ATEKA WINS NAKURU OPEN

The rift valley open took place on the 17th and 18th may at the midlands hotel. over 30 players converged for the 2 day event on a very serene enviroment.Nathan ateka won the tournament with a score of 5/6. Givans amunga was joint second. But young boy ANEURIN HOWORTH was the suprise crushing many players including Magana and drawing with Atwolli.

Nathan Ateka


By Ben Magana



Coastal fisherman Nathan Mukaka Ateka and long-lost Kitale veteran Givans Amunga emerged tops with 5 / 6 at the RVM-sponsored Nakuru open held at Midlands Hotel over the weekend. Consequently, they pocketed 7500 apiece. Ateka played creative and impressive chess, a far cry from his lacklustre form at the recently-concluded olympiad qualifiers. The man even throws in a sac or two nowadays for the fans! Nathan was the only unbeaten player among the 30-odd participants.



Givans played common-sense chess, and displayed fine judgement in his games. He lost only once to the pathetically hapless and chronically weak Ben Magana in a game where Amunga missed a win. Tied in 3rd place were Ken Omolo, Wang'ombe Mugo, Beast of the Earth Mukabi and Steve Ouma. They each had 4.5 / 6 and digested 875/= each.It was heart-break hotel for the Benz-driving Omolo: up to round 5, he was in the sole lead with 4.5. In the ultimate round, he faced the wily Amunga. The Son of Kitale convingly accounted for Omolo's King's Indian defence. In the end, Ken had to refocus his mind from thinking of 10k first prize to getting 875, only enough to buy a coupla Bamba 50's and 2 samosas at Checkmates club.Beast of the Earth exhibited remarkable resilience to win a prize after being tortured into submission by UoN's George Mwangi.



Steve Ouma and his NBK teammate Mugo played solid chess to show that NBK are no pushovers in the league. Kenya #1 pretender Ben Magnum lost thrice - to whippersnapper George Mwangi, to Deputy Nyahururu mayor Nduhiu, and to 13-year old wunderkid Aneurin Howarth. I was amazed at how strong this young boy is. He managed, with Black, to win an exchange, before corralling a loose bishop. According to CK,thea r equally strong juniors out there (Rahul Mohan & Ankush Nagda) capable of hurting established seniors. So the future of Kenyan chess is bright?! PS:madman Ivanchuk won MTel event in Bulgaria ahead of my man Topalov. Topalov & I seem 2b having network shida, but we'l b bak!



Final standings



No. Name Score

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. NATHAN ATEKA 5.0

2. GIVANS AMUNGA 5.0 3.

3 KENNETH OMOLO 4.5

4. STEVE OUMA 4.5

5. JOHN MUKABI 4.5

6. WANGOMBE MUGO 4.5

7. 13 GEORGE MWANGI 4.0

8. ANEURIN HOWORTH 4.0

9. DOUGLAS AMBATSA 4.0

10. AKELLO ATWOLI 3.5

11. EDWIN KORIR 3.5

12. 9 FAUD FARAH 3.0

13. BENJAMIN MAGANA 3.0

14. GITHINJI HINGA 3.0

15. GODFREY GATHENDU 3.0

16. TIMOTHY NDUHIU 3.0

17. SAMUEL MAKUMI 3.0

18. MUKHTAR SHEIKH NUR 3.0

19 TERENCE CHAZIMA 3.0

20. 14 RICKY SANG 2.5

21. CALEB NYAGWAYA 2.5

22. JUMA MWAGUYA 2.5

23. 5 PHILIP MWASHE 2.0

24. HESBON OMANJO 2.0

25. TOM MULUMIA 2.0 26.

26. KEVIN KISALI 1.5

27. 29 ALNOOR AMLANI 1.0

28 ALEEM MERALI 1.0

29 JOSHUA PLEKWA 1.0

30. BENJAMIN GITHUMBI 1.0

31. 16 CLEMENT MIHESO 0.0

RISING FROM THE ASHES

How chess is helping reconciliation in Kenya

By Edwin Korir


During the months of January and February this year Kenya experienced a period of turmoil never seen in its 45 year post-independence history. After the controversial announcement of the 2007 presidential elections violence erupted across the country leaving in its wake more than 1000 dead and 350,000 displaced.

