REFLECTIONS

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.

Mehul looks back at the lessons he has learned at the ongoing AAG.

BY MEHUL GOHIL

1. Must play in 3 FIDE rated tournaments ever year - this event alone
has shown me things I had no idea about.

2. Passive play is punished. Don't ever play passive in these kinds of
events. It's easy to get sucked into that mode since it looks like
safe chess. Probably works in Kenya, back here it does jack. Play
aggressive, play positive.

3. Chess stamina...the ability to keep finding good or competent moves
all the time, the ability to remain vigilant move after move...this is
what separated them from us. The other fellas stay in their for the
long haul. They keep returning the ball over the net. I must admit
this was a whole new phenomenon for me. I haven't experienced this
back home. Game after game this is the situation. Take a look at Gwaze
vs Chumfwa from Rd4...a hundred mover thing...to see what I am talking
about.

4. GM Draws should be banned in Kenya. They lead to bad habits which
are absolutely of no help back here.

5. We don't know how to study or what to study. There are large tracts
of middle game stuff we underestimate or have no clue about. If there
is one clear area the other stronger African players outclass us in is
middle game. In equal or worse positions they know what they should
do, how to etc. In this respect we need a coach. A proper one like an
IM or GM.

6. Calculation and tactics. There is a big gap between us and these
guys in our tactical and calculation ability. Something we all need to
work on. What this allows them to do is be more creative in boring
positions etc. Some of my opponents just came up with things out of
nowhere.

7. We think we love chess a lot as Kenyan chess addicts. Now I know the
other African players love it even more and are even bigger chess
addicts than any of us. This means you must be slightly crackpot in
order to play well. You need a dose of insanity to sit there and
return the ball and wait for the opponent to make a mistake. This
extreme chess addiction of the Zambians, Nigerians etc also allows
them to work like crazy on chess purely on auto-pilot. I now know hard
work in chess does not mean only gritting your teeth and forcing
yourself to sit down to study...it also means having an extreme chess
addiction that self-propels you to look at chess.

8. Theory. You don't know theory then don't bother showing up for a FIDE rated.

9. Long chess and blitz. More long chess events needed in Kenya, plus
out blitz has to be played more seriously and not for fun. These guys
are blitz monsters but you will not catch them playing blitz for fun.
They play it to kill you. They like winning and blitz allows them to
kill more patzers on a shorter time span.

10. Extreme desire to win. Unlike the Kenyans, most of the other
African teams have an intense desire to win. You feel it across the
board. Even if you have a better position or its equal.

11. Knowing the evaluation of the position. I realized I don't know
how to evaluate a position well. Whether it's equal, i am better etc.
This means I didn't know when to accept draws or when to play more
solid or aggressive etc. This evaluation skills I doubt you can learn
from books etc...you need experience and therefore more practice in
FIDE rated events.

12. Knowing when to take a day off. Magnum in this respect knows well.
Before the Botswana game he advised me to rest since I had a good
score etc. And he told me I would burn out or something since the
previous games had been intense. I played instead and I lost. You must
know when to relax. It's very easy to get sucked into looking at chess
all the time here and I realize just forgetting about the game time to
time is very helpful.

13. Tournament regulations. The tornas back in Kenya are largely
informal in nature with noise all the time, post postmortems happening
right next to a game that is going on, people not turning up on time
etc. When you play in these serious affairs like AAG you realize how
important silence is for thinking about your moves. Perhaps we need
stricter torna regulations on our side like switching off phones etc.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 10

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.
BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi guys,

Africa's 2nd strongest chess team (arguably) Zambia crushed us
3.5-0.5. Gateri probably had some chances against IM Chumfwa but
mishandled the mid game complications. Akello was basically dismantled
courtesy of his naivety. He played a line HE KNEW had a refutation.
But he thought it was so complex his IM opponent would not find it.
Well, his opponent, the mighty IM Daniel Jere (who I think will be the
next Zambian GM...he's just damn good) not only knew the whole line in
depth but executed the refutation at almost blitz/rapid speed and our
guy was left with an egg on his face. On Board 4, Chumfwa's younger
bro managed to launch a K-side attack which broke through.

On Board 3 I drew with IM Richard Phiri. This I think is my best game
of this event. I out-prepared my opponent and knew what the mid-game
plans were, spotted a neat d5 breakthrough that consolidated my
advantage, built up a winning attack...but then all that calculation
meant by move 30 both my opponent and I were down to our last minute!!
I naturally miscalculated and unleashed an exchange sac thinking it
was decisive (when maintaining tension was best) only to find the IM
wriggle out and I had to force a perpetual against his king or risk
collapsing.

