It was all euphoria and jubilations at Protea Hotel Kampala Skyz as Kireka Panthers were crowned the 2022/23
Premier Bet Uganda National Chess League Champions for the second time in four years. Coming off the heels of a disastrous 2021/2022 campaign where Kireka Panthers, the defending champions, only managed a miserable 7th position out of 40 teams, the Panthers had a lot to prove to their critics to show that their dream 2019 League win was not a mere fluke. Captain Kafuko was intent on showing that his team were deserved Champions of the 2019 season and that they could do it again.
Having emerged victorious in the 2019 Premier Bet Uganda Chess League after winning thirteen games (13) games and only losing one game to score thirty nine (39) points out of a possible forty two (42), Kireka Panthers bettered this statistic when it won thirteen (13) games and only drew against compatriots Kireka A to score a stunning forty (40) points out of a possible forty two (42) points and go unbeaten in the run up to being crowned champions.
Kireka Panthers fended off stiff competition from compatriots Kireka A who finished second with 38 points. This is the second time both Kireka teams have occupied the top two positions in the Uganda Chess League, the first time being in 2019 when Kireka Panthers won the League and Kireka A came second. On both occasions, the teams were separated by a paltry two (2) points.
The top performers in the team included Gonza Simon who scored 8 points out of 9 games on board 3, two time Junior Champion Ajiri Benjamin Netanyahu who scored 6.5 points out of 7 games on board 4, WFM Amoko Ivy who scored 4.5 points out of 5 games on board 5 and the South Sudanese pair of Gong Thon Gong and Peter Majur Manyang who scored 6 points each out of 7 games on board 2 and 3 consecutively. A full synopsis of the results can be found here.
Asked what propelled the team to the Championship this season,
Panther’s Captain Kafuko Paul said that
“It was a concerted effort of hard work, determination, team spirit and strategy from the players and the Club management”.
CPT KAFUKO PAUL | kIREKA PANTHERS
He proudly added that
“As our motto says Home of Champions, we did not have an alternative but to win”
before thanking his players for putting up a spirited fight and the club management for the technical and financial support provided to the team throughout the season.
This means Kireka Chess Club has won the Uganda Chess League for a record breaking seven (7) consecutive seasons since the year 2016.
Kireka Panthers also emerged second in the Rapid and Blitz portions while Kireka A won the Rapid portion and came third in the blitz portion. The Rapid results can be found here while the Blitz results can be found here.
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