"My opponent left a glass of whisky 'en prise' and I took it 'en passant". - Henry Blackburne | SINCE 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007

CHECKMATES RAPID OPEN TOURNAMENT

PRIZE BREAKDOWN

1st Prize: Kshs 5000/= + Trophy
2nd Prize: Kshs 3000/=
3rd Prize: Kshs 2000/=
All the above prizes are guaranteed

ENTRY FEE

Early payment (Before 9:00am 18th August)
KSHS 300/=
Late payment (After 9:00am 18th August)
KSHS 500/=
Payment of entry fees includes FREE LUNCH.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

7 Rounds Swiss System. 25min per game/per player.
TIMINGS

Round 1 will start at 10:00am SHARP. Please be warned that this timing is non-negotiable and Checkmates Chess Club will not follow the routine of other chess tournaments by beggining only when there is sufficient quorum. Even if only 3 players are present the tournament will kick off.Deadline for registering for ROUND 1 is 9:30am. Those who register later will be forced to miss round 1 and still have to pay the more expensive late entry fee of Kshs. 500/=. No nonsense on this issue will be tolerated.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE


9:00am - 9:30am: Elections of club officials. *
9:30am - 10:00am: Pairings for RD1 and Players to discuss FIDE Rapid Rules.
10:00am - 1:00pm: RD 1 - RD 3
1:00pm - 2:00pm: Lunch
2:00pm - 6:00pm: RD 4 - RD 7
6:00pm - 6:30pm: Prize Giving

LIVELY DISCUSSION ON 'STREET CHESS

After paul Malobas venture into one of Kenya's estates and discovering some street chess players, a lively discussion has been kicked off at Kenyan chess forums.
full discussion at http://groups.google.com/group/kenya-chess-forum/topics?hl=en

"When I describe Kenyan chess as Patzerish its coz we are extra weak thanks to the dilapidation done by CK. Its so serious that Kenya was referred to as Kenya Tome at the just concluded AAG. What a shame, but thank
goodness, a Mr Nguku, soon to be an IM, is busy working on Fritz 10 and am
sure will raise the levo... lol" Githinji Hinga


HERE ARE SOME TID BITS

SINGE
Malonye this is great news i think this are the places we will get IM's and even GM's in Future ....My suggestion is please tell this guys to Organize themselves in the form of a Club....I will give them two Chess sets each club for free and for such Clubs a board will cost them 500... books are not a problem i can always photocopy those i have and give them a copy. Good Scouting Job Malonye

MEHUL
I think these guys should not be too worried about 'opening theory'. Apart from a few top Kenyans, the majority really don't know openings and it really is not a major factor in determining the outcome in this country. In fact, these guys probably have an advantage because their middlegame might be strongish due to the fact they are playing long games without clocks.

Most kenyan players on the tournament circuit have been bogged down by playing blitz on a daily basis (me included!) and this may infact be detrimental when it comes to longer time controls as you somehow lose the ability to think and rely more on a quick reflex action. However, what they should really be scared of is the fact that a Tournament atmosphere is vastly different from Friendly games. They have not yet played in an event filled with big dogs with big canines (like Magana and Nguku).

What happens here is that a player like say Githinji can be crushing Magana, Nguku and other big dogs in his friendly blitz games at checkmates, but come Saturday the 18th this Githinji will discover that he is involved in playing games with a whole different species of animal. The tournament atmosphere is designed to make a weak player look weaker and a strong player stronger. How else can you explain the fact that tournament winners usually come from a select group?

GITHINJI HINGA kicks off some beef
First Kudos to Malobs for his discovery of these players and would very much
like to welcome them to the checkmates tourney on the 18th. Also I second
very strongly the thoughts of Nitin Shah who has noted that time has come to
elect officials and possibly purge this tyrannical regime at CK, I ask him
and others likeminded, to come to the checkmates tourney and thereby bring
together the "scattered" chess community.
Now to a strongish Mehul, he was ofcourse correct to state that I, Githinji,
happen to mercilessly crush ... "....Magana, Nguku and other big dogs in his friendly blitz games at checkmates", This is ofcourse true,but what he forgot to include is Himself, Mehul. I know Nguku is of the opinion of " .... Fa Free, you win one and I win one,
BUT bring in an incentive, I win ALL". This is mostly true I admit, BUT the
top rated Kenyan Patzer, Mr Magana a.k.a Magnum is mostly on a losing end
(firing blanks) quote me on that LOL.
Now come Sato, Mehul, pray the draw does not put me on the other side of the
board, the game will be correctly described as Armageddon!!.... As for "the
new species of animal" i will see on the other side, I will be sure to come
equiped with protective clothing, mouthguard/pacifyer and perhaps a banana
coz as mehul said, I dont know what to expect. Na bado, I will unleash my
Kurusha Mawe systems (perfected by a weak Atwoli) and you will see Blitz is
an indication of strength. Furthermore to negate Mehul's laughable observations, I have crushed him, Magana, Gateri, Singe (lol) in non blitz tourneys, so dont be cheated....
How many R U???? Am out G PS: What separates us from GMs and IMs is the understanding of chess theories, so by no way do i see it an advantage if one has not read books.