Tomorrow we play Ethiopia in the last round.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 9

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.

BY MEHUL GOHIL
Hi guys,

Madagascar beat us 3-1 with Gateri clinching the point in an
interesting game on Board 1. Madagascar guys are a new team that is
well trained with them having a coach and in this tournament they have
been giving some of the top dogs a run for their money (or medal).
Very serious chaps and we could learn from them. I was offered a draw
by my opponent in a position where neither of us could make any
progress. I should have taken it but the desire to get a point made me
take risks and I was duly punished.

Today we play the might Zambian team.

Tomorrow we wind up and head home day after.

There is a lot I have learned t and I will put down some critical points
in a later report. Somethings you have no idea of their existence
until you have experienced it.

For a debut performance I think I have done OK. But I guess you guys
expected better. I don't think I could have done better as I put in
the max. I cannot emphasis we need to play in 3 or 4 such events in a
year as there is no better way to improve then playing stronger
opposition. Whether we organize lots of classical events back home or
not, if we don't play stronger guys we will not reach far. I already
feel I should play in another FIDE rated as soon as possible in order
to consolidate my 'learning' these sides. Waiting one year for an
Olympiador something would just make no sense and the time gap would
make any learnt lessons irrelevant.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 8

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.

BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi Guys,

The men beat Ghana 4-0 with Magnum finally getting onto the scoreboard
in style via a magnumish K-side attack.

However, the best result of the day was when Isabell and Gwen got
draws against No.1 seed Egypt. This match was dramatic with all the
antics you could hope for in a chess match. First up, Isabella
unexpectedly unleashed a combo that saw her get a winning position.
The Egypt ladies coach could not control himself and lost it. After
all Isabella was about to crush a WGM. So the coach did something
illegal by proposing a draw on behalf of the player!!!!! This without
the player having any idea of offering it herself. Well, what happened
next was hollywoodish as Isabella buckled under the psychological
pressure and took the draw!!! I was livid and went up to the Nigerian
arbiter who had left a half-baked assistant in charge. However, I was
also responsible for my own game and let it go. I won my game and then
went to check Gwen's game which was the last one on. A bunch of us
Kenyans got stunned as Gwen's highly rated player buckled under time
pressure and gave Gwen a completely won position. What do you know,
that bloody coach again pulled a stunt and out of nowhere OFFERED gwen
a draw!!!!! This time Johnny was there and he jumped in like a
stuntman and there was almost a commotion/WWF when the Nigerian
arbiter stepped in just in time in basically told the Egypt coach to F
off. Nenow...the Egyptian men GM's swarmed to where the action was and
they were busy looking at the game. Apparently they absolutely hated
it that their top lady was going down. Kina GM El Ghindy, IM Shoker
and Co were left scratching their heads...Gwen must have been under
immense pressure and when offered a draw this time by the opponent
herself took it. She should have just crushed that Egyptian mamaboga.

Anyways, that was simply a HUGE result for the ladies. Getting two
draws against a WGM infested team that is also the seed one of the
event is nothing short of earth shattering. The team is now charged
with positive emotions.

Tomorrow is another tough day.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 6 AND 7

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.

BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi guys,

Sorry, I cocked up. Like Arsene Wenger i messed up a winning position in the
game against Botswana with the timid ...Qf8 rather than ...Qxh4 which I was
going to play but got panicky. Stupid me. Kenya lost 4-0.

It feels shit to lose. The worst feeling in the world. Some of my colleagues
have lost more than one game. I can only imagine how much worse they are
feeling. Tomorrow we got Ghana and at today's rest day am just having too
much fun and getting that loss out of the system.

I have nothing more to say except now I have to win all my remaining 3-4
games in order to get a medal. Ghana and Madagascar should be sure point...the
other 1-2 points I'll have to work extra hard.

I just hate losing. So much.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 5

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.

Mehul Gohil

BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi guys,

Kenya beat Namibia 2.5-1.5. On Board 1, Githinji Hinga drew. On Board
2 Akello Atwoli decimated his opponent after forcing a poisonous home
cooked meal down his opponents throat. On Board 3 I completely
outprepared/outplayed my opponent, one Charles Eichaab. This big fella
who is the size of 3 elephants (and therefore an imposing presence
across the board) didn't know what hit him in the opening and soon
died. On Board 4 Magana had a won game and his opponent was going to
resign in a couple of moves than something happened and he lost. It
was not touch move, he did not make a bad move, he did not blunder,
his flag did not fall....so here is the riddle...what made magnum drop
a point?

