2026 PMadol Chess Championship - U1800
12 players participated in this 6-round tournament, held from 07 Mar 2026 to 08 Mar 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya. Top 10 Elo average was 1715, and top seed was Nhial Jeremiah Machar (🇰🇪 KEN, 1776).
Kahara Ethan Kariuki (🇰🇪 KEN, 1678) won with 4.5/6, ahead of Amos Ochieng (4.5) and John Thon Ngony (4.0). Kariuki shared the lead from round 5, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Christopher Otieno Abuodha (1631) beat Nhial Jeremiah Machar (1776), a +145-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 6 roundsTight race until R6; 2 players tied at 4.5/6, decided on Buchholz. Title race narrowed from 4 co-leaders at R4 to 2 at the finish.
2 players finish on 4.5/6. Kariuki takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (18.5).
Kahara Ethan Kariuki drew with Amos Ochieng (White).
Kahara Ethan Kariuki 3 wins (R3–R5)Amos Ochieng 4 wins (R2–R5)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kahara Ethan Kariuki | * | ½ | 1 | 0 |
| 2Amos Ochieng | ½ | * | — | 1 |
| 3John Thon Ngony | 0 | — | * | 0 |
| 4Simiyu Baraka Daniel | 1 | 0 | 1 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kahara Ethan Kariuki | 1678 | KEN | +3B | −4N | +10B | +7N | +5N | =2B | 4.5 | 18.5 | 19.5 | 13.75 | 1928 | +78.8 |
| 2 | Amos Ochieng | 1756 | KEN | F | +10N | +7B | +5B | +4N | =1N | 4.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 13.25 | 2079 | +34.0 |
| 3 | Ngony, John Thon | 1767 | KEN | −1N | +9B | +11B | −4N | +7B | +8N | 4.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 6.50 | 1749 | -2.4 |
| 4 | Simiyu Baraka Daniel | 1740 | KEN | +9N | +1B | −5N | +3B | −2B | =6N | 3.5 | 20.0 | 21.5 | 11.75 | 1783 | +10.8 |
| 5 | Kenneth Koome Kinoti | 1738 | KEN | +8B | +11N | +4B | −2N | −1B | =9N | 3.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 6.25 | 1691 | -6.4 |
| 6 | Nhial Jeremiah Machar | 1776 | KEN | −7B | −8N | +12B | +11N | +9B | =4B | 3.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 3.25 | 1673 | -14.0 |
| 7 | Maguor Deng Ghiet | 1684 | KEN | +6N | +12B | −2N | −1B | −3N | +11B | 3.0 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 3.50 | 1655 | -7.6 |
| 8 | Christopher Otieno Abuodha | 1631 | KEN | −5N | +6B | −9N | F | +11B | −3B | 2.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 3.50 | 1537 | -18.0 |
| 9 | Kiruthu Ted Wahome | 1639 | KEN | −4B | −3N | +8B | F | −6N | =5B | 1.5 | 16.5 | 17.5 | 3.75 | 1583 | -14.4 |
| 10 | Oluchiri Jeshurun Inyangala | 1713 | KEN | +12N | −2B | −1N | F | F | F | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 0.00 | 1573 | -22.4 |
| 11 | Kamoni Elsie Wambui | 0 | KEN | F | −5B | −3N | −6B | −8N | −7N | 0.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0.00 | 918 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Kimani Gichuru | 1660 | KEN | −10B | −7N | −6N | F | F | F | 0.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.00 | 923 | -49.6 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Kahara Ethan KariukiKEN+78.84.5 pts · #1
- 2Amos OchiengKEN+34.04.5 pts · #2
- 3Simiyu Baraka DanielKEN+10.83.5 pts · #3
- 1Kimani GichuruKEN-49.60.0 pts · #11
- 2Oluchiri Jeshurun InyangalaKEN-22.41.0 pts · #10
- 3Christopher Otieno AbuodhaKEN-18.02.0 pts · #9
- R2+145 Elo gap