Final Results Of The World Youth Chess Qualifiers

Here it is. The full list of the recently concluded Kenya National Junior Chess Championship held over the weekend.  This event was used to select the team to represent Kenya at the World Youth Chess Championship in Slovenia.  You can see some photos below.

KENYA NATIONAL JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 19-20 MAY 2012

KENYA BOYS UNDER 8YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name            Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Sukumar, Anish            2000 6     17.00    6 TROPHY
  2   Minesh, Yash              2000 5     14.50    5 TROPHY
 3-4  Wambua, Maxrore    2000 4.5   14.25    4 TROPHY
      Spencer, Nigel            2000 4.5   10.25    4
  5   Arul, Samesh              2000 4      9.00    4
  6   Sai, Mohit                   2000 2      2.00    2
 7-8  Nderitu, Andrew      2000 1      4.50    1
      Shah, Shanil                2000 1      1.00    1

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 8YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name               Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Otieno, Gilliane             2000 7     21.00    7 TROPHY
  2   Wanjiku, Raisa               2000 5     13.50    4 TROPHY
 3-4  Hiranandani, Jia             2000 4      9.75    3 TROPHY
      Wanjiku, Kimberly            2000 4      8.00    4
  5   Shah, Aunam                  2000 3.5    8.00    2
  6   Raja, Siya                        2000 2      3.50    1
  7   Nyambura, Abigail            2000 1.5    4.00    0
  8   Wanjiru, Elizabeth           2000 1      2.75    0

KENYA BOYS UNDER 10YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name              Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Pendvala, Ritvik            2000 7     21.00    7 TROPHY
  2   Shah, Dev                   2000 6     15.00    6 TROPHY
 3-4  Shah, Darshan               2000 4      8.00    4 TROPHY
      Deshpande, Sumit            2000 4      7.00    4
  5   Kiongo, Andrew              2000 3      5.50    3
  6   Ahmed, Sohail               2000 2.5    3.75    2
  7   Kachra, Arnav               2000 1.5    1.25    1
  8   Waithaka, Patrick           2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 10YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name              Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Kishan, Sharanya            2000 7     21.00    7 TROPHY
  2   Shah, Krishi                2000 6     15.00    6 TROPHY
  3   Raichura, Roshni            2000 5     10.00    5 TROPHY
 4-5  Mussa, Kalyn                2000 3.5    4.75    3
      Arul, Yuvika                2000 3.5    4.75    3
  6   Vadrevu, Sravya             2000 2      1.00    2
  7   Nyawira, Lorraine           2000 1      0.00    1
  8   Wamuyu, Stellah             2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA BOYS UNDER 12YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name             Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

 1-3  Mussa, Kais                2000 6     16.00    6 TROPHY
      Phadke, Ankur              2000 6     16.00    6 TROPHY
      Karania, Hardiv            2000 6     16.00    6 TROPHY
  4   Shah, Veer                 2000 3.5    5.25    3
  5   Mathenge, Caleb            2000 3      3.50    3
  6   Mathur, Avi                2000 2.5    2.75    2
  7   Kirumbi, Raymond           2000 1      0.00    1
  8   Kahuthia, Dennis           2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 12YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name                Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

 1-2  Shah, Riya                    2000 6.5   18.25    6 TROPHY

      Kachra, Shefali               2000 6.5   18.25    6 TROPHY

  3   Kachra, Renee                 2000 5     10.00    5 TROPHY

  4   Vadrevu, Ramya                2000 3      5.00    3

 5-6  Srungarapu, Bhumija           2000 2.5    3.25    2

      Wairimu, Abigail              2000 2.5    3.25    2

  7   Muthoni, Ann                  2000 2      3.00    2

  8   Nyambura, Jecinta             2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA BOYS UNDER 14YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name                  Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

 1-3  Vigneshwar, Gowtham             2000 5.5   15.75    4 TROPHY
      Mukhopadhyay, Srinjay           2000 5.5   14.25    4 TROPHY
      Rai, Subham                     2000 5.5   14.25    4 TROPHY
  4   Iyer, Sathya                    2000 5     12.00    4
  5   Karnam, Rajeev                  2000 3.5    5.75    2
  6   Njuguna, Steadfast              2000 2      1.00    1
  7   Warutere, Ian                   2000 1      0.00    0
  8   Karanja, Dennis*                2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 14YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name            Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Shah, Sita                2000 7     21.00    7 TROPHY
  2   Karania, Saloni           2000 6     15.00    6 TROPHY
  3   Kour, Japvinit            2000 4      8.00    4 TROPHY
  4   Chheda, Nehal             2000 3.5    6.00    3
 5-6  Gudka, Shweta             2000 3      6.50    2
      Wambui, Joy               2000 3      4.50    3
  7   Maina, Lucy               2000 1.5    1.50    1
  8   Watani, Winnie            2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA BOYS UNDER 16YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name             Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Weru, Peniel               2000 7     19.00    6 TROPHY
 2-3  Githaiga, Dennis           2000 5.5   12.75    5 TROPHY
      Sengupta, Arjun            2000 5.5   12.75    5 TROPHY
  4   Gakure, George             2000 3      4.00    2
 5-7  Kotecha, Rishi*            2000 2      3.00    2
      Visariya, Kushal           2000 2      3.00    2
      Kamanu, Dennis             2000 2      1.00    1
  8   Mbogo, Daniel              2000 1      3.00    1

