Allan Mathias Ssonko bettered his chances of qualifying for the Zone 4.2 African Individual Chess Championship when he beat Rodgers Ntambi in the sixth round of the Zonal Qualifiers on Saturday at Makerere University Business School.
Ssonko, ranked 3rd in the competition had a disappointing start.
After losing to unrated Morris Sangalo in the third round, the rated 2141 drew against another unrated player Derrick Ssanya in the subsequent round, placing himself in a tricky position.
Ssonko went into Saturday games placed 12th, but was able to bounce back. He saw off Eric Mugabi in the 4th round before outthinking Ntambi in the last round of the day. Both players went into the game with 3.5 points.
Ssonko now ascends third with his 4.5 points.
Meanwhile, Fide Master Patrick Kawuma stayed atop. The 27 year old registered wins against Thomas Katairo and Solomon Lubega on Saturday.
Like his fellow FM, Haruna Nsubuga was triumphant against his Saturday opponents. After Katairo and Sangalo falling to Kawuma and Nsubuga respectively, the two FMs remain the only unbeaten players in the Open category.
Both are on 5.5 points but Kawuma leads on tie-break. Katairo and Joshua Katumba, both on 4.5 complete the top five.