A summary of the year 2015 for Kenyan Chess

The year 2015 will go down as a key milestone in Kenyan chess.  This was the year that Kenyan chess blossomed with a huge number of events both locally and internationally.  The number of FIDE rated has also increased dramatically as Chess Kenya has gone out of its way to promote rated events.

6th Rwabushenyi Memorial Chess Tournament

The 6^th edition of the Rwabushenyi Open came to an end on 13^th  December 2015 with IM Arthur Ssegwanyi taking top spot with 7.5/8, followed by Harold Wanyama with 6.5/8.  IM Arthur Ssegwanyi went home with Uganda Shillings 1,000,000 (KES 31,000 or USD 310).

Mikhail Tal's best Games 2 - by Tibor Károlyi

I had the good fortune last week of browsing through Tibor Károlyi’s booked titled “Mikhail Tal’s Best Games 2” published by Quality Chess of the UK which retails for USD 29.95.

2015 African Youth Chess Championship - further update

You will recall my earlier story about Kenya winning two bronze medals at the just concluded 2015 African Youth Chess Championship held in Lusaka, Zambia.  This event was covered by two stories on this blog;

Bondo University hosts successful 2015 KUSA Games

This past week saw a lot of sporting activity at Bondo University which is situated in Bondo town in Western Kenya.  The annual Kenya Universities Sports Association festival came to an end this weekend when hundreds of participants took part in 15 different disciplines that included football, hockey and fortunately chess.

A story by CM Ben Magana - Part 2

The story according to CM Ben Magana

"Immediately after Bungoma, there was Tanzania Open across the border. This was a six-day affair (4 days playing + 2 days traveling), not feasible for a family man like me, especially after being in Bungoma the week before. So my chess addiction made me find my way to Lumumba Social Hall, deep in the bowels of Eastlands. The surrounding area used to be known as "Trench-Town", an area where muggings were common place in the past. Key word: PAST. The venue is run-down, but is a valuable resource for the mostly lower class & lower-middle class folk that live around there. I was very happy to be here, as out of diversity is often bred brilliance.

Ripples from Magnus Carlsen felt in the small town of Voi, Kenya

You will all recall that NGO’s have been under considerable pressure from the Kenya Government.  The NGO Coordinating Board has been carry out an audit of all NGO’s registered in Kenya with a view of cleaning up the sector.  There have been allegations of fraud, money laundering, and terrorism allegations against a number of NGO’s.

A recap of the 2015 Rwanda Chess Championship

Kenyan chess suddenly seems so busy.

You will recall that Purity Maina was an arbiter during the recently concluded 25th World Seniors Championship in Acqui Terme, Italy.  This time we had Duke Micheka of Kenya who was an arbiter at the just concluded Rwanda National Chess Championship 2015 held in Kigali. 

Ken Omolo & Riya Shah are the 2015 Kenya National Champions

It is now officially over.  The 2015 Kenya National Chess Championship came to an exciting finish when Ken Omolo cruised to 21 points (Bilbao system over 8 rounds) to collect the winner’s trophy and KES 20,000 (USD 200) for his amazing effort.

Kenya bags 2 bronze medals in the 2015 African Youth Chess Championship

The biggest news coming from the 2015 African Youth Chess Championship which ended today in Lusaka, Zambia is that Kenya has bagged 2 bronze medals.  Sanjana Deshpande won her bronze medal in the Ladies U18 and Aravind Vengarai in the Boys U14.

2015 Kenya National Chess Championship gets off to a fine start

The 2015 Kenya National Championship got off to a fine start yesterday morning at the Strathmore University, Madaraka Campus.  A total of 70 players in the Open section and 14 ladies in the Ladies section are taking part.

A story by CM Ben Magana - Part 1

We have for the first time published article done by CM Ben Magana who is one of Kenya's most illustrious chess sons.  His story is done in 2 parts. 

Part 1 covers the 2015 Bungoma Chess Open where Ben was the winner in the Open section.  The Bungoma Open has been covered extensively in this blog and has 3 separate stories.  These include;

2015 Kenya National Chess Championship due this weekend.

Strathmore University is getting ready to host the 2015 Kenya National Championship during the  weekend of 11^th to 13^th December 2015.  This 8 round event will be held at their Madaraka Campus and has attracted over 60 entries to date.

2015 African Youth Chess Championship, Lusaka, Zambia

A 35 strong Kenyan squad made up of players, parents and supporters have landed in Lusaka for the 2015 African Youth Chess Championship that runs from 6^th to 13^th December 2015.  The team left in 3 batches  and looking forward to doing battle with some of Africa’s best players.

A final recap on the 2015 Bungoma Open Chess Tournament

This is my 3^rd and final story on the 2015 Bungoma Open Chess Tournament.


You might wonder why 3 reports for one event.  Well it is very simple.  This event is one of the 4 premier events in Kenya which excludes Nairobi events.  The other events are the Kisumu Open, Mombasa Open and the Kiambu Open.

25th FIDE Senior Chess Championship

The curtains came down on the 25^th FIDE Senior Chess Championship on 22^nd November 2015.  The event was held in the historic Italian city of Acqui Terme in Northern Italy.

IM Elijah Emojong wins the 2015 Tanzania Open

“Veni, vidi, vici” translated from Latin means “I came, I saw, I conquered” which was attributed to Julius Caesar after he swiftly crushed Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela around 46 BC.