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 16YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name               Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Waweru, Rebecca              2000 6.5   18.75    6 TROPHY
  2   Deshpande, Sanjana           2000 6     15.50    6 TROPHY
  3   Muriuki, Joan                2000 5.5   13.25    5 TROPHY
  4   Mugo, Diana                  2000 3.5    5.25    3
  5   Chheda, Komal                2000 3      3.50    3
  6   Wambui, Roselinda            2000 2.5    2.75    2
  7   Wanjohi, Vivian              2000 1      0.00    1
  8   Kuria, Faith                 2000 0      0.00    0

KENYA BOYS UNDER 18YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name               Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

 1-2  Orina, Duncan                2000 6     17.00    6 TROPHY
      Gakui, Samora                2000 6     11.00    5 TROPHY
 3-4  Thuku, Brian                 2000 5     12.00    5 TROPHY
      Maiben, Kelvin               2000 5     11.00    5
 5-6  Maina, Mike                  2000 2      3.00    2
      Githinji, Leornard           2000 2      2.00    2
 7-8  Kamau, Ben Bosco     2000 1      2.00    1
      Kimani, Paul                 2000 1      1.00    1

KENYA GIRLS UNDER 18YRS QUALIFIERS WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Place Name               Feder Rtg Loc  Score Berg. Wins

  1   Gachema, Maryanne            2000 5.5   17.50    5 TROPHY
 2-4  Mbiru, Teresia               2000 4     13.00    3 TROPHY
      Kabugo, Isabel               2000 4     12.50    4 TROPHY
      Wairimu, Irene               2000 4     11.50    4
 5-6  Waweru, Rachael              2000 3     10.50    3
      Kariuki, Milkah              2000 3     10.50    3
  7   Muriuki, Christine           2000 2.5    7.00    2
  8   Mugambi, Edna                2000 2      7.00    2

CHIEF ARBITER: JOHN MUKABI

Chess Kenya Hosts Finals of World Youth Chess Championship

This weekend sees the final stage to select the team to represent Kenya at the World Youth Chess Championship which is slated for Slovenia later in the year.

A total of 95 players were present at the venue which was Oshwal School, Parklands, Nairobi.  The age categories were under 8, 10, 12, 14,16,18 for both boys and girls.  The event runs on 19th and 20th May 2012.

How could I resist and not go to take some photos.  A small comment about the venue. Parents love it as it is close by to Westlands/Parklands where a number of players reside.  I love the place as it is spacious and can easily host 120 players.  I am not sure if there is a canteen available over the weekend.  The other great place is the Braeburn School on Gitanga Road which  is actually much bigger and can easily host 300 players.  Another small advantage of Braeburn is that they have a canteen and a restaurant where you can have  a full meal with a beer!

I will pass by later today and take more photos with my Canon rather than my small Samsung camera which I used on Saturday.

Arbiter Moses Andiwo from Nakuru watches keenly

Organiser John Mukabi (left) and IA Issac Babu

Oh this event had some controversies - Steve Ouma was meant to be the Chief Arbiter.   Well there was a simmering row over his appointment as he is the coach to a number of kids who are taking part. Well in the end some sanity prevailed and he was removed.

Chess For Peace

I know it is a strange title but that is what this event was called by the organiser - Rehema Maria and the sponsor Universal Peace Federation.  The event was held on 12th May 2012 at the premises of Universal Peace Federation, which is situated along Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi.

I did not go for the event mainly due to the fact that I dreaded the horrible traffic jams around that area especially on a Saturday afternoon.  This means that there are no photos of the event just yet.  I am hoping someone would put some up and I can present them on this blog.

For those of you who want to know who is this hard working lady in Kenyan Chess here is her photo taken on 3rd March 2012 at one of the recent league matches.  She played for Mighty Pawns and won a prize.  Well I was feeling lazy and so I have copy pasted her story for all of you to read.  Well enjoy and from my side I say a "Big Salute to Rehema".

"Chess For Peace event went down well last Saturday. We had 32 guys participating in the mini tourney, 5 of them being ladies. It was a 6 rounds event, with a time limit of 30 minutes per game.