Tommorow we play Nigeria. FM Gateri returns back to the team whilst I
am going to be rested.

Kenya is so far ranked 9/14.

Off the board things to report: We heard that there is some bog storm
brewing back home regarding sabotage/corruption/something as da
netball team flew here, there was no netball for men, and flew back
etc and some MP's are asking for all officials to be arrested at the
airport etc...it seems to be affecting things here as the chess team
is now going back to village over the weekend. We don't like that.
Definitely not looking forward to WWF wrestling, robbers (several
athletes from various countries have been robbed in broad daylight
either when walking in the environs or stuff disappearing from their
rooms), and pig sty conditions (nobody cleaning any toilets, puke all
over etc etc).

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 4

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.
BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi guys,

Zimbabwe crushed us 3.5 - 0.5 yesterday. Githinji blew a completely
won game. It would have been a masterpiece but he cracked. Kudos to
his opponent for maintaining composure and turning the tables. Gateri
did his best against Gwaze but in the end IM trickery and technique
won the day. Magnum played a quasi speculative sac against his
opponent...he had a draw with accurate play but he fumbled and the
opponent took his extra piece to the bank.

In my game, a KID bayonet attack occured. I must thank one Mzee
Kanegeni for the training at Kasarani as one of the lines we looked at
came about and I also did some extra homework afterwards. For some 20
moves my opponents and I followed theory in a variation where black
sacs a pawn and cedes temporary initiative in return for the bishop
pair and especially the all important dark square one. My opponent
whilst unrated I found to be stronger than Rd 1 Angolan opponent. He
set many tactical traps for me and it took some willpower to keep
seeing them. I must admit that I could not call the shots in this game
until we hit endgame. My opponent kinda overpressed and I ended up
with some positional advantage when most of the pieces disappeared. I
think I played a pretty tough and resilient defense. Then I relaxed
after the main storm was over and immediately played a move I thought
was strong but when my opponent countered powerfully I realised I was
in shit. He got an extra pawn in a rook endgame but I managed to find
an accurate defense and held on for my second draw of the event.

On the ladies side, Isabella bagged half a point...the first points
for the ladies.

Tommorow we are playing Namibia and I understand it is a team roughly
at Kenyan strength levels. We clearly need to win this match. We are
resting Martin Gateri and Akello Atwoli joins us again.

I am reading most of you are very concerned by the heavy losses we are
suffering and are expecting better. I will bluntly point out that the
opposition is simply much stronger than us and we are one of the
weakest teams here. Plus we are not converting the promising positions
we are getting...speaking for myself I should have won Rd 1 game. The
level of resistance we are facing is much stronger than anything
available back home. In Kenya a 'strong' player plays strong moves
over a phase of 5-10 moves and then switiches to auto pilot. Here one
is forced to keep coming up with competent moves all the time...on
every goddamn move. For me it's an original expeirence and it is
taxing. Clearly team kenya needs to maintain vigilance throughout
otherwise just one sloppy move is getting punished thoroughly.

That said, I think all players are playing to the best of their
ability. Simply more care is needed. Perhaps magnum is the guy who
needs to play better than yesterday as that was not his best.

You guys can complain (it's your right, you are footing the bills),
but we are doing the max we can. Speaking for myself, I am pushing
myself to perform but the opponents are not weak. They don't blunder,
they don't make obvious mistakes and one has to resort to gradually
outplaying them and this is an area I am still getting used to. Maybe
today I will win. Have been checking my opponents games last night (he
has about 60 or so games on the database) and he's an OK player so
I'll have to be precise. Have been digesting what I have been doing
wrong in the last two games and hopefully I am stronger today. Though
I think I am becoming stronger as the games progress.

Off the board things I can mention breifly: Maputo is a very clean and
neat city unlike Nairobi which is more chaotic in comparison. People
are in general friendly. I have developed over the last three weeks a
taste for jogging...every morning I do a couple of kilometeres. One
Gloria Gweyani (or Gwen) in our ladies team is one fit person and can
knock out 4-6 kms with ease. We use the more or less empty road which
leads towards the border with SA/Swaziland. Swimming is also on the
agenda and everyday I do a few laps. The games begin at 3pm so the
mornings I spend preparing for my opponent.

