliated to FIDE. The tournament will comprise an Open Section and a Women’s section.

The winner in the Open Section will bag a US$ 1,000 cash prize and on top of being awarded the International Master (IM) title while the winner in the Women’s section gets US$ 750 and will be awarded the Woman International Master (WIM) title.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw