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.

This phrase can now be attributed to IM Elijah Emojong of Uganda when he won the 2015 Tanzania Open with a fantastic score of 7/8 with 6 wins and 2 draws. The event came to an end on Monday evening 30th November 2015 at the Peacock Hotel, Dar es Salaam.

IM Elijah Emojong went home with TShs 750,000 (USD 375) as the first prize.

IM Elijah Emojong receives his trophy from Graham Jurgensen of KCF-A, while Vinay Choudary & Arbiter Benard Wanjala looks on. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

In joint second place was Cornelis Klaver of South Africa, Vishal Didwania of India and proudly representing Kenya Brian Kidula with 6 points each.

Cornelis Klaver receiving his prize. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

Vishal Didwania of India receiving his prize. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

A special mention must be made of Kenyan lady Joyce Nyaruai who came out 10^th with 5 points. It will be interesting to see if Joyce can win the ladies section in the forthcoming Kenya National Championship which is set for the weekend of 11^th – 13^th December 2015 at Strathmore University, Nairobi.

Battle of the Kenyan ladies - Joyce Nyaruai (left) v Winnie Thuitu. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

The event was run over 4 gruelling days with 8 rounds to determine the winner. IM Elijah Emojong who was the highest rated player at 2283 did not disappoint his many fans with this victory coming a week after his victory the 2015 Bungoma Open.

Josephn Maigua feeling depressed against Graham Jurgensen of South Africa but with a Kenyan shirt. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

Kenyan John Mukabi (left) in action v Yusuf Mdoe. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

A total of 40 players took part with a big team of 6 players from Kenya led by Githinji, Hinga Chairman of Chess Kenya.

Kenyan Brian Kidula receives his prize. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

The event was sponsored by Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa and the Tanzanian Chess Foundation while the organiser of the event is the Tanzania Chess Association.

Top 22 players.

Reports from Kasparov Chess Foundation indicate that this was one of the most active weeks for African chess with no less than 7 events in Tanzania, Nigeria (The Ashton Wells Chess Championship), Ethiopia (The Addis Ababa Individual Chess Championship), Zimbabwe (The Knights Chess Academy & Soul Trust), Ghana (The Asmah Memorial) and the Kenya (Eastlands Open & the Nairobi Gymkhana Junior Championship).

An interesting observation is that the Knights Chess Academy & Soul Trust event held in Zimbawe and the Nairobi Gymkhana Junior Championship held in Kenya were events held in preparation for the forthcoming 2015 African Youth Chess Championship which is being held from 5^th to 13^th December 2015 in Lusaka, Zambia.

Chess Kenya Chairman Githinji Hinga (left) v Hemed Mlawa of Tanzania. (Photo credits - Githinji Hinga)

We at Kenya Chess Masala are delighted by the active chess scene in our region and in Africa. We leave you with some photos that show the other side of Dar es Salaam (which in Arabic means "Residence of Peace"). Another interesting fact is that Dar es Salaam is not the capital of Tanzania as many people believe - it is Dodoma that is the capital.