ALL AFRICAN GAMES DAY 1-3

The All African Games are currently taking place in Mozambique. The Kenyan team is composed of a variety of disciplines one of them being chess. Mehul Gohil who is part of the Kenyan chess team has been providing the Kenya chess forum with regular updates.
BY MEHUL GOHIL

Hi guys,

You are not getting much info about woz going on here coz
technologically this country is a banana republic. Kenyan internet
standards are world class but here it is very difficult to get
connected to the world wide web. A modem costs about 7k shillings and
the hotel internet I am using now is costing 400 bob an hour (kenyan
currency) but KNSC have decided to foot the internet bills and maybe
we will get modems as well since it is an integral part of the chess
process.

There are tons and tons of things I can tell you about. The first
three days here (Sunday - Tuesday) have been as action packed as any
human being outside a war zone or Kenya Chess Forum can hope for. It
feels like we have been here a whole year. In random fashion I will
tell you as much as I can but inevitably some things will be left
out.....

1. YESTERDAY'S MATCH vs ANGOLA

Johnny erroneously reported here that Kenya lost 4-0. The score was
actually 3.5-0.5. I got a draw in my first FIDE rated game (Torna is
FIDE rated with titles on offer...depending on how you score). I was
winning but fatigue resulted in some sloppy endgame technique and my
ELO 2257 opponent equalised. We should have done much better, infact
won this match as Akello blew a clear and 'éasy' draw against the
Angolan IM on Board 3. It came as a shock to us spectators when he
went Kf2 soemthing. Gateri had more or less a won position and then I
don't know what happened but he contrived to lose a piece.

The resistance level here is completely different from that of a
Kenyan torna. Fatigue is very real and after the round was over we
were finished. You have to think x10 more in games here. I have never
calculated more in my life in a single game. I got a clear advanatage
but then my opponents geared himself up and started playing a very
hard defense.

Akello and I were the last to finish our games which lasted 5 and a
half hours. I got to the hotel had a light dinner, hot shower and
crashed into bed. I think I'll die if I have to play two more rounds
like this.

We rested Magana against Angolo. Today we are playing Zimbabwe which
is powered by IM Robert Gwaze. We are resting Akello since we think he
needs to recover after his shattering loss (when the draw was so close
at hand). Plus he played a very good game. The IM never outplayed the
guy. Unfortunately tragic things happen in chess.

2. THE PLAYING VENUE ETC.

The venue for chess is absolutely stunning. I think it's the best
chess venue I have ever seen in my life. It's a place called Banco de
Mozambique Cultural Center. I will post some photos on my off day here
on KCF and on Facebook so that you take a look for yourself.

The arbiters are utter professionals. Very high standards. I have
never witnessed this before.

The who's who of African chess are all here. It's one hell of an
experience. As a chessplayer it's heaven. I would suggest the rest of
you get motivated to qualifiy for the next event as this thing is
awesome.

3. THE AAG 'ÓLYMPIC' VILLAGE

This is where all the Bim Dhawo stuff begins. Oh boy...this has been
an adventure!!

Ok let me explain it chronilogically.

Arrival at Airport on Sunday Morning: Going through customs was a
breeze. We were treated like VIP and exited in record time...10
minutes...I kid you not...that's all the time it took from getting out
of the plane (after a rather scary landing experience with the plane
bumping around etc), claiming da luggage, passport check and getting
to the super luxury bus dedicated exclusively to the chess team.

Arrival at Olympic Village Sunday Midday: The village where the
athletes from all over Africa stay is a sprawling giant thing. Jesus,
it''s big. The newly built main stadium, aquatic stadium, dinning
place etc are all located within the vicinity. The whole place is like
a small town in itself. It's about 20km away from downtown Maputo.
It's well built, the rooms are spacious etc. Only problem was we were
amongst the first batches of athletes to arrive and the village was
not yet packed to capacity. The main contigents of the other countries
were yet to arrive. This fooled us into thinking we were in a real
cool place.

