SANA OMPRAKASH IS OFF TO A WINNING START AT THE WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN MONTESILVANO, ITALY.

Round 1 results
Canada 0 – 1 Uganda.
Uganda 0 – 1 USA
Norway 1 – 0 Uganda

Sana Omprakash Kayyar of Uganda made a remarkable start to her campaign at the 2023 World
Youth Chess Championship in Montesilvano, Italy. In the first round of the tournament, held on
November 13, 2023, Sana achieved a victory over a highly-rated Canadian player, Ruchinskaya
Valeri, in the Under 16 girls’ category. Sana, the reigning 2023 Lady National Junior Champion
and Africa Youth U16 silver medalist, displayed her talent and skill, setting the stage for a
promising performance in the championship.

Unfortunately, the other two players from Uganda did not have a favorable start. Sherry Ariella
Agaba, competing in the Under 14 girls’ category, lost to Qi Jenny from the USA, while Shoubhith
Omprakash Kayyar, participating in the Under 14 boys’ category, was defeated by Jiahao Eric
from Norway. However, the Ugandan team remains hopeful that they will draw inspiration from
Sana’s victory and bounce back from their initial setbacks.
Round 2 pairings are as below;

The event is played in the Swiss format and the schedule is as below;

The journey to Montesilvano, Italy began for the team on November 12, 2023, and the
tournament commenced the following day. It is worth mentioning that the Ugandan team
encountered visa challenges during the process of securing appointments. Nevertheless, the
embassy counselor provided assistance by granting an expedited visa interview for the team.
Regrettably, Olympian Patricia Kawuma, missed the visa appointment, as her guardians could
not deliver her in time for the interview. Often such misses attract penalties off the initial
deposited amounts at events.

Looking ahead to the next round, the Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) expresses gratitude to the
supporters from Uganda, including media partners, parents, coaches, and the National Council
of Sports, as well as the Italian embassy for their support during the visa process.
For any further inquiries, please contact ugandachess@yahoo.com.

Credit:

Eng. Mwaka Emmanuel
President, Uganda Chess Federation (UCF)
Email: ugandachess@yahoo.com