Kitovu crowned 2025 Fr. Grimes National Schools Chess Champions

St. Henry’s College Kitovu emerged as the 2025 Fr. Grimes National Schools Chess Champions, clinching the prestigious title for the first time in the school's history—an impressive leap from their 11th-place finish last year.

Kitovu dethroned defending champions St. Mary’s College Kisubi, who finished in second place in a highly competitive open category that featured 100 teams. The three-day tournament was held at Our Lady of Africa Namilyango SSS in Mukono.

Kitovu completed the event unbeaten with seven wins and two draws, while Kisubi managed six wins and three draws.

“Our toughest match was against King’s College Budo, and we drew against Kisubi and Caltec Academy. Now we’re shifting focus to preparing for the World Schools Chess Championships in the U.S. this August,” said team captain Joshua Tali.

In the primary open category, Sister Mirium Duggan’s teams A and B from Kamwokya, Kampala, claimed gold and silver with 25 and 24 points respectively across nine rounds.

In the secondary girls' category, St. Andrew Kaggwa Gombe successfully defended their title by edging out Wampewo Ntakke on a countback after both schools finished with 23 points. Gayaza High School took home the bronze with 19 points.

In the primary girls' category, Holistic Junior School from Mitoona secured gold with 23 points. Kids Pioneer of Wakiso earned silver on a countback, while defending champions Peak Primary settled for bronze with 20 points.

Top individual honors went to Edwin Pico, Jacob Kairu, and Abel Kyagambiddwa, who all went unbeaten through nine rounds.

Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) president Emmanuel Mwaka congratulated the medal-winning schools and urged them to begin preparations for the upcoming World Schools Championship, scheduled for August 2–7 in Washington, D.C.

“This year’s competition was incredibly tough due to the sheer number of participants. It’s the largest school chess championship in Africa, and we’re proud of all the schools that took part,” Mwaka noted.

The 2025 edition of the Fr. Grimes Chess Championship was the biggest in history, drawing a record 1,083 participants across various categories. These included 487 players in the open category, 264 in secondary girls, 214 in primary open, and 118 in primary girls.