Checkmates Chess Club Maybe Closed Down!!

The most famous and active chess club in Kenya, Checkmates chess club maybe closed by the end of the month.

Members of checkmates club, (Sitting) Mehul Gohil, Ben Nguku (standing from Right) Ben Magana, Githinji Hinga, Philiph Singe and Akello Atwolli.

By Githinji Hinga

I know this may round like a bad joke, but its serious as a heart attack. Downtown Pub, the home of checkmates club is set to close down in less than a fortnight from now.I had been getting subtle hints for awhile only for Willy, pub manager, to confirm this on Monday evening.We met up with George Mwangi and Willy on Tuesday lunch and agreed he should get contacts and details of the landlord, with an aim of finding out what options are available to keep the place running.

Its important to note, at this time, we got the impression that the owner,mama, had surrendered the place and was not interested.This led to a meet with the landlords' agent yesterday, with Purity,Esther and I in attendance. Basically, we were made to understand they are toying with the idea of converting the place into offices but could also entertain the idea of keeping it 'As Is' but with a new tenant and new terms. He agreed to have a more conclusive stance in our next meeting of 26th. A day after the handover and assessment of the premises.For now, that's the info I have. Looks grim but am sure we can find away out of this one. They say, many heads are better than one, now imagine many chesser heads.