Sunday Afternoon & the chess team splits: There was an issue with
accomodation as it transpired that team Kenya (all sports disciplines)
could not fit everyone. So the ladies got a room whilst the men were
told to wait. So we waited by checking out the neighbourhood etc and
then four of us (Gorilla, G, Akello and Isabella) went to watch the
boxing which was in town. I will digress here and tell you about the
transport. First of all the Mozambique road infrastructure is simply
awesome. Even though Kenya is building all the flyovers and stuff we
are still no where near the mozambique level (internet is a different
thing). The AAG organisers have dedicated buses to all countries
individually. These are not your usual buses. They are more like 5
star spaceships. Even Horizon bus cannot compare. So we took one of
these to get to town. Now, if you thought watching boxing was boring
think again. On TV it looks soft. But I dare you to watch it in real
life and you'll realise this is a gruesome, bloody, violent and
addictive sport. Oh man, watching two guys kill each other is
incomparable entertainment. The boxing stadium was packed and the
noise level were at the level of the "deafening champ". We saw some of
our Kenyan boxers in action. I think one punch from any of these
boxing patzers would kill me. This guys are tough. When a guy punches
you can hear that punch from 20 meters away and smell the sweat and
blood. I am going to be going for all boxing matches at city hall from
now on.

Ok, so the boxing ended around 10pm and we made our way back to the
olympic village. When we got there all the other chessers had
disappeared!! Plus we didn't know our rooms...in fact we were told we
didn't have any rooms and to fend for ourselves!! With no mobile
contact we had no clue where the others were. After hustiling some
info we were told they had been relocated but us four left behind. The
Kenya sailing team, who turned out to be three good samaritans,
volunteered to give us a place in their room. Then we headed for a
late dinner at 12 midnight. On reaching the gigantic canteen all hell
broke lose as all the sports that were finishing at night and all the
athleted that checked in for late dinner like us (a couple of hundred)
found no food and long lines and the whole place became WWF. Guys like
me and Githinji almost had to duck under tables as massive amounts of
testestorone were unleashed. We grabbed whatever food we could get
hold off and got the hell of there.

We went to sleep at 4am.

The following day, due to the general chaos in the AAG organisation
(if you though CK was bad, you aint seen nothing), Kenya was almost
kicked out of the chess event because TM and coach did not realise the
deadline for registration was Monday morning. Therefore it turned out
that us four being 'lost' was a blessing in disguise as the others
were someplace else whilst at the olympic village we got wind that
registration deadline was at hand. Akello, Githinji and I got the
neccessary forms filled and signed etc. It turned out the arbiters
whilst very angry with us were also understanding and pretty cool
people. The event was to start on monday but just because of Kenya
they delayed till yesterday!!!

The next day, by pure luck the chess team got together.

We were relocated to a place 90 km out of Maputo and an hours drive
from the venue. The new location is a swanky 4 star hotel just on the
border of Mozambique and SA. We are very happy here.

Now, you might be asking how in the world do we get to the venue so
far out. Well, the AAG organisers whilst having problems with the
olympic village diablos as pretty efficient is some respects. The
chess team has been given an exclusive bus...a 60 seater 5 star
spaceship which takes us to and fro. That's not all, in order to cut
through traffic etc as fast as possible, we get a cop car in front of
us with the flashing lights and all telling people to get out of the
way whilst out bus cruises behind it...just like a presidential
escort!!

More laters....sorry for any typos...had to type fast.........

Mehul Wins Madaraka Day Rapid Tournament

The inform Mehul Gohil won the madaraka day rapid tournament held on 1st june at the Crossroads Inn. The somali contigent was also represented for the second tournament in a row.

Mehul Gohil

By George Mwangi.


The madaraka day event took off as scheduled .In a nutshell,Mehul had everyone for b/fast and lunch,congrats once again.



The veterans Khaduli and Kanegeni also had a good show with 6.0 and 5.0 respectively.Also joint with kanegeni at third place were new chess players in the scene, Molid and Hussein,also with 5.0 points.The Atwoli, Obutu and Steve did not perform as well as they usually do.


The Crossroads Inn hosts came through with their promise for free Mbuzi which the chess players devoured with pleasure. They did one better and offered to have us if an arrangement for a win-win situation can be arrived at.


All in all the 25 participants had a good tournament to keep them busy on a holiday.Checkmates chess club is grateful to all those who made the event happen especially the hosts,crossroads, and CK ,for the equipment.Hope to have all of you in bigger tournaments in future.



The Delecious Nyama Choma Offered for lunch.

Results


MEHUL GOHIL 6.5


LARRY KHADULI 6.0


KANEGENI MATHEW 5.0


HUSSEIN 5.0


RICKY SANG 5.0


MOLID 5.0


STEVE OUMA 4.0


WYCLIFFE OBUTU 4.0


SAMUEL MAKUMI 4.0


MARTIN OYAMO 4.0


JACKTON MONY 4.0


DUNCAN MUKONYI 4.0


MAHAT 3.5


AKELLO ATWOLI 3.5


COLLINS YANG 3.0


FRANCIS NGESA 3.0


ISAAC MUKOKO 3.0


LARRY KAGAMBI 3.0


MATTHEW KIAMA 3.0


VINCENT NGENO 3.0


GEORGE MATHEA 2.5


AMOS SIMIYU 2.0


ANTONY STANLEY 2.0


KASSIM AHMED 2.0


ROSE CHEMIAT 1.0

Wanyama Slaughters Mehul

Harold wanyama(c) proved to be the king of East African blitz when he demolished Mehul gohil 7-0. The two played on the sidelines of the founders memorial tournament.

