Former national champion Mehul Gohil suffered the biggest upset in the ongoing Kenya National Chess Championships which entered its third day at Makini School on Friday.Mehul fell to youngster Aguda Lwanga, himself a former under-18 champion who with that result is now in contention to be crowned the new national champion.Going into the match, Mehul had faltered just once, a draw against Allan Chumba and he was expected to quickly recover against Aguda but it was not to be.’We didn’t want coach to leave’ Joe Waithera on Abdallah Juma’s sacking“I outplayed my opponent. At one point I had a winning position but put my king wrongly in an advanced position losing the game. I am now fighting for third position at best,” said Mehul after the game.Former national champion Ben Magana took a commanding lead in round five as he fell to Victor Ngani another former champion.Magana from KCB has now collected five points from as many matches and it will take a miracle to stop him.##NAJAVA_MECA_8571458##Robert Macligeyo stayed with the leading pack after drawing unknown Allan Chumba and is now on 4 points.It was the second draw in a row for Macligeyo who had shared the points with Hillary Sagwe in the fourth round.A second successive draw in round five has put on ice Joseph Methu’s chances of defending his title.Wanyama identifies key challenges hindering growth of football in KenyaIn round four Jimmy Kanangu picked a point from Methu and on Friday he failed to go past Trevor Mulindi and now stays on 3.5 points after five rounds.By this time last year, Methu had collected maximum points on his way to winning his first-ever national title and drove away with a brand new Nissan Note car.Mercy Cherono picked a crucial draw against higher-rated Jully Mutisya in the ladies section.##NAJAVA_MECA_8571479##Former national champion WCM Joyce Nyaruai (rated 1817) showed her class, defeating unrated Richier Ivy.Defending champion WFM Sasha Mongeli (rated 1845) brought her A-game, crushing U14 unrated junior Waswa Abigael in a textbook victory.Former ladies champion Jumba Gloria (rated 1680) outplayed reigning junior champion Zuri Kaloki (rated 1737), reaffirming her credentials as one of Kenya’s finest.Harambee Stars midfielder dazzles as IF Elfsborg secure Europa League victoryShannon Bulimo (rated 1453) pulled off an impressive win against Ibrahim Zena (rated 1595), a testament to her determination and fighting spirit.In an intriguing junior clash, U16 player Angel Kagambi (rated 1560) took down U20 former junior champion Mercy Ingado (rated 1661) on Board 6. The surprises did not stop there—on Board 10, U14 player Nashipae Bella (rated 1488) delivered a brilliant performance.
