Anchor Chess Club

Read more about this new chess club at kenya chess masala

Capablanca Cup Review

By Paras Gudka 

From thestar

With a rather dry start to 2016 where chess tournaments go, Nairobi Chess Club’s annual Capablanca Cup tournament (now in its sixth year) over the weekend of February 20-21 was the much needed fountain to quench our Kenyan chessers’ thirst for competition.

I, too, would have been lapping away merrily amongst them in the hope to achieve my initial standard rating but this time arbitration duties beckoned. I wasn’t complaining though. To be Chief Arbiter of an event of the magnitude of Capablanca Cup was an honour and an excellent opportunity to practice what I learnt almost two years ago at a FIDE trainers’ seminar in humid New Delhi.

This column’s previous author, Brian Kidula, who is on a much-deserved break from writing after 3 years of diligence week after week, was also at Braeburn School, nursing a cold and hiding from his opponents in the Prestige section under a grey hoodie.

For me, the highlight of the tournament was the game between Mehul Gohil and Joseph Kirega in Round 1 of the Prestige section where despite his years of experience playing at the highest levels, Mehul fell for a basic trap against his much lower-rated opponent in the Queen’s Gambit Declined opening. Read More 

Games In PGN.  

Owino Magana: 1961-2015

Owino Magana one of the passionate chess players in kenya passed away on 12th Feb 2016, he was 55.

Owino Magana.

From the Star

Friday February 12 was a dark day for chess players as news trickled in of the passing on of Owino Magana. It was as if time had stood still, for barely a month ago, we had a brief phone conversation and I later gathered he had spoken to quite a number of chess players this year. 

From pgonchess 

Friday, 12 February 2016, was a sad day for Kenya’s chess community as news of Ben Magana’s elder brother Owino Magana’s death was announced by John Mukabi via SMS and on Facebook.

RIP

Battle For Migingo On Chessbase

Nairobi Chess Club continues to make waves in African chess. In 2009 it organized the first Internet match against the famous Wageningen Chess Club, which had Jan Timman on board one. This year the long awaited match against the Uganda National the match affectionately called “The Battle for Migingo”. Big and sometimes startling report by Kim Bhari. Read More

ALL AFRICAN GAMES: FINAL RESULTS

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. The chess competitions ended yesterday with Egypt sweeping the medals.

Final Standings – Open Section

1. Egypt – 18 points (out of 18)
2. South Africa – 16 points
3. Angola – 13 points
4. Zambia – 13 points
5. Algeria – 10 points
6. Mozambique – 10 points
7. Zimbabwe – 9 points
8. Nigeria – 9 points
9. Botswana – 8 points
10. Madagascar – 7 points
11. Ethiopia – 7 points
12. Kenya – 4 points
13. Namibia – 2 points
14. Ghana – 0 points

Final Standings – Ladies Section

1. Egypt – 13 points (out of 14)
2. Algeria – 10 points
3. South Africa – 9 points
4. Nigeria – 8 points
5. Botswana – 8 points
6. Angola – 4 points
7. Mozambique – 3 points
8. Kenya – 1 point

Board Results – Open Section

1. IM Robert Gwaze (Zimbabwe) – 92.85%
   
2. Joao Simoes (Angola) – 87.5%
3. IM Amorim Agnelo (Angola) – 91.66%
4. IM Mohamed Ezat (Egypt) – 91.66%
5. Bunmi Olape (Nigeria) – 92.85%

Board Results – Ladies Section

1. WFM Eman El Ansary (Egypt) – 85.71%
   
2. Sabrina Latreche (Algeria) – 100%
3. WGM Mona Khaled (Egypt) – 90%
4. WFM Wafa Shrook (Egypt) – 85.71%
5. Oluwatobiloba Olatunji (Nigeria) – 90%
6. 
   

KENYAN TEAM PERFORMANCE

Round 9 – Open Team

Kenya (1.5) v/s Ethiopia (2.5):

1. Githinji Hinga (0.5) – Endale Bekele (0.5)
2. Joseph Atwoli (0) – Girum Teklewold (1)
3. Mehul Gohil (0) – Leykun Mesfin (1)
4. Ben Magana (1) – Michael Getachew (0)

Round 7 – Ladies Team

Kenya (0.5) v/s Botswana (3.5):

1. Purity Maina (0.5) – Tshepiso Lopang (0.5)
2. Gloria Jumba (0) – Boikhutso Mudongo (1)
3. Isabelle Asiema (0) – Keitumetse Mokgacha (1)
4. Rose Wabuti (0) – Ontiretse Sabure (1)

Round 8 – Open Team

Kenya (0.5) v/s Zambia (3.5):

1. Martin Gateri (0) - Stanley Chumfwa (1)
2. Joseph Atwoli (0) – Daniel Jere (1)
3. Mehul Gohil (0.5) – Richmond Phiri (0.5)
4. Ben Magana (0) – Kelvin Chumfwa (1)

Round 7 – Open Team

Madagascar (3) v/s Kenya (1):

1. Girard Ramasindraibe (0) – Martin Gateri (1)
2. Herimanjatosoa Randriambololona (1) – Githinji Hinga (0)
3. Richard El Raza Henikasina (1) – Mehul Gohil (0)
4. Yves Rakotomaharo (1) – Ben Magana (0)

Round 6 – Ladies Team

Angola (2) v/s Kenya (2):

