Kenya Delisted From FIDE Ratings Server

Kenya has been been delisted from FIDE rating server. Currently no Kenyan player can view their ratings online. This may also jeopardize Kenyan participation in the next chess Olympiad. Most Kenyan players think this was occasioned by failure by Chess Kenya to pay FIDE arrears of Ksh 500,000 ( 5000 $). More to follow. 

The kenyan FIDE ratings page  

Daaim Shabazz Visiting Kenya

Dr Daaim Shabazz founder of chess drum will be visiting Kenya starting on sunday. More details to follow.

FINAL STANDINGS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

FINAL STANDINGS AFTER 11 ROUNDS IN THE WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
SNo Name Pts. Rk. Group

77 SIVARAJ Devisalini 3,0 74 U18 girls
43 MBWAYA Fridah 3,0 71 U8 girls
147 WERU Peniel 3,0 151 U10 boys
23 ASIEMA Leona 1,5 101 U10 girls
133 NAGDA Akshay 3,0 154 U12 boys
134 NAGDA Ankush 3,5 148 U12 boys
103 SATHYANARAYAN Tina 3,0 116 U12 girls
140 MOHAN Rahul 3,0 145 U14 boys
102 RAMMOHAN Vaishnavi 3,0 112 U14 girls
106 CHEGE Allan 0,5 124 U16 boys
92 MIMANO Esther 1,5 103 U16 girls

WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS

The world youth chess championships is taking place in Turkey and kenya is represented by 11 players. So far kenyan perfomance has not been good but compared with the level of play in the country it has been okay.



RESULTS SO FAR
After 8 rounds the highest kenyan player has 2.5 pts and that is SIVARAJ Devisalini playing in the girls under 18 category she is ranked 77 in her group. The second highest scorer is MBWAYA Fridah playing in the girls under 8. Altough this young girl has scored only 1 point she is the highest ranked kenyan at position 43. The highly regarded Peniel weru comes in third with 2 wins so far. But his under 10 category has very strong players including CM RUIZ C Joshua D rated 2246. Weru is ranked no 147/156. His lack of exposure in playing strong opponents may be showing itself but he still has five more years to perfect his game.

A kenyan girl takes part in a show of unit


The most impresive perfomer so far is MOHAN Rahul in the boys under 14 category. He has scored 2 points in a group that has 10 potential grandmasters including SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan of spain who is rates 2460 and will surely achive GM status at the end of the tournament. In the under 12 boys the Nagda brothers Akshay and Ankush have both scored 2 points. RAMMOHAN Vaishnavi in the under 14 girls has also scored 2 points from 2 draws and a win.

The future of kenyan chess lies in the likes of Allan Chege playing in the boys under 16 category. Chege is receving baptisim of fire like no other and has managed to get 0.5 pts from his 8 games so far. His compatriot in the girls under MIMANO Esther has not faired well but has 1.5 pts from 8 games.

The famous kenyan jersey commonly seen with athlethes is now the attraction in Turkey

Player overview for KENYA after 8 rounds
SNo Name Rtg FED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts. Rk. Group
77 SIVARAJ Devisalini 0 KEN 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 2,5 70 U18 girls
43 MBWAYA Fridah 0 KEN 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1,0 73 U8 girls
147 WERU Peniel 0 KEN 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2,0 149 U10 boys
23 ASIEMA Leona 0 KEN 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 1,5 101 U10 girls
133 NAGDA Akshay 0 KEN 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2,0 153 U12 boys
134 NAGDA Ankush 0 KEN 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2,0 151 U12 boys
103 SATHYANARAYAN Tina 0 KEN 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1,5 117 U12 girls
140 MOHAN Rahul 0 KEN 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2,0 144 U14 boys
102 RAMMOHAN Vaishnavi 0 KEN 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 2,0 110 U14 girls
106 CHEGE Allan 0 KEN 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0,5 124 U16 boys
92 MIMANO Esther 0 KEN 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 1,5 102 U16 girls