In one of the most peacefull country in africa, violence of unprecedented magnitude errupted

scenes from january

A peace accord brokered by former UN secretary general Koffi Anan restored normalcy. On Labor Day weekend Chess Kenya organized a chess tournament to select a team for the chess Olympiad to be held in Dresden, Germany later this year. The tournament was a great success; both in chess terms and in efforts to bring the country back to its feet.

koffi annan brokered the peace deal between raila odinga and mwai kibaki

When Nigel Short visited Kenya a few years back, he posted in his report that appeared in chessBase a picturesque country renowned for its animals, hospitable people and cool environment. Although he wondered whether Karen Blixen who wrote out of Africa ever studied chess in her Ngong hills home, he was impressed by the local chess crowd that turned out to play blitz games against him.

nigel short plays chess games aganaist local players

Chess in Kenya is not a big sport. Kenya is renowned for long distance athletics and names such as Paul Tergat, Kipchoge Keino and Cathrine Ndereba are more often than not the face of Kenya to the outside world. The great wildebeest migration, the only snow capped mountain lying on the equator and the Great Rift Valley are other things that Kenya is famous for.

kenya is more known for athletics than chess

But chess is alive and kicking. Last weekend Chess Kenya organized the final phase for qualification to the Dresden Olympiad. After months of turmoil and instability, the Kenyan chess fraternity got together and put their differences apart to play in this tournament. The tournament involved 10 of the best players in Kenya playing in a round robin event and at stake were 5 slots to play in the Olympiad. The competition was tense, the games were exciting and the mood was jovial proving that Kenya was at last returning to being one of the most peaceful countries in Africa.

Nathan Ateka in blue



Martin Gateri


Ben magana

Kenyan Olympiad qualifiers final standings
NO PLAYER RATING PTS
1 Peter Gilruth 2278 7/9
2 Ben Magana 2286 6.5/9
3 Ken Omollo 2182 6/9
4 Martin Gateri 2181 6/9
5 Ben Nguku 2272 5. 5/9
6 Mehul Gohil 2186 5. 0/9
7 Nathan Ateka 2234 4. 5/9
8 John Mukabi 2160 2.0/9
9 Githinji Hinga 2089 2.0/9
10 James Apiri 2107 0.5/9
The top 5 qualified for the Olympiad.

Selected games
(27) Apiri,James (2107) - Gateri,Martin (2181) [B92]
Kenyan Olympiad Qualifier’s 03.05.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f3 d5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Qxd5 13.Qe1 Qc6 14.Rc1 Nd7 15.Kh1 Rae8 16.Qf2 f5 17.c4 f4 18.Bd2 Bf5 19.Bc3 Qh6 20.Rfd1 Bh4 21.Qf1 Bg3 22.h3 Nf6 23.Nc5 b6 24.Nd3 e4 25.Ne5 exf3 26.Bxf3 Ne4 27.Bxe4 Bxe4 28.Nf3 Rf7 29.Kg1 Rfe7 30.Bb4 Re6 31.Rd7 Bc6 32.Rc7 Re2 33.Bc3 Bf2+ 34.Kh1 34...Qxh3+! Gateri now unleashes a tactical shot
35.gxh3 Bxf3+ 36.Qg2 Bxg2+ 37.Kxg2 Be3+ 38.Kf3 Bxc1 39.Rxg7+ Kf8 40.Rxh7 R2e3+ 41.Kf2 R8e6 42.h4 Rg3 43.Rh8+ Kf7 44.Rh7+ Ke8 45.Rg7 Be3+ 0-1

(18) Apiri,James (2107) - Gohil,Mehul (2186) [B03]
Kenyan Olympiad Qualifier’s 02.05.2008

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.a3 Nc6 9.Be2 Be7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Kh1 f6 12.Bf4 fxe5 13.Bxe5 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bf6 15.Nc3 c5 16.dxc5 Bxe5 17.Qxd8 Raxd8 18.cxb6 axb6 19.Rfe1 Rd2 20.Bf3 Bd4 21.Rad1 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Rfd8 23.Rxd2 Rxd2 24.g4 Bd3 25.Rxe6 Bxc4 26.Rxb6 Rd3 27.Bxb7 Rxc3 28.Rb4 Be6 29.a4 Ra3 30.Bc6 Kf7 31.Kg2 Kg6 32.h4 Kf6 33.Kh2 h6 34.Rb7 Bxg4 35.Rb6 Ke5 36.Rb2 g5 37.hxg5 hxg5 38.Re2+ Kd6 39.Re4? Bf3 40.Rc4 Bxc6 41.Rg4 Ra2+ 42.Kg1 Ke5 43.Rxg5+ Kf4 A typical 'book' end game has arisen. But Gohil’s understanding is quite good. 44.Rg8 Bd5 45.Rf8+ Kg3 46.Kf1 Bf3 47.Rg8+ Bg4 48.Ke1 Kf4 49.a5 Bf3 50.a6 Ke3 51.Re8+ Be4 52.Rd8 Rxa6 53.Rd2 Bf3 54.Re2+ Kf4 55.Re7 Ra2 56.Re8 Be4 57.Rd8 Ke3 0-1

