Kenya’s Gloria Jumba now a chess WCM
What you need to know:
- Jumba, who played board one for the women’s national team, finished on five points out of seven, gaining over 50 per cent score to give her the WCM status.
Kenya’s Gloria Jumba attained Woman Candidate Master (WCM) status following the conclusion of the Chess Olympiad on Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Jumba, who played board one for the women’s national team, finished on five points out of seven, gaining over 50 per cent score to give her the WCM status.
Kenya finished in position 114 out of 140 countries having missed the opening four rounds after they failed to travel on time. The women’s team of four players sponsored themselves to the biennial event while the men’s team failed to travel.
Jumba now joins the ranks of Purity Maina, Jane Wambugu and Joyce Nyaruai, who are all WCM holders. A player is bestowed with a CM OR WFM status after achieving a FIDE rating of 2,000 or more. Jumba, who was taking part in her fifth Olympiad, was thrilled with the status, noting her performance would have been much better had the team played from the opening round.
“This is an important title for me but I owe it to my team-mates who have helped shaped my game. Despite the challenges we faced in getting here, we have managed to show that we can compete with the world’s best,” the KCB player told Daily Nation Sport via phone.
She played for Kenya in the 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 editions but noted that her performance in Baku were her most inspiring. Kenya beat Philippines, Maldives, Uganda, Panama and Barbados during the 42nd edition of the global chess event.
“I think with better planning and organisation, we can break into the top 50 nations. There are a lot of positives to pick from this competition,” she added.
