Kakuma Refugee Camp Test Tournament

The Kakuma Refugee Chess Camp is making great strides in its goal to introduce chess to refugees in the camp.

They have conducted a test tournament to test their systems and prepare for more chess tournaments to come.

This project was launched by Arkady Dvorkovich, the FIDE President, in Kenya in 2021, and was dubbed ‘Chess for Protection‘. FIDE, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Chess Kenya jointly support the program.

The Fide President said that he has had an emotional attachment to Africa ever since he visited Kenya in 2018, This is a testament to the amazing allure of Kenya as a point of destination for Chess players and the grandeur and majesty of its features.

The program will run in three phases with approximately 1,600 children in 40 schools located within the Kakuma and Kolobey Refugee Camps. This will help some of the children who have to deal with the trauma of fleeing their country find a place where they can direct their mental energies after school and find solace and peace in this royal game of 64 squares.

The very best people have been put in charge of the camp,  making sure that this is not a goodwill with the sole aim of finding something to occupy the refugees but a means of self-improvement and financial breakthrough for the refugees, who with the skills acquired in the camp hopefully have an opportunity to journey to the major cities in Kenya and compete with the top players for prizes.

The camp has been left to the able hands of Peter Diing, He holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Kenyatta University (Special Needs Education – visually impaired option).

Mr. Diing is also the Executive Director of the South Sudan Chess Federation and was captain of the Kenyatta University Chess Club from 2012-2013.

He is duly qualified for the job and this is not shown in his Leadership qualities alone but also in his chess skills. He has a Fide rating of (1843) Standard and (1850) Rapid, I will now show a game he played in the Kenya National Chess League 2017 against Roselinda Wambui

The refugee camp trainer will also be trained by the Secretary-General for Chess Kenya John Mukabi whose accolades are so many that I will have to do a separate article for him. 

The future of Chess in Kenya is bright not only for its inhabitants but also for everyone who has come to the country, I shall be updating you on all developments in the camp when I receive them.

For now, I leave you with a video of the Kakuma Chess Club.