james wika 
Jully reclaims throne as Equity continues Chess dominance
Equity Chess team continued with their winning ways over the board, with Equity’s Women Candidate Master (WCM) Jully Mutisya winning the Ladies’ category, at the inaugural Nairobi County Chess Championship held at Wadi Delga Club, Nairobi.
After a tough run against KCB’s Joyce Nyaruai in Mombasa a week earlier that ended in a draw, WCM Jully had an opportunity to get things even. Jully played no-holds-barred fight in the derby, outwitting all but one of her opponents in the 8-match derby to take gold. Joyce settled for first runner up, after beating Equity’s Fide Master (WFM) Sasha Mongogeli who walked home the bronze.
WCM Jully welcomed her win noting, “My earlier draw against Joyce (Nyaruai) has been haunting me but beating her to No.2 today and winning the overall title is a double victory for me.
I prepared hard for this encounter and I’m happy to have won,” she added.” This win is a demonstration that anyone can bounce back and take their place with both in chess and beyond so long as they keep focused.”
Equity Teammates Mark Waswa and Hugh Misiko were first and second runners up respectively in the Open category that KCB’s Ben Magana won with a 0.5 margin. South Sudanese Gong Thon Gong, who had dominated chess a week earlier in Mombasa, finished a distant 5th position.
Equity also won Best Corporate Team title, as well as a recognition going Equity’s Kyle Kuka for outstanding performance in the U1800 category. With the recent victorious outings for the brown bankers in Nairobi and Mombasa derbys, the focus now shifts to the National Chess League which defending champions Equity is currently in the lead.