The UPF - Universal Peace Federation extend their gratitude for your participation, and will, hopefully, stage another Chess For Peace (C4P) series.

The notable presence of ICKC by Dr. Victor Ngani and Githinji Hinga, shows, clearly, that there are better times to come. We are humbled, and grateful for your support and encouraging remarks.

Thanks to all who assisted us with chess boards and clocks, as well.

I hope those who came enjoyed themselves. We now understand what it means to organize for a tournament - it comes with its equal share of challenges. 

The list of winners overall is as follows:
1. Wang'ombe Mugo 5.5 points
2. Mehul Gohil 5.0 points
3. John Otieno 5.0 points
4. Collins Young 4.5 points
5. Bernard Wanjala 4.0 points

Winners among the ladies are as follows:
1. Rehema Maria 4.0 points
2. Purity Gachigi 3.0 points
3. Wambui Wahome 3.0 points"

Mujengeres International Open Chess Tournament

Many of you must be wondering what on earth is "Mujengere" - I am not too sure but my Ugandan friends say is it "Woodpusher" or "weak player" in the Buganda language.

Well this Sunday chess players under ChessPAK (Chess Players Association of Kenya) organised an event at the Bowling Green Restaurant which is located at City Park, off Limuru Road, Nairobi.

Players were celebrating the demise of the former Chess Kenya officials and their replacement with the Interim Committee for Kenya Chess "ICKC".

I passed by there today afternoon to bring some photos of this event. A total of 24 players participated.  Many top players were present and include - Peter Gilruth, Mehul Gohil, George Mathea,  Ricky Sang, Martin Oyamp, Philip Singe and a big contingent of 6 players from Daystar University led by their chess loving captain Karan Chrisie.

The event was won by Martin Oyamo and in 2nd place was Wangombe Mugo and third place Peter Gilruth.

Youngest player was Yash Shah who was 8 years old and taking part in his first event.

Enjoy some of the photos!

Peter Gilruth in blue shirt takes on Mehul Gohil

Ricky Sang in pensive mood makes his move against
Brian Taboso.

Players from Daystar University

Players from Daystar University

Singe looks out to the lawn while Dr Jeneby in cap
plays Collins Young

View from the entrance.  Daystar University Captain
Karan Chrisie in pink shirt checks out the action

And if you get bored why not get on to the Quad Bike
as the little boy in red. It costs KShs 100 or USD 1.2 for 3
rounds about 2 minutes each!

Update On Kenyan Chess Politics - 2

Well last Friday there was a committee meeting to arrange the transfer of power.  Well things happened but not really enough.  This was the email that came to my inbox.


The Interim Chess Kenya Committee (ICKC) earlier today appointed posts within the committee as follows:
• Chairman - Douglas Ratemo
• Secretary - Githinji Hinga
• Treasurer - Charles Nyaberi
• Program Director - Paras Gudka
The meeting was attended by: Douglas Ratemo, Charles Nyaberi, Francis Ngesa, Lawrence Kagambi, Steve Ouma, Victor Ng'ani, Githinji Hinga and Paras Gudka.

There was no transfer of the assets and a full disclosure was not really done.  Well it does not matter as things seem to be moving in the right direction.  I am not too sure of what is happening to the Junior Chess Event that is scheduled for 19th and 20th May 2012 to select the final team to represent Kenya during the next  junior event.  I do hope that event goes ahead as that would generate revenue for the federation.  Apparently for last years event kids paid KShs 1,000 - KShs 1,500 and approximately 60 kids will take part.

Chess Players Who Love Golf

Today's post will be a bit strange for many of you!

I was browsing through the Business Daily Newspaper when I came across the following photo on page 2.  It was none other than my friend and chess supporter - Kange Saiti.  Kange was a strong players in the 1990s and represented Kenya during the Africa Junior Chess Championship held in Nairobi, Kenya between 11th to 26th December 1993.  Yes Kenya did hold such a prestigious event at that time!

Kange Saiti (centre)

Kange ended up with 7 points out of 14 points.  Kange is a friend of mine and has supported some of my chess projects.

That event attracted a total of 24 players from South Africa, Angola, Uganda, Mauritius, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Kenya.  What a grand event.

The event was won by Aderito Pedro from Angola who finished with a score of 12 out of 14 points.

At the same time the first FIDE rated event (well in the end it did not get rated due to various reasons) was also held at the same time. That event was won by IM Nascimento of Angola.