Chess Kenya Cancels National Championsips

By Mehul Gohil

CK have again for the millionth time not kept their word...they have postponed the national champs to December, and who knows if it will happen even then. Last year we had no national championships.

Plus, having rescheduled the first phase olympiad qualifier to the june Kenya Open event they have left those in the working class in an imbroglio...it's good to inform your HR department as to what your leave dates are. But CK's indecisiveness and disorganised timetable is of no help here. I will go for the June 1 event as I have applied for leave then but will most likely have no way to attend the 2nd part of the qualifiers. Plus, this much touted African Team Championships is in September...shouldn't the national team have been in place by now so that training can begin in earnest?? This dilly dalying will only make us weaker when the African champs arrives. Or maybe KCB team has already been designated as the national team..who knows?

I remember last week at checkmates I had a discussion with Peter Munyasi on the pros and cons of organising a parallel event over the may 1 holidays. I told him we should let CK have the benefit of the doubt and not 'sabotage' their May 1 event with a more lucrative parallel one. He expressed the opinion that CK may not even have an event. His hunch has turned out to be correct. Now all we get is a one day rapid thing. To me it's becoming apparent that when these public holidays come around we should not waste our time waiting for CK to organise something, they come up with BS time and again...we should take the matter into our own hands and organise our own stuff.

Like this December dates, I am prepared to get a tournament organised right on the same dates as this alleged Kenya champs. We can get the sponsors ourselves and have a lucrative enough prize fund. We should not waste time with CK. Next time I will listen to Peter Munyasi.

From chess Kenya to all players

> Rapid Individual/Team Chess Championship 2009
>
> Dates: 1st May
>
> Venue: West Breeze Hotel,Upperhill,Nairobi
>
> Registration fees: Kshs 500( free lunch for all players)
>
> Prize giving ceremony for the 2008/9 National Chess League will be
> held the same day at the same venue at 6pm.
>
> Entry form to follow shortly
>
> World Youth Under 16 Chess Olympiad Qualifiers/Junior
> Open
>
> Dates: April 25 & 26
>
> Venue: Oshwal Academy Nairobi Primary
>
> World Youth Chess Championship 2009 Final Qualifiers
>
> Dates: May 16 & 17
>
> CK Youth Committee to release info soon
>
> Kenya Open Chess Championship 2009
>
> Event will be used as the 1st phase Olympiad qualifier
>
> Dates: May 30,31 & June 1
>
> More information to follow soon
>
>
> Due to unavoidable circumstances,the National Chess Championships
> which were scheduled for the long Labour Day holiday have been moved
> to December.The revised calendar of events will be out before Monday
>
> Regards,
>
> CHESS KENYA SECRETARIAT

The Jedis Rant

(No other chess player has more rants and raves than Mehul Gohil, here is one of his classics posted recently in a Kenyan chess forum.)

By Mehul Gohil
It is soon becoming apparent that tournaments will one day become the privy of sponsored institutional outfits....look like you will have to be a member of KCB, NBK or some other institutional ta, if you are to afford playing in Kenyan tournaments. CK has repeatedly failed to look at creative ways to solve this ever occurring impasse. They need to find some creative way to get guys to become members. CK is pretty daft if it cannot realize that chess players are not golf players. Chess players hang around in joints like downtown pub not Muthaiga golf and country club.

I don't see why anyone would cough up 1800/= for a smallish rift valley open. I now think the 'RODRIGUEZ' idea of holding the weekly rapid mug tournaments should be implemented by CK...at least on a bi-weekly basis. Half the entry fee for these tornas can go towards paying up an individuals CK membership...I can assure CK if they did this within 2 months they would have 30-40 extra members all FULLY PAID UP via their entry fees. Rodriguez may have been swamp thing in off the board matters but clearly he knew how to bring in the kudos via tournaments, I think even johnny will agree with that one.

Furthermore, are CK even INTERESTED in guys becoming members????

