Kenyan Male Chess Player Caught Competing as a Woman

Kenyan chess player Stanley Omondi is staring at a lengthy ban from the sport after he disguised himself as a woman to compete in the women’s section of the 2023 Kenya Open Chess Championship held at the Sarit Expo Center in Nairobi from April 6th to 10th.

Omondi, who has an international rating of 1200, dressed as a woman and managed to cheat his way through to the female section of the tournament.

Nation reports that he registered under the name Millicent Awuor, wore a hijab, and avoided speaking to anyone during the tournament which attracted 444 players from 22 countries. He completely covered his head and face and wore spectacles on the small opening that revealed his eyes.

The impostor raised suspicion after effortlessly beating former Kenya National Chess Championship Women’s section winner Gloria Jumba (rated 1487), and Ugandan top player Ampaira Shakira (1702).

His competitors started questioning where "she" has been during other important national chess tournaments.

The tournament staff, who were initially hesitant to act, finally decided to investigate after the fourth round.

Omondi was taken to a private room for interrogation where he admitted to being male, saying the financial problems he was experiencing at the university pushed him to cheat in the tournament. He had hoped to pocket the Sh500,000 cash prize for the women’s section winner.

He said he avoided playing in the Open Section, whose prize money is Sh1 million, due to stiff competition. Seven Grandmasters, seven International Masters, seven Fide Masters and five Candidate Masters took part in the Open Section.

Victor Ng'ani, a member of the Chess Kenya Disciplinary Committee, said they will start dealing with the matter once they receive a formal complaint from the Executive Committee.

“It (the offence) is serious enough to warrant an extensive penalty. Previously we have punished some small offences, including age cheating with a six-month ban. This being a fraud incident, the player will get a lengthy ban if found guilty,” said Ngani.

Omondi told Nation that he started playing at a young age. He represents a top university in the Kenya National Chess Premier League.