1. Fatima Reis (0.5) – Purity Maina (0.5)
2. Sonia Rosalino (0.5) – Gloria Jumba (0.5)
3. Nelma Lopes (1) – Isabelle Asiema (0)
4. Valquiria Rocha (0) – Rose Wabuti (1)

Round 6 – Open Team

Ghana (0) v/s Kenya (4):

1. Anquandah Francis (0) – Martin Gateri (1)
2. John Hasford (0) – Joseph Atwoli (1)
3. Edward Thompson (0) – Mehul Gohil (1)
4. George Arko-Dadzie (0) – Ben Magana (1)

Round 5 – Ladies Team

Kenya (1) v/s Egypt (3):

1. Rehema Khimulu (0) - Eman El Ansary (1)
2. Gloria Jumba (0.5) – Myada Elgohary (0.5)
3. Isabelle Asiema (0.5) – Mona Khaled (0.5)
4. Rose Wabuti (0) – Wafa Shrook (1)

Round 5 – Open Team

Kenya (0) v/s Botswana (4):

1. Martin Gateri (0) - Providence Oatlhotse (1)
2. Githinji Hinga (0) – Barileng Gaealafshwe (1)
3. Joseph Atwoli (0) – Moakofi Notha (1)
4. Mehul Gohil (0) – Thabo Gumpo (1)

Round 4 – Ladies Team

Mozambique (4) v/s Kenya (0):

1. Graca Tivane (1) – Purity Maina (0)
2. Vania Vilhete (1) – Gloria Jumba (0)
3. Jossefa Mahota (1) – Isabelle Asiema (0)
4. Jesse Silva (1) – Rose Wabuti (0)

Round 5 – Open Team

Kenya (0) v/s Botswana (4):

1. Martin Gateri (0) - Providence Oatlhotse (1)
2. Githinji Hinga (0) – Barileng Gaealafshwe (1)
3. Joseph Atwoli (0) – Moakofi Notha (1)
4. Mehul Gohil (0) – Thabo Gumpo (1)

Round 4 – Open Team

Nigeria (4) v/s Kenya (0):

1. Dlamrewaju Ajibola (1) – Martin Gateri (0)
2. Adegbotega Adebayo (1) – Githinji Hinga (0)
3. Benjamin Omorere (1) – Joseph Atwoli (0)
4. Bunmi Olape (1) – Ben Magana (0)

Round 3 – Ladies Team

Kenya (0) v/s South Africa (4):

1. Rehema Khimulu (0) – Monique S Sischy (1)
2. Purity Maina (0) – Anzel Solomons (1)
3. Gloria Jumba (0) – Ezet Roos (1)
4. Rose Wabuti (0) – Denise Frick (1)

Round 3 – Open Team

Kenya (2.5) v/s Namibia (1.5):

1. Githinji Hinga (0.5) – Simon Shidolo (0.5)
2. Joseph Atwoli (1) – Otto Nakapunda (0)
3. Mehul Gohil (1) – Charles Eichab (0)
4. Ben Magana (0) – Frans Dennis (1)

Round 2 – Open Team

Zimbabwe (3.5) v/s Kenya (0.5):

1. Robert Gwaze (1) – Martin Gateri (0)
2. Rodwell Makoto (1) – Githinji Hinga (0)
3. Spencer Masango (0.5) – Mehul Gohil (0.5)
4. Dion Moyo (1) – Ben Magana (0)

Round 2 – Ladies Team

Algeria (3.5) v/s Kenya (0.5):

1. Amina Mezioud (1) – Rehema Khimulu (0)
2. Sabrina Latreche (1) – Purity Maina (0)
3. Amira Hamza (0.5) – Isabelle Asiema (0.5)
4. Feriel Lalaoui (1) – Rose Wabuti (0)

Round 1 – Open Team

Kenya (0.5) v/s Angola (3.5):

1. Martin Gateri (0) – Eduardo Pascoal (1)
2. Githinji Hinga (0) – Joao Simoes (1)
3. Joseph Atwoli (0) – Amorim Agnelo (1)
4. Mehul Gohil (0.5) – Catarino Domingos (0.5)

Round 1 – Ladies Team

Nigeria (4) v/s Kenya (0):

1. Doris Adebayo (1) – Rehema Khimulu (0)
2. Olufunmilayo Akinoka (1) – Purity Maina (0)
3. Rosemary Amadasun (1) – Gloria Jumba (0)
4. Oluwatobiloba Olatunji (1) – Isabelle Asiema (0)

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.........

Kenyan Chess Moves Online

After the closure of Checkmates (the most popular and most active chess club in Kenya), the Kenyan chess scene has now moved online. Most mathches are now organized at playchess.com and the usual suspects are part of it; Mehul, Gtithinji and Soulman. New entrants include Andolo and quite a number of Ugandan players.

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

Kenya To Play Dutch Team In Internet Chess Match

Kenya is set to play Wageningien Chess Club in the first ever internet match
Chess lovers in Kenya will on 3rd October 2009 be able to follow the first ever internet match on Kenyan soil.

6 top Kenyan players christened “Kenyan Simbas” will take on players from Wageningen Chess Club and who will have former World Champion contender Grandmaster Jan Tinman. Another key personality expected to play is Dutch Member of Parliament Eric Smaling who once lived in Kenya in the 1980s.

Event is being coordinated by Nairobi Chess Club

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.