I sent CK an email last week asking if I can check in my CK membership via MPESA to one of the official's phones and they can't even bother to reply. Do they want me as a member or not? What the hell is wrong with these guys? Can that fred guy come here and explain why CK is not interested in me paying up my 2400/= membership fees when I want to. Looks like CK has some pretty rotten organization skills. They should be bending over backwards to collect my membership. Looks like all this talk by Ambasi that guys should become members is turning out to be BS. I can't believe it...there you are ready to fork out money for membership and CK is not interested in taking it!!

The Return Of Edwin Korir

Through thick and thin, through marauding militias and blood thirsty janja weed, from desert storms to to desert ovens from Kenya to Sudan and everything in between. Hello Kenya for the past few months I have not posted a blog entry but for very good reasons. I was in the Sudan on a peace keeping mission. Now in a place called Rumbek where electricity has never been discovered the internet is as alien as planet mongo. Chess news was had to come by and so I hear Anand is world champion! What about the local scene, well it seems from what I can gather from the Kenya chess forum that the same old ‘beef’ is going on.

But I played chess in the Sudan with a couple of patzers I was with and a UN worker from Lithuania who was extremely good. But the biggest part was trying to buffer Dafur from attacks by the Janja weed militia a modern day reincarnation of the 1800’s Madhi. It seems I have been in a time warp although I have gone through quite a number of my favorite websites to get updated e.g. chessbase, chessninja, chesscafe, London chess club, chesszone and thechessdrum.

Finally I saw a posting from mehul claiming that he won MIg in Chess worst chess poem of all time. Well I cannot dispute with that except for a small fact the the winner of the completion was called John Chernoff and mehul normally posts simply as well mehul well here is the poem.

Leko! Leko! Spurning fight
On the chessboard, as black (or white)
What immortal hand or eye
Could break thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant depth of plies
Blots the fire of thine eyes?
For what Queen dare he aspire?
What paroxysm doth seize his Sire?

And who bolder, & what art,
Could stir the Magyar in thy heart?
And when thine horse deigns retreat,
What Caro-Kann? & what dead scoresheet?

What Schlechter? What pawn chain?
To what purpose works thy brain?
What new angle? what dread trap
Dares your ready terror grasp?

When Kasparov lays down his spear,
And patzers spy the draw that’s near,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Leko! Leko! Taking flight
In the dullest fit of fright
What Oll or Tal in the sky
Could break thy fearful symmetry?

KENYA NATIONAL BLITZ CHAMPIONSIPS

The Kenya national blitz championships will take place on Wednesday 12 December 2007 at the checkkmates club. Mehul Gohil will be defending his title aganaist the likes of Magana and Nguku. More details follow below

VENUE: Downtown Pub & Rest.
DATE: 12th DECEMBER
TIME: 12pm onwards

ENTRY: Kshs 200 (incl. lunch)


Tournament Format:

This is going to follow the same format as the 1st blitz championship. It's gonna be grueling and will test anyone's chess stamina.

PHASE 1


All players will be put into 4 seeded pools. The seeded players are as follows: Seed 1 - Mehul Gohil, Seed 2 - Ken Omolo, Seed 3 - Ben Magana, Seed 4 - Ben Nguku. The remaining players will be chosen randomly via secret ballot. Depending on turnout it may be that the seeded pools do not contain the same number of players.
Players will play a double round robin and the TOP 2 from each pool qualify into PHASE 2.

PATZER CHAMPIONSHIP

All those who are knocked out in phase one will take part in a patzer championship which will be a all play all double round robin. The winner will be declared Kenya Patzer blitz champion and bag Kshs 1,000. The 8 players who make it to PHASE 2 cannot take part with the patzers.

PHASE TWO

The 8 players will be divided into 2 pools. The players in this pool will not have met each other in PHASE 1. This will again be a double round robin and the TOP 2 from each pool will qualify for the finals.

FINALS

The four finalists will play each other in a quadruple round robin which will eventually crown the new Kenya Blitz Champion 2007.

ALL FIDE BLITZ RULES WILL APPLY. THE RULES WILL BE DISCUSSED AND AGREED UPON BEFORE THE START OF THE TOURNAMENT. THERE WILL BE A 5-10 MINUTE BREAK AFTER EACH ROUND ROBIN CYCLE...AND IN THE CASE OF THE PATZER CHAMPIONSHIP, THERE WILL BE A BREAK AFTER EVERY 6 ROUNDS PLAYED.

