In a thrilling conclusion to the longest league in Uganda’s chess history, Kireka A Chess Club emerged victorious, claiming the top spot in the 2024/25 Premier Bet Uganda Chess League.
The team edged out Mulago Kings Chess Club and Soroti, who secured second and third place, respectively.
The awarding ceremony, held on Sunday, February 23rd, at Nob View Hotel in Ntinda, marked the culmination of a year-long competition that witnessed over 1,247 classical games played and uploaded on the chess results portal.
A total of 700 players, including males, females, and individuals with disabilities, participated in the championship, representing 57 clubs from three regions: Northern, Eastern, and Central.
Uganda Chess Federation president Emmanuel Mwaka expressed his delight at the successful conclusion of the league, saying, “Today we witness the climax of our National league after a series of long runs.
We have had the longest league because of suspension of fixtures for four times due to international engagement.
The competition has been tight, and the future is bright.
I’m thankful to our sponsors Premier Bet Uganda LTD who financed the league to ensure its success.”
Premier Bet’s head of Marketing, Kenneth Kabale, echoed Mwaka’s sentiments, praising the Uganda Chess Federation for their organization and pledging continued support to the sport. “We have been partners to chess since 2018.
Each year we have been improving our packages, and we find working with the Federation a good experience.
For this particular season, we have injected 100 million to facilitate the cash prizes to different winners and logistics for smooth administration and running of the league.”
The overall winners, Kireka A Chess Club, took home a cash prize of UGX 10,000,000, while the second and third place teams received UGX 2,000,000 and UGX 1,500,000, respectively. The total cash prize awarded was UGX 24,000,000, with all participating teams receiving a minimum of UGX 100,000.
The Uganda Chess Federation has a busy calendar ahead, with the Women’s Day Chess tournament scheduled for March 8th in Kajjansi, followed by the Father Grimes Schools Chess championship from May 4th to 8th, and the Uganda Open championship later in the same month.