Aderito Pedro receives his prize from the late Tom Sagwe who was Kenya  Chess Association  Chairman

IM Nascimento from Angola gets his prize from Rodrigues of KCA

Lyndon Bouah & David Levy of RSA get their prize
Looking on Rodrigues, late Tom Sagwe (sitting) and
Mrs Surbi Shah (long time chess supporter)

Update On The Politics Of Kenyan Chess

Well a lot has happened. You will recall that I mentioned that an Interim Committee (ICKC) has been formed to run chess for the next 6 months.  From my insider information there have been various meetings held and a final handover due this Friday. This is when all assets, liabilities and most importantly "power" is transferred.  I must admit this is long over-due in Kenyan Chess.

I have not been impressed by the behaviour of some of the officials who have arrogantly sat in office and done nothing but gone actively to sabotage efforts by chess promoters.  


We have cases of members waiting for weeks and almost begging to get their receipt from the officials.  The recent Uganda v Nairobi Chess Club event was meant to be rated but the officials kept dragging their feet and in the end it took the intervention of the FIDE Secretary General to get the event rated.  In other countries the federations would go out of their way to assist but not in our case!


Good riddance is what I say to them!!

The ICKC have announced the dates for the Olympiad Qualifiers and the dates are as follows;

• Phase One - 19th and 20th May (7 rounds Swiss system, 60 minutes per player to finish the game)
• Phase Two - 1st, 2nd and 3rd June
• Phase Three - 16th, 17th, 23th, and 24th June

I have spoken to one of the officials who informed that the committee is actively looking for a nice venue and for sponsorship and I will keep you updated on the progress.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall - Who Is The Fairest Of All ?

I finally managed to get my hands on a Rolland Chess Clock.  I had to search far and wide and managed to locate one on www.amazon.com through one of their re-sellers!  Phew USD 75 plus insurance plus postage USD 158 (including a DGT Clock) and it landed here in one piece.

I think this clock is much more smarter looking than the Jerger one that I got a few weeks ago.

I will leave it to you to decided who is the Fairer One!

My first chess book

I am sure that most chess players fondly remember their first chess book.  In my case it was Fred Reinfeld's classic "Great Games by Chess Prodigies.  There used to be a book-shop called "Sadler's Book Shop" on Moi Avenue (or as it was called in those days - Government Road).


I think I got this book in 1975 and loved it ever since.  The explanations are not too detailed and hence easy to go through and enjoy.  I recently decided to go through it once again and enjoy the book.

My copy of this book had a checkered history.  I once lent it to my friend and when he returned it - I almost freaked out.  He had taken a blue biro pen and ticked each move as he played the games!!  As if that was not enough he translated into Urdu some of the difficult English words in the introduction.  Well that was the last book that I lent him!!

Update On The Intrigues & Politics On Kenyan Chess

You will remember that I had mentioned earlier that we now have an interim committee that is supposed to run chess from 22nd April 2012.  It is made up of 9 people - 3 Chess Kenya officials, 3 petitioners, one official from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), one from Kenya National Sports Council (KNSC) and one from the Ministry.

The petitioners have announced their line up - We have Dr Victor Ngani, Paras Gudka and Githinji Hinga.  I call them our "Warriors".  All three have been on the forefront for change and I wish them the best of luck in this difficult time for Kenyan Chess.  I will give you a brief CV for each;

Dr Victor Ngani - is a medical doctor and is the Chairman for the Doctors Union.

Githinji Hinga - is a computer consultant and has been one player who has constantly fought to bring sanity to Chess Kenya.

Paras Gudka - is a website/graphic designer.  He is the founder of Westlands Chess Club, www.chesseventseac.com (our local version of www.chessbase.com).

The other big news is that if you want to follow on what is happening in Kenyan Chess then you need to join up on https://www.facebook.com/groups/KenyaChessCentral/.  The Kenya Chess Forum which was the mouth piece for all chess rebels is slowly dying as more people move on to the facebook page

Daystar University Chess Team See "Stars"

Last weekend Mehul Gohil (one of Kenya's best players and the one of the most vocal critic of Chess Kenya) took on 10 players from Daystar University Athi River Campus.  The result - well that is not important. What is important was that this event generated great interest amongst the student community.  (All photos courtesy of Karan Christie of Daystar University)

Mehul in the white shirt does his rounds

OK I will give you the results. In the first simultaneous the result was 11.5 - 0.5 and in the second it was 10.5 - 0.5.

My fascination with wooden chess sets - part 2

I had mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that I love wooden chess sets and displayed photos of my TSL chess set..  Well today I present to you another one from France.  This set is made by Chavet of France and which I bought many years ago from my friend in Nairobi.

It has stayed in my cupboard for almost 14 years and last week decided that it was time it came out and I share the photos with you.

The feel of the set is great and it does not have any felt.  It is not weighted but it is just great and it comes with its own wooden box.   King is 3.5 inches.

Their website is http://www.morize-sa.fr/.

I would highly recommend this set for any chess aficionado