(10) Magana,Ben (2286) - Gilruth,Peter (2278) [B13]
Kenyan Olympiad Qualifiers's 01.05.2008

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 Qb6 10.Nd2 Bb5 11.Ngf3 e6 12.0-0 Be7 13.Ne5 Rc8 14.Ndf3 0-0 15.Rad1 Bxd3 16.Rxd3 Nc4 17.Bc1 Qc7 18.Re1 b5 19.Ng5 Bd6 20.Rh3 Nxe5 21.dxe5 Bxe5 22.Nxh7 Rfe8 23.Nxf6+ Bxf6 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Be3 b4 26.Bd4 e5 27.cxb4 Qc1 28.Rhe3 g6 29.Bc5+ Rxc5 30.bxc5 Qxc5 31.Rc3 Qb4 32.Qh6+ Kg8 33.Qc1 e4 34.Rb3 Qa5 35.Rd1 d4 36.Qc6 Re6 37.Qc8+ Kg7 38.Rb8 Kh6 39.Qf8+ Bg7 40.Qxf7 Rf6 41.Qb3 e3 42.fxe3 Qf5 43.h3 Qf2+ 44.Kh1 dxe3 45.Re8 e2 46.Rxe2 Qxe2 47.Qd5 Rf1+ 48.Rxf1 Qxf1+ 49.Kh2 Qe2 50.h4 Be5+ 51.Kh3 Qe3+ 52.Qf3 Qxf3+ 53.gxf3 . The position is clearly won for black. 1/2-1/2

KENYAN OLYMPIAD QUALIFIERS ANALYSIS

With Mehul annotating games using a foreign language that has terminologies like; zug zwang, zetnoit, Bogoljubow, siccilian hyper accelerated dragon and Nguku-Cann defence, I thought it would be best for me to explain in plain English what really happened on Labor Day weekend.

Part 1; Slaughter of the lambs (games 1-15)

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way come” William Shakespeare

After the boys had been separated from the men, the top ten Kenyan players met at the KCB sports club in Nairobi from may 1 to may 4 to decide who will represent Kenya in the Dresden Olympiad. So many pretenders to the crown had emerged with every player going back to his “kitchen chess analysis room” to prepare for this event.

The likes of Githinji hinga and James Apiri were seeking to upset the order book by causing a few surprises or even qualifying. But the real big story was who among the big fish was going to be left out? With the entry of peter Gilruth the Kenyan chess equation has been radically altered. The Kenyan big fish now consisted of the two Bens and Gilruth. Mehul Gohil was seeking to make his debut at the world stage and by the way he was playing in the past few months he looked like a sure bet to make it.

After a short stint away from top class chess, Ken Omollo and Nathan Ateka were seeking to bounce back big time. The ‘old dogs’ of Kenyan chess John ‘the beast’ Mukabi and Martin Gateri were seeking to continue with their never ending vendetta of playing in as many Olympiads as possible.

So the stage was set for the strongest tournament of the year. With most players firing fritz and shredder all night to try and unravel novelties, what would really make the tournament is a myriad of blunders and failure to spot them. Master pieces were also on display with Nguku’s cool headed win in his first game and Gohils end game win with rook and bishop against rook being the most outstanding.

Tactical shots were on plenty with gateris Qxh3! against apiri being the most outsanding. Gilruth’s failure to win in his game against Magana is still a mystery; if he was not in time trouble then he threw away a chance to collect a free point.

So let us now take a look at the games and how they shaped the tournament. Mehul has annotated some of the games and I will be quoting his annotations in some games.

Martin Gateri
Day 1: 1-05-08
Round 1
“You need to play chess like a combination of a monk and a beast of prey” Alexander Alekhine

Githinji – Apiri: After Githinji spend his precious time working out the French defence he unleashed 1..e6 against Ben Magana. According to mehul, Githinji had never played the French in competitive chess before. Playing the French against the man who is said to know 100 mating positions in the French was no easy task. He immediately surrendered the lethal black bishop and with it the game. Magana unleashed a tactical shot with 17. Bxf6 and followed up the romance smoothly with a well prepared attack.