SOLOMON NYANDIEK
have just invited you for a game my weak student stop lolliling on beating weaker players - only jump when you beat the real squirrel - MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Utashika gani????

MAGANA
Hehehe! (top Kenyan patzer laughing...) If u guys were as strong at chess as u r at crackin
jokes.... Nway, good-natured banter is always good. C u all, fellow patzers, on Sato.

GITHINJI
Hi All, Thanx Larry (Kd) for once again exhibiting your strong self both on and off
the board. We will miss the Last Rapid tourney Champion, but will forge on.
Now to the weakish Soulman,
First I do not know who else understood your incoherent mail. But from what
I could decipher, u called me weak or weaker. My word!!... The continum of
Kenyan Patzer chess skill is between Magnum and yourself, and calling me out
is like, (American wenging) Conje spoiling for a fight with Wladimir
Klitschko (Current
IBFBoxing Heavyweight Champ and also a strong chess player, higher rated
than Patzer1 Magnum). But for my love of chess, I take the offer, be it
blitz, rapid, classical you name it and I will give you odds on the wager.
LOL
Secondly, I suspect H. E. Jomo Kenyatta (the late) was the sitting president
when you last played competitive chess. I challenge you to come for Sato
tourney and witness first hand,FIRE ON BOARD. More to this whenever you feel
strong enough, give me your terms of a match and 4 sure I will duly oblige.
Move Soli Vs G
78. ------ QXg7!!! Mate.
Thats it for now Soli
Am out G

EBRAHIM CHEMAI
I am Ebrahim a member of the strathmore chess team.I want to thank the
guys who really have a strong interest in building a formidable chess in
kenya..the likes of Paul maloba,Magnum,Nguku and kenya's lady no.1
Linda...i know there are many out there but these are the few i have had
a chance to make a move with..Magnum and company have really helped to
develop an upcoming strong strathmore chess team,this was clearly
demonstrated during the nairobi university tournament where strathmore
made a podium finish an run away with the overall title.
Mr Geoffrey Omondi is my team mate and a greatest rival at the moment,i
have great respect for him...as put by paul,he really has what it takes
to be kenya's greatest chess player...strathmore library has materials on
chess and am sure that Omondi will soon be breathing fire on the
shoulders of the top guns!
I want to join the kenyan chess fraternity in thanking the organisers of
the Checkmates Rapid Chess Tournament,am thinking of showing up....hey i
wont be your customer!..Guys have a good time...

Saturday, August 11, 2007

STREET CHESS

With players who can mate George mwangi in a rapid game and some master drawculas in kenyan eastates who needs to read chess books. Paul maloba recently visited some kenyan Mtaa and if he thought being a kenyan number eleven would scare this street chess players he was in for a suprise.



Maloba and pals playing 'conventional chess'.

By paul Maloba
In my recent visit to Uhuru estate, Jeri, I met the real street chess.

a group of chess players, Geoffrey omondi- currently at Strathmore University, Bruno (The master drawer)- Am told he is more Drawcula than Singe, Ngunjiri Harry- Formerly of Moi University, Tom Amwai - formerly of Moi University, Jose and two other guys whos names I've forgotten.

theirs is street chess coz they dont play opening theory (due to lack of books - infact they are saying that this is their biggest undoing), there are no clocks but they play long games. these guys meet every day (its a club mtaani where anyone neighbour goes to play) informally at individual's homes and they have more thirst for the game than some of the mainstream chess players, their fear though is that the lack of books and theory will really be their undoing if they dare show up in tournaments.

I played Bruno (the drawcula) and I can ascertain that he is truly hard, if these guys show up in a tournament there will be some major upsets. George Mwangi played Geoffrey a rapid game in an armature tournament at UON last Saturday and he got Mated! (Geoffrey won the tournament with a 100 percent score- this happened to be his first tournament)

they have already made inquiries on boards (through the 1,000K Singe foundation boards) and clocks but most of all books. IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, float them in.

these guys will be showing up at the Checkmated Tournament on 18th next weekend.

George Mwangi also told me of a group of street players existing at Kangemi (bordering and oftenly playing with Vet MED Students).

Chess has a chance to grow, and its already found in our Streets!!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

CHESS SOFTWARE AND BOOKS

We now have the following books and software. Email kenyanchessblog@yahoo.co.uk on details of how to get them.


1. chess base 9
2. dvoretsky endgame technique
3. dvoretsky endgame manual
4. kotov think like a grandmaster
5. kasparov my great predecessors part4
6. mark tamainov winning the Sicilian
7. shrevesky mastering the endgame
8. dvoretsky tactical play
9. dvoretsky attack and defence
10. dvoretsky strategical play
11. chess mega database (100 mb)
12. chess endgame training CD
13. chess tactical training positions (6000 positions)
14. anthology of chess combinations ( software)
15. pandolifinis endgame course ( PGN, CBH)
16. over 5000 tactical training positions
17. 226 end game studies ( PDF and Text)