Swedish Grand Master Pontus Carlsson (background) poses for a photo with Kenya's chess prodigies (from left) Elizabeth Cassidy, Nathaniel Manyeki and Winnie Kaburo at a Nairobi Hotel on January 9, 2026.
Swedish chess Grand Master (GM) Pontus Carlsson has described 10-year-old Nathaniel Manyeki as the “biggest chess talent in Kenya”, saying the youngster stands a good chance of attaining the prestigious GM title in future.
At the same time, Carlsson has urged Chess Kenya officials, the government and corporates to assist 13-year-old Kenya National Chess Champion (KNCC) Jadon Simiyu and other youngsters to achieve their ambitions of attaining the prestigious International Master (IM) and GM titles by sponsoring them for tougher tournaments abroad.
For most Kenyans, the name Manyeki first came to prominence in December last year after the youngster won a gold medal in the Under-10 Open Section category at the 2025 Africa Youth Chess Championship in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He amassed an impressive 8.5 points after winning eight matches and drawing one in Harare. In 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, Manyeki won the Under-8 Open section of the Africa Youth Chess Championship with 100 percent winning record in nine marches. He was awarded the title of Conditional Candidate Master (CM).
Carlsson believes Manyeki’s triumph in Harare is just one of the many outstanding achievements by the Grade Five pupil at Brookside International School in Westlands, Nairobi.
“He (Manyeki) is a bit special,” Carlsson said at the weekend in Nairobi. “When I first saw him, he was around six years old, but very good, to be honest. Now you can see how he has grown. Definitely, he has a 100 per cent chance (of being a GM),” the 43-year-old Swede, who became an IM in 2005 and GM in 2007, added.
Carlson ranks Manyeki among the top 25 globally in Under-10 category. The youngster crossed the 1900 Fide elo rating mark last year, and finished 10th in the Under-10 category at the 2025 Fide World Cadets Cup. He was Africa’s top performer in his category. Fide elo rating is a numerical measure of a chess player’s past performance and estimated playing strength.
“He is in the top 25 in the world in his category. When he played at the last World Cadets Cup, he finished 10th, which shows that he is even better than I suggested. He has the chance to perform on the global level,” Carlsson, who is originally from Colombia, said.
Chess Kenya president Bernard Wanjala agrees with Carlsson’s views. “I don’t think we have ever had a Kenyan rated above 1800 at nine years,” he says.
Manyeki received a silver medal and trophy for emerging second in the Most Promising Personality of the Year in 2023 Sports Personality of The Year Awards (Soya Awards).
He started playing chess in 2021 after the Covid-19 pandemic brought most activities to a halt globally.
Alongside his 12-year-old sister, Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Winnie Kaburo, he was introduced to the sport by his father Erick Manyeki. Attributing his continued rise in the sport to intense training, including solving puzzles, Manyeki dreams of becoming a GM at 14 and reaching the final of one World Championship event.
“I want to achieve the GM title, maybe at 14 and reach at least one World Championship final,” Manyeki said. Kenya has yet to produce a GM. FM remains the highest chess honour to have been achieved by a Kenyan.
Simiyu and veterans Martin Gateri and Stephen Ouma are the country’s three FMs. Simiyu attained the FM in June last year and just six months later, in December, made history as the youngest player to ever win the Kenya National Chess Championship (KNCC) Open Section title.
The Grade eight pupil at Moi Primary and Junior School, Kabarak in Nakuru County, topped the standings with an impressive 23 points, having won eight rounds, drawn twice and lost just one.
His triumph was remarkable as he floored experienced players, including Candidate Master (CM) and former champions Ben Magana, Martin Njoroge, Mehul Gohil and Kenneth Omolo.
Speaking to Nation Sport after the triumph, Simiyu revealed his lofty ambitions in the sport. “I’m looking to become an IM within the next three years and a Grandmaster when I’m still a junior. I want to be one of the best chess players that the earth has ever seen,” he said then.
Heaping praise on Simiyu for rewriting Kenya’s chess history, Carlsson said the only way to make it possible is through regular participation abroad – a task which is expensive.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to become an IM or GM in Kenya. You have to go outside the country, and that is very costly because it is not that you will make it if you just play one norm tournament. You have to compete in several,” said Carlsson. “For Wanjala (the Chess Kenya president) and the other people in the federation, the government, and corporates, they need to listen to the youngsters. It is important that they back them,” he added.
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