Gilruth –Apiri: The game seesawed in favour of Apiri for sometime before Apiri showed suicidal tendencies in regard to white’s b pawn which eventually killed him. Apiri could have won the game with 24...Bg5+ but his lack of killing instinct came to Gilruths’s rescue. Gilruth did not return any favours and when the game swung his way he sealed Apiri’s fate with no mercy.

Nguku-Mukabi: This is what Mehul described as KISS (keep it simple stupid) no tactical fireworks, no major drama just plain self explanatory chess. Nguku’s cool headed display shows his chess mental maturity. On the other hand the beast was fighting extinction, with hallucination moves like 15..f6? Days may be nigh for the beast.

Ateka- Gateri: This game featured the award winning move 30. Nd2??. A classic masterpiece of chess oversight, under sight and everything in between. Ateka honorably enters the hall of shame of Kenyan recorded chess history.

Gohil-Omollo: This completed the first round. After Mehul used all the silicon monsters he could find to prepare for the Bogoljubow whatever that is he came out of the opening with an advantage and Omollo’s king swimming with the sharks (remember Kalamashaka song DC “…unaswim na mashark na lyrics zako zina sound kaa jingle…) naturally. But then came Mehuls virtuoso move 15. Nxe6?? 0-1. recommended reading for mehul; “romance in chess; how to patiently seduce the king”

At the end of the first round the big cats were devouring prey like real carnivores. The likes of Mehul were going down the food chain and turning to herbivores. Could they mutate?

Ben Nguku
Round 2

Gateri-Gohil: Mehuls attacking instincts came into full play in this game. He had gateri in the ropes for a while before he saw a non existent mate and played 25…Rc2 but Gateri replied with the cool 26. Rxg4. Perpetual check did save him at the end of the century.

Mukabi- Ateka: The beast bid to fight off extinction got off to a smooth start. He attacked Ateka like a T-rex before time took its toll. After the suicidal 34. Bd4 Ateka never let the chance slip and seemed to have placed the last nail on T-rex coffin.

Apiri – Nguku: Nguku played another positional masterpiece. He got little advantages exploited them and won. What more can you say.

Gilruth- Magana: The clash of the top two proved to be a classic! Right? Wrong. After Magana exploited the h file Gilruth used his central pawns for a successful counter attack going a piece up in the endgame. But wonder of all wonders the game ended in a draw. Was Gilruth in time trouble? If not how did it end in a draw.

Hinga – Omollo: The French seem to favour Githinji. After unleashing his Bb4+? Novelty against Kenyan number uno in round one, Ken Omollo taught him how to play the black side of the French. Omollo unleashed a series of outstanding tactical shots Githinji handled pretty well but as every school boy knows the gods have placed the endgame after the middlegame or the other way round whichever comes first. After 27…Nxd4 the game entered a tactical phase with Omollo emerging two pawns up with 35…Rxh2.

By the end of the first day the first day Kenyan chess maestros were laughing all the way home while the pretenders went back to their analysis laboratories and read “how to become a grandmaster over the weekend” overnight.

Mehul "the assasin" Gohil
Day 2: 2-05-08
Round 3

“Playing chess is a sign of a gentleman, playing chess really well is a sign of a mind gone wrong”

Gilruth – Hinga: The food chain competition was getting really ugly. After 2 looses in a row Githinji was seeking to make amends by devouring the top animal in the food chain; Gilruth. The near impossible task proved impossible for Hinga for After 31. Nxf7 he did not bother to analyze complications that came with the knight capture. The chain of command was restored.

Nguku – Magana: The second of the big boys match up. Magana’s attacking prowess and nguku’s defensive inefficiencies settled the match early. Nguku is an attacker and it seems he has no clue about defence.

Ateka –Apiri: Apiri continued being the fodder of the tournament. Every tom with a dick in a hurry was collecting points left right and wherever else they wished to.

Gohil – Mukabi: Every school boy knows……. Well you can’t call the beast every school boy but the tiger or is it liger carried out a plan that was so effective Mukabi did not have a defence against it. The monstrous e pawn proved the winner. How can a tiger demolish a Trex? Bxg7 1-0.

Omollo – Gateri: The good, the bad and yes the ugly. They have been this entire rave about GM draws but FM draws? This is the beginning of many accepted draws. Probably the fighting spirit is over for these two old adversaries. Let them go to Germany and offer a draw to Kramnik at this position on any color and they will wonder how much chess is magic.