This young kenyan girl has captured the imagination of eveyone


GAMES.
[Event "WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP 2007"]
[Site "Limra Hotel - Kemer/Antalya"]
[Date "2007.11.18"]
[Round "1.42"]
[White "Rosenthal, Jonathan"]
[Black "Chege, Allan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteElo "2204"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2007.11.18"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nb4 5. Qa4+ N4c6 6. d5 Na6 7. dxc6 b6 8.
Bxa6 Bxa6 9. Qxa6 e6 10. Nc3 Bc5 11. Nf3 O-O 12. O-O Qd6 13. Qa4 a6 14. e5 Qe7
15. Qh4 Rab8 16. Ne4 Qxh4 17. Nxh4 Rfd8 18. Nf3 h6 19. Bd2 Be7 20. Be3 Bc5 21.
Rfd1 Rd5 22. Nc3 Rdd8 23. Ne4 Rd5 24. Rxd5 exd5 25. Nc3 Rd8 26. Rd1 Bxe3 27.
fxe3 Kf8 28. Rxd5 Ke8 29. Rxd8+ Kxd8 30. Nd5 a5 31. a4 Kc8 32. h4 g6 33. Kf2
Kd8 34. Nd4 Kc8 35. Kf3 h5 36. Ke4 Kd8 37. Nb5 1-0


[Event "WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 (16)"]
[Site "Limra Hotel - Kemer/Antalya"]
[Date "2007.11.22"]
[Round "6.62"]
[White "Chege, Allan"]
[Black "Kurbanovs, Arturs"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B01"]
[PlyCount "30"]
[EventDate "2007.11.18"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Qe2 c6 7. Qd2 e6 8.
Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Nbd7 10. O-O Bd6 11. Be3 Nd5 12. a3 Nxe3 13. fxe3 Nf6 14. b4
Qc7 15. e4 Be7 1/2-1/2

I will post more games and results at the end of this tournament plus i will create a PGN file of all kenyan games played.

An introduction to kenyan chess

AN INTRODUCTION TO KENYAN CHESS

Players

A concoction of Kenyan players during GM Nigel short visit to kenya

THE BIG SEVEN

Ben Magana

By far magnum is the strongest Kenyan player at the moment. He finds ways of winning even from the minutest advantages. His play during the 2006 Kenya national championships which also doubled as qualifiers for the all African games was phenomenal. His only drawback is his performance against international players. The recently concluded Olympiad and the Ugandan tournament bring into question his ability to perform under pressure.

Mathew kanegeni

Kanegeni is a precise calculator, great competitor, good instructor and generally a complete chess player. I never saw him play during his heyday but from media reports I could judge that he was a class above his peers. Although ‘young players’ are shoving him off the scene he is still a great player.

Ben nguku

Nguku is a volatile player on the board. He is a great attacker and most of the time comes off with the win. GM Nigel short was so impressed by his play that he posted one of his games in his weekly chess column in the UK.

John mukabi

Mukabi is a cunning player. With his choice of openings including 1.Nf3 and 1. c4 or even 1. g3 and preferring the closed Sicilian he will always wait for you to make a mistake and then strike with lethal precision. He has been playing competitive chess for over 20 years and still has the enthusiasm to compete.

Mehul gohil

From chess ninja website to chessbase.com and everything in between you will find mehuls contributions. Locally he is one of the best analysts around. He is fond of revolving a pawn around his fingers while playing. His best moment was winning the checkmates round robin one of the strongest tournaments held locally.

Martin gateri.

You should look at gatteri’s score sheet after the game. Anyone who can read must be a genius. Gateri spends most of his time recording moves than thinking! But someone suggested that in fact gateri maybe a very good blindfold player. He is not really having problems recording his moves but he his really thinking.

Nathan ateka

He will be found in Ugandan tournaments than Kenyan ones, maybe because he is closer to Uganda than Kenya. A player of great experience ateka had great duels with andolo in the 90’s.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Akello atwoli, george mwangi, wyclife obutu,

The future of Kenyan chess lies in these young men. But chess is not for the faint hearted and they have to claw their way to the top.

THE ALMOST THERE

Victor ngani, Paul maloba, ken omollo, William wachania, Lawrence khaduli, Philip singe, isoe moseti, james apiri, steve ouma.

They struggle to get to the top of Kenyan chess. Sometimes they make it at times they don’t. but they give the strong players a run for their money.

NEVER SAY DIE

Philip mwashe, atwoli lukoye, andolo ambasi, peter jaoko, cyrus ambasi, brian mmata e.t.c

You will always find them in tournaments, they may never win but they give Kenyan chess its flavor.

THE QUEENS

Linda abur, jane wambu, phina magara, rose wabuti, purity maina, Beatrice kwanya.

The queens of Kenyan chess. What would the kings do without the queens?

ORGANIZERS

Isak babu, Lawrence kagambi e.t.c

The main organizers of Kenyan chess from chess Kenya.