Kenyan Chess Player Disguised Himself as Woman to Compete in Female Division of Tournament

 

A 25-year-old Kenyan man decided to enter the female open chess tournament by dressing as a lady in order to take the easy way out in the game. According to the BBC, Stanley Omondi registered himself to compete while sporting a burka, sunglasses, and the name Millicent Awour.

He then apologized after being found out and said he entered the female competition due to “financial needs.” He continued by saying that he was prepared to take any consequences for his actions.

Omondi may be suspended for a number of years, but Kenya Chess President Bernard Wanjala insisted that this does not mean that he will be forever prohibited from playing chess competitively.

“We didn’t have any suspicion at first, because wearing a hijab is normal,” Wanjala said. “But along the way, we noticed he won against very strong players… and it will be unlikely to have a new person who has never played a tournament [being very strong].”

Omondi also raised flags with his footwear and keeping mum. “One of the red flags we also noticed [was] the shoes, he was wearing more masculine shoes, than feminine,” said Wanjala. “We also noticed he was not talking, even when he came to collect his tag, he couldn’t speak, ordinarily, when you are playing, you speak to your opponent… because playing a chess game is not war its friendship.”

According to BBC, officials also said they refrained from intervening out of concern that their actions would be perceived as discriminatory based on the religious garb Omondi was donning. However, he was eliminated in the fourth round.

“When he advanced, after he won a very strong match and we called him, he was not surprised,” Wanjala revealed. “He acknowledged that indeed he is a man. He regrets what happened, apologized, and said he was only doing that because he had financial difficulties and thought winning the title will help him overcome.”

2023 Kenya Open Chess Tournament participants included more than 400 players from 22 nations. More than $3,000 was up for grabs for the female class champion. Although the East African nation’s chess federation had first dealt with incidences of age cheating, this recent occurrence was also reportedly the first of its sort.

The verdict of the case will likely be announced by the federation’s disciplinary committee soon. Wanjala added that the event has been reported to the international organization.

“It is an extreme case, the verdict may include a ban. I rule out a life ban, but he may be given several years’ ban from playing chess,” he said.

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