At the end of the third round just like the second round “ unaswim na mashark na lyrics zako zina sound kaa jingle”. Hinga, Apiri and Mukabi were offering anyone who wished free points. Gilruth, Magana and Omollo were showing no mercy. Gateri, Nguku, Ateka and Gohil were not sure wether to go up or down.

KENYAN TEAM TO DREDSEN OLYMPIAD SELECTED

After 3 gruelling phases the Kenyan team to the dredsen Olympiad has finally been selected. Kenyan champion peter gilruth leads the team of five that has been described as "the best ever". but what are the prospects of them making an impact?

By Edwin Korir

Peter gilruth will play in board 1 for kenya


After 3 gruelling phases to select the Kenyan chess Olympiad team, it was finally chosen last weekend. Peter Gilruth, Ken Omollo, Martin Gateri and Ben Magana make up the team with Ben Nguku as first reserve.

The qualifiers started last December during the national championships where the top 20 finishers advanced to the next phase. Phase two of the qualifiers took place in march and ten players were eliminated with the remaining ten players ( Peter Gilruth, Ben Magna, John Mukabi, Martin Gateri, Githinji Hinga, Mehul Gohil, Ken Omollo, Ben Nguku, James Apiri and Nathan Ateka) playing in the last round robin phase.

The final phase took place at the KCB sports club from 1st may to 4th of May 2008. Drama and disappointments were a hallmark of the matches. Peter Gilruth proved once again that he is class above most other players with his convincing win. Ken Omollo rebounded back to the heart of Kenyan chess in a spectacular manner. Martin Gateri proved his critics wrong by once again qualifying for the Olympiad. Ben Nguku struggled in the competition and mehul gohil handed him his place on a silver platter after losing his final game when he had a winning position.
Ben magana another kenyan strong man heading to dresden

But Mehul Gohil taught us all what it means to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In more than 3 games Mehul had winning positions but threw them away. This was Mehuls real chance to qualify he was playing exceptional chess but it seems the psychology part of his game still let him down. Nathan Ateka days as a Kenyan chess giant seem to be over his performance in the 90’s seem to be his best moments.

But after playing in 6 consecutive Olympiads john Mukabi finally gave in to new blood. Mukabi has been playing chess actively since 1983. He has seen the ups and downs of Kenyan chess. Mukabi stands on per with other Kenyan chess greats for his dedication to Kenyan chess. But don’t write ‘the beast’ off yet for he promises to bounce back and play in the next chess Olympiad in Siberia.

Mukabi with Nigel Short

The selection process locked out some of Kenya’s big names notably Mathew Kanegeni who did not make it to the final phase. The young duo of Akello Atwolli and Obutu were also outplayed by their senior players. After the maiden appearance of Atwoli at the African games last year much was expected of him this time round. Steve Ouma, George Mwangi and Ricky Sang are other notable absentees.

So what are the chances for this Kenyan team? Bleak if you ask me. The highest rated Kenyan in the team Gilruth probably is around Elo 2200 and the lowest FM Gateri has Elo 2089. This team can not obviously trouble the big boys but what should be interesting is how many GM and IM scalps they can get and obviously finish above Uganda and other African teams.

But the experience of playing in the Olympiad is obviously great for these players. In places like Kenya chances of playing against a GM are so slim. The interaction with the big boys of chess should be fun. Who knows maybe round 1 pairing Kenya vs. Russia? Gilruth vs. Kramnik?

Olympiad Qualifiers Final phase.

The final phase of the olympiad qualifiers will take place this weekend at the KCB sports club. The top 5 will qualify for the Dresden Olympiad.

List of top 10 players who qualified for the above event
1: Magana - 2286
2: Gilruth - 2278
3: Nguku - 22724: Ateka - 2234
5: Gohil - 2186
6: Omolo - 2182
7: Gateri - 2181
8: Mukabi - 2160
9: Apiri - 2107
10: Githinji - 2089

Parings:

RD1: 1 - 10, 2 - 9, 3 - 8, 4 - 7, 5 - 6
RD2: 10 - 6, 7 - 5, 8 - 4, 9 - 3, 1 - 2
RD3: 2 - 10, 3 - 1, 4 - 9, 5 - 8, 6 - 7
RD4: 10 - 7, 8 - 6, 9 - 5, 1 - 4, 2 - 3
RD5: 3 - 10, 4 - 2, 5 - 1, 6 - 9, 7 - 8
RD6: 10 - 8, 9 - 7, 1 - 6, 2 - 5, 3 - 4
RD7: 4 - 10, 5 - 3, 6 - 2, 7 - 1, 8 - 9
RD8: 10 - 9, 1 - 8, 2 - 7, 3 - 6, 4 - 5
RD9: 5 - 10, 6 - 4, 7 - 3, 8 - 2, 9 - 1

