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

My Jerger Chess Clock - well my second one!

What does a chess fanatic do when he wants something to do with chess?  Well simple.  One visits ebay.com and searches for what one needs.  For the Jerger clock this is what I did.  Searching on ebay.com did not get me what I wanted and then a brainwave struck!  Visit ebay.de, the German site.

The KShs 9,000 Jerger!

I found one and managed to win the bid at Euro 25, plus postage and insurance at Euro 35 and 3 weeks later it was delivered after paying a further KShs 1,415 duty and VAT.  Total cost = KShs 9,000 or Euro 80.  Was it worth it? Of course it was.

The second photo shows my family of Jerger clocks.  The one on the left is the older Jerger which I have had to get it repaired on more than one occasion.   One ticker is red and one is black!  I do not think it was designed like that.

My Jerger family!

I have another 3 Jerger clocks which I will display shortly. One is a much older wooden Jerger, one is plastic and another is a Blitz clock with a 5 minute only display.

Update on the 5th April 2012 Chess Kenya meeting

P Singe

Well guys and gals here is an update of what transpired today.

The meeting was attended by the following;

Prof Wilson Langat - Sports Secretary
Gordon Oluoch - Commissioner of Sports
Douglas Ratemo - Chief Sports Officer
Francis Ngesa - Vice-Chairman Chess Kenya
Larry Kagambi - Secretary General Chess Kenya
Steve Ouma - Committee Member Chess Kenya
Dr Victor Ngani - Petitioner
John Mukabi - Petitioner
Philip Singe - Petitioner
Githinji Hinga - Petitioner

It was  a stormy meeting that lasted 2 hours and the end game is that a 9 men committee will be appointed and made up of 3 Chess Kenya officials, 3 petitioners, 1 from Kenya National Sports Council,  1 from National Olympic Committee of Kenya and 1 from the Ministry.  Last time I gave you photos of the Chess Kenya officials and thought that it was good idea to show you who is leading the petitioners.

John Mukabi (right) with Mehul Gohil

The other points are that the AGM set for 22nd April 2012 and the 2012 National Championship  has been postponed to a later date.

Dr Victor Ngani in pensive mood - 13th Dec 10

Githinji Hinga in action 12th Feb 12

Update on the 5th April 2012 Chess Kenya meeting

P Singe

Well guys and gals here is an update of what transpired today.

The meeting was attended by the following;

Prof Wilson Langat - Sports Secretary
Gordon Oluoch - Commissioner of Sports
Douglas Ratemo - Chief Sports Officer
Francis Ngesa - Vice-Chairman Chess Kenya
Larry Kagambi - Secretary General Chess Kenya
Steve Ouma - Committee Member Chess Kenya
Dr Victor Ngani - Petitioner
John Mukabi - Petitioner
Philip Singe - Petitioner
Githinji Hinga - Petitioner

It was  a stormy meeting that lasted 2 hours and the end game is that a 9 men committee will be appointed and made up of 3 Chess Kenya officials, 3 petitioners, 1 from Kenya National Sports Council,  1 from National Olympic Committee of Kenya and 1 from the Ministry.  Last time I gave you photos of the Chess Kenya officials and thought that it was good idea to show you who is leading the petitioners.

John Mukabi (right) with Mehul Gohil

The other points are that the AGM set for 22nd April 2012 and the 2012 National Championship  has been postponed to a later date.

Dr Victor Ngani in pensive mood - 13th Dec 10

Githinji Hinga in action 12th Feb 12

D-Day 5th April 2012 - Future of Chess Kenya?

5th April 2012 is D-Day.  The petitioners and Chess Kenya officials have been asked to meet the Commissioner of Sports Gordon Oluoch at his office at 9am.  I have been asked to attend but decided to excuse myself.......I may still decide to go and make some noise depending on my work pressure.  I am sure many of you must be wondering who is who in Chess Kenya and who is Gordon Oluoch.  Photo taken 14th March 2010 at the Sandton Hotel, Nairobi during the closing ceremony of the 2009/10 National League Prize Giving Ceremony.  I am not sure what will come out of this meeting.  Will there be real progress?   Here we have an association that is in complete disarray.  The National Championship is meant to start on Easter Friday.  There has been complete silence from Chess Kenya.  I will keep you updated as and when I get some news.

From left L.Kagambi Secretary General, A Ambasi Chairman , Gordon Oluoch Commissioner of Sports

A blistering pace set up by Westlands Chess Club

Brian Obilo (left) v Kais Mussa

Action

 This weekend saw the newly formed Westlands Chess Club run their 3rd event this year. This was the WeCC Youth Open Chess Tournament which commenced on 31st March and finished on 1st April 2012.  A total of 18 junior took part and we even had the Citizen TV crew there who interviewed Paras Gudka - the driver behind WeCC.  We hope to get you this news clip especially the part where he blasts Chess Kenya for not doing enough to promote the game.................. Of course the reaction was swift from certain quarters - the Ex Committee member (who resigned two weeks ago) of Chess Kenya Mary Kanyau commented on a different forum "Much as I resigned from CK, I feel thats it reflects negatively on you to criticise CK, rather than talking good stuff about WCC. Question is, did you lack info to give Citizen about WCC?"

Final results: 1st Place - Brian Obilo (5 points); 2nd Place - Kais Mussa (4.5 points); 3rd Place - Akkshay Khoslaa (4.5 points); 4th Place - Krishi Shah (4 points); 5th Place - Sharanya Iyengar (4 points). Raffle prizes (gift vouchers from Nairobi Sports House) went to Mary Gathoni and Avi Mathur.

Avi Mathur (left) takes on Kayln Mussa

Photos - by Paras Gudka - www.chesseventseac.com