Historic Four-Medal Haul for Kenya at 2026 Africa Junior Chess Championship

WFM Elizabeth Cassidy Maina wins historic silver and another WIM norm, while FM Jadon Simiyu claims three bronze medals and his first IM norm in a memorable championship for Kenya.

Kenya delivered one of its finest performances in the history of the Africa Junior Chess Championship, returning from Bujumbura, Burundi, with four continental medals and two important international title norms.

Representing Kenya at the 2026 Africa Juniors Individual Chess Championships, WFM Elizabeth Cassidy Maina and FM Jadon Simiyu produced outstanding performances against some of Africa’s strongest Under-20 players.

Cassidy captured silver in the Girls’ Classical Championship, while Jadon earned bronze in the Open Classical Championship before adding two more bronze medals in the Rapid and Blitz competitions.

The championship was hosted by the Burundian Chess Federation (FECHEBU) at the King’s Conference Centre in Bujumbura under the auspices of the African Chess Confederation. The overall event ran from 23 August to 1 September, with the nine-round Classical Championships played from 24 to 29 August. The classical competition attracted 34 players from eight African federations.

Cassidy makes Kenyan history with silver

At just 15 years old, WFM Elizabeth Cassidy Maina once again demonstrated why she is regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Kenyan and African chess.

Cassidy entered the Girls’ Classical Championship as the second seed, rated 1920, behind Angola’s WFM Jemima Paulo. She went on to score an impressive 7 points from nine games, finishing second overall and securing the silver medal.

Angola’s Paulo won the championship with 8.5/9, while South Africa’s WFM Chisomo Boshoma completed the podium with six points.

For Kenya, Cassidy’s result carried special significance. Chess Kenya recorded it as the country’s first silver medal in the Girls’ Section of the Africa Junior Championship. Her performance also earned her another Woman International Master norm, which Chess Kenya reported as her second WIM norm.

That achievement continues a remarkable 2026 season for Cassidy.

Earlier in the year, she won the African Youth U16 Girls Championship, scoring 7.5/9 to finish ahead of a strong field in Uganda. The U16 title carried a WIM norm, making her performance in Bujumbura another major step towards the Woman International Master title.

She had also been crowned Kenya National U16 Girls Champion earlier in the season.

What makes her latest result even more impressive is that the Africa Junior Championship is an Under-20 event. Cassidy, born in 2011 and still only 15, was competing successfully against players several years older than her.

From African U14 champion in 2025, to African U16 champion in 2026, and now Africa Junior silver medallist, Cassidy’s progression on the continental stage has been rapid and consistent.

Jadon ends Kenya’s 36-year Open medal wait

If Cassidy’s silver was historic, FM Jadon Simiyu’s championship was equally remarkable.

Jadon arrived in Burundi as the second-highest-rated player in the Open Classical field, carrying a rating of 2212. Only Angola’s CM Sonhy Jaime, rated 2214, was ranked above him at the start of the competition.

And Jadon was only 14 years old in an Under-20 championship.

He battled through the nine-round Classical tournament to finish with 5.5/9, taking bronze behind champion Sonhy Jaime of Angola and Uganda’s Alvin Muhirwa. Most importantly for his long-term career, the performance earned Jadon his first International Master norm.

The bronze also ended a long wait for Kenyan chess. According to Chess Kenya, it was the country’s first medal in the Africa Junior Open Section in 36 years, dating back to Juma Arogo’s podium performance in Botswana in 1990.

Jadon was not finished.

When the championship moved to the faster time controls, he remained among the continent’s best.

In the Open Rapid Championship, Uganda’s Alvin Muhirwa took gold, Angola’s Sonhy Jaime won silver, and Jadon added another bronze medal for Kenya.

He then repeated the feat in the Open Blitz Championship, finishing third behind Sonhy Jaime and Uganda’s Ronald Wabwire.

By the end of the championship, the 14-year-old Kenyan had collected three individual bronze medals across Classical, Rapid and Blitz, as well as his first IM norm.

Another milestone in Jadon’s remarkable rise

The Bujumbura performance is the latest chapter in a remarkable period for Jadon.

In 2025, he became Kenya’s youngest-ever FIDE Master, following his victory at the Quo Vadis Open in Nyeri. Later that year, at only 13, he won the Kenya National Chess Championship, becoming the youngest Open national champion in the country’s history.

That national championship victory also secured his place in Kenya’s team for the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he now heads with another major continental achievement behind him.

His performance in Burundi also represented progress from the previous Africa Junior Championship, where he narrowly missed the podium.

Now he has not only reached the podium but done so three times in one championship.

Two teenagers, two title norms and four medals

What makes Kenya’s performance in Bujumbura especially encouraging is the age of its representatives.

Jadon is 14. Cassidy is 15.

Yet the two are already competing successfully against Africa’s best Under-20 players, collecting international title norms and setting national milestones.

Cassidy is building towards the Woman International Master title, while Jadon has taken his first significant step towards becoming an International Master.

Their performances also underline the growing strength of Kenya’s junior development pathway. Both players have accumulated experience through national championships, African age-group competitions and international events, and that exposure is increasingly translating into results at the highest junior level.

The African Chess Confederation’s final report described the 2026 championship as one featuring exceptional depth among the continent’s emerging players. Kenya featured prominently throughout, alongside Angola, Uganda and Algeria.

For Kenya, the final tally tells its own story:

Elizabeth Cassidy Maina: Girls’ Classical Silver and WIM norm.

Jadon Simiyu: Open Classical Bronze and IM norm, Open Rapid Bronze, Open Blitz Bronze.

Four medals. Two international title norms. Two young players continuing to raise the standard of Kenyan chess.

The journey continues

The 2026 Africa Junior Chess Championship will be remembered as an important chapter in Kenyan chess history.

For Cassidy, it was another continental podium and another major step towards the WIM title.

For Jadon, it was the end of a 36-year wait for an Open Section medal, the beginning of his IM-norm journey, and a remarkable three-medal championship.

For Kenyan chess, it was further evidence that a new generation is ready to compete with the best on the continent.

Chess Kenya congratulates WFM Elizabeth Cassidy Maina and FM Jadon Simiyu for representing the country with distinction and flying the Kenyan flag high in Bujumbura.

Hongera, Team Kenya! 🇰🇪♟️