Dates: May 1,2,3 and 4Venue: Kenya Commercial Bank Sports Club,Nairobi

Mode: Round-robin

Time Control: 90 mins per play to finish per gameFIDE RULES TO BE STRICTLY ADHERED

Top five players qualify for the Olympiad.Tie-break system to bediscussed with players before start of round one.Players to report at 8am onThursday 1st May 2008 to discuss the tie-break system.Games to start at 8.30am everyday

Arbiters: Isaac Babu and Fredrick Orawo

KENYA NATIONAL CHESS LEAGUE

The kenya national chess league is underway after 1 year break. A number of coporate teams are represented as expected. The winners will represent kenya in the African team championships:

KENYA NATIONAL CHESS LEAGUE 2008

PARTICIPATING TEAMS /CLUBS

1. ALUTA CHESS CLUB - ALUTA
2. BARCLAYS BANK CHESS CLUB - BBK
3. COMMERCIAL BANK OF AFRICA - CBA
4. KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK - KCB
5. KENYA BAREAU OF STANDARDS - KEBS
6. KASARANI CHESS CLUB - KASARANI
7. DAYSTAR UNIVERSITY - DAYSTAR
8. MOI UNIVERSITY (ELDORET MAIN) - MOI UNI
9. UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI - UON
10. EASTLANDS CHESS CLUB - ESATLANDS
11. STIMA CHESS CLUB - STIMA
12. NATIONAL BANK ''A'' - NBK ''A''
13. NATIONAL BANK ''B'' - NBK ''B''
14. SAFARICOM CHESS CLUB - SAFCOM
15. MOMBASA CHESS CLUB - MSA
16. NAKURU CHESS CLUB - NKU
17. FINA BANK - FINA
18. CENTRAL BANK - CBK

CHESS KENYA NEW OFFICIALS

Chess kenya new officials were elected last weekend.The elections were not without controversy though.
Andolo ambasi was elected the new chess kenya chairman with lawrance kagambi retaining the powerfull secretary general post. The complex issue of who should vote and membership was still not resolved and the constitution designed by Soulman and Mehul thrown to the back banner.

By Ben Magana

The suprise SGM at Nyayo stadium took place Sunday from 3.30pm.The
perennial problem of time-keeping was evident,as the meeting kicked off
90min late.

Just before the meeting got underway,a KNSC official,Mr James,asked
everyone at the Nyayo boardroom to use the d-file to exit the room so that
they could enter according to the delegates' list. Delegates were from
clubs playing in the league, and the boardroom was well filled.
Impressively,there was representation from places like Mombasa, Mt Kenya &
Eastern regions of the country.

Outgoing chairman Luruti directed proceedings. There were 3 agendas:
1. Confirming minutes of last AGM
2. Adopting members of Governing Council
3. Elections

1. Minutes for last AGM had many typos - poor job done there.
Nonetheless, minutes were adopted

2. Mr Ambasi wanted Governing Council to include former CK chairs.
Returning officer for the day, Mr Nyaberi of KNSC, advised against
that,arguing that former chairs may scheme to create another power centre
within CK. The current constitution sez that members of provincial CK
branches + CK exec members are the ones to be in the Council.It was agreed
that the Council issue should be postponed until structures are set up
nationally.

3. RO,the physically huge Mr Nyaberi,took firm charge at this
point.There were 29 delegates counted,plus 5 or so observers. Interestingly,
there was no voting that took place because only one contestant had
declared candidature 4each post (power-sharing?).

Chair - Andolo Ambasi
Vice chair - F Ngesa
Secretary - L Kagambi
Treasurer - F Orawo
Asst Treasurer - Odiah Babu
Comm members - S Ouma & Mary Onyango

The only time that people were called 2vote was when the 3rd slot for
comm member was to b filled.A gent who's name I forget was being
objected to - some felt that he's not dedicated enough to chess.A vote of
18-10 bore that out.

New chair,Ambasi,boldly declared his vision 4chess,including the fact
that in the future Kenya must get an IM & GM.
Good luck,sir!