CHESS KENYA AGM; AN INSIDERS LOOK

CHESS KENYA HELD THEIR HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL AGM OVER THE WEEKEND. MEHUL GOHIL ATTENDED THE FUNCUTION SHORTLY AND HERE ARE HIS OBSERVATIONS


By Mehul Gohil
The AGM happened. No, elections did not happen...the chess players managed to create enough complications so as not to give Stanley Luruti that sort of satisfaction. What happened was that the ChessKenya constitution was exposed as being so rubbish that the elections were postponed for 3 months so that membership criteria as regards the constitution can be overhauled and a fresh take put in place.

I was there for an hour over a lunch break and this is what I witnessed (In No particular Order):

SOLMAN NYANDIEK

The Hero of the whole day. Just when everyone thought he was the biggest noise maker in Kenyan CHess History the guy actually showed what a professional he was in these sorts of situations. His arguments were very good and it was clear from the faces of Larry Kagambi and Stanley Luruti that they were exasperated with the guy. He talked alot of sense and not surprisingly was made chairman of the committee that is to look into this crap consitution that we have.

BEN MAGANA

I really feel sorry for this guy. You could see from his face and body posture how disillusioned he was with the whole thing. He pointed out to Larry and Stanley that there was no way kenyan would pay membership fees for ChessKenya without there being anything done in return by CK.

STANLEY LURUTI

I knew that this dude stank but I had no idea he was a baboon as well. The man clearly had no bloody comprehension of why the AGM was taking place. His thoughts were totally out of place and he went rambling on about technicalities and other related nonsense. Clearly he has no conception of how to run a chess office simply because he has no idea what the Kenyan Chess Players want. He was being told what they wanted but obviously he was present there to only be reelected. I was shocked to realise that he lacks intelligence. Kagambi may be corrupt but at least he has that. This guy should be lynched...no kidding! I really hated the way he made the true chess players at the AGM feel like third class citizens who didn't deserve respect. Whenever they wanted to make a point he simply ignored them...Ben Magana actually had to tell him that he had been raising his hand for 30 minutes and Stanley was not letting him talk. He was dressed in a Suit, matching trousers, tie and shirt.

WEBSITE

There was some discussion about a website that was designed by Hesbom Omanjo for ChessKenya and questions were asked why CK didn't operate a website in the 21st century. Apparently there were no 'funds' available to pay Hesbom for the site so the idea went under. I volunteered to explain the whole story but Stanley decided that the matter had already been discussed and didn't need further pursuing. However, some players decided I should be allowed to speak and I explained that I had seen the site Hesbom had designed and said that it was world class and comparable to the likes of ChessBase. I told the CK guys that it was so good that I asked Hesbom if I could buy it off. Hesbom initially indicated to me that he had commited the project to CK...3 months went by and Hesbom got in touch with me and said that CK was showing no interest in the website and asked if I still wanted it. I grabbed it with both hands (Launch expected in 2 weeks time). The cost. A paltry 5000/= an amount which CK had no 'funds' for...an amount they could not gather in 3 months! (And we expect them to get us corporate sponsors!)

What they did not understand was that it is really expensive to develop a quality website and Hesbom managed to get one done because he had amazing contacts withing the IT society...friends who decided to DESIGN THE WEBSITE FOR FREE SIMPLY BECAUSE HESBOM ASKED THEM TO. CK will probably spend 30-50k just to get any new website to the level of the one that I now own. I volunteered to give them free space on the website...they refused the idea. Too bad for them.

LARRY KAGAMBI

We have to realise that Larry is no fool. After all he is a stronger chess player than Steve Ouma and has been a former Kenya Champ. He was very diplomatic at the AGM. He also sounded sensible. He was ready to overlook any controversial 'email blogging' and ready to support anyone with boards cloks CK support etc...even CHeckmates and Radical personalities like myself. He was full of good sales pitches. However, despite all his cleverness he is a part of the evil forces and stands for alot of what is bad in Kenyan Chess....and thats why he will be hated.

THE ABSENCE

I was not impressed by the absence of people (and friends) like Paul Maloba, Githinji, Khaduli and others. They were making such an emphasis that the players should all turn up in force. I was working on the day and actually wasn't going to make it to the AGM but made some small time...I thought I had to support what was right. I don't know if they turned up later on. The fact was, the true chess players were outnumbered by guys who I had never seen before. If it wasn;t for the pursuasiveness of Solman, Magana and Singe Luruti would already have been confirmed for another 4 years. Perhaps this lack of commitment to the game by players is one major reason why we are in the doldrums.

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