Paras Gudka

(Photos by Allan Victor Rongoey; Memes by Zayan Zamir)

South Sudan’s James Madol Panchol (rated 1991) who had earlier won the 1st Oshwal Nairobi Blitz Chess Championship continued his winning streak by finishing unbeaten with 10 points from 10 rounds at the 1st Oshwal Nairobi Rapid Chess Championship (1st ONRCC) on Sunday, 10th April. He received Kenya shillings 3,000 in cash for his first-place finish.

Elvis Likoko (rated 1697), currently enrolled at Strathmore University and an alumnus of Alliance High School, finished second with 8 points. A defeat at the hands of Panchol and draws against Aguda Lwanga and Rocky Muchiri robbed him of the 2 points that could have seen him finish in first place.

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(Photos by Ami Mehta, Niraj Shah, and Christine Karoki)

Krishiv Jitendra Shah, Vyom Kunjal Shah, and James Madol Panchol emerged winners of the 1st Oshwal Nairobi Speed Chess Festival held on Saturday, 26th March at Oshwal Academy Nairobi Primary.

The three tournaments that they won were: 1st Oshwal Nairobi Rapid Youth Chess Championship — Under 10, 1st Oshwal Nairobi Rapid Youth Chess Championship — Under 18, and 1st Oshwal Nairobi Blitz Chess Championship respectively.

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Photos by Harrison Kuguru, Thayu Macharia, and Paras Gudka

Paras Gudka (also the author of this report) surprised himself and his fellow participants by winning the Torre & Cavallo Closed Blitz Championship with 7.5 points from 10 rounds on Saturday, 11th December 2021 at The New Big Tree Beach Resort (TNBTBR), Bamburi.

Having included himself in the draw to boost the number of rated participants and to get closer to filling the available 10 places, Paras quickly found himself leading the tournament after winning four games in quick succession and drawing one to end the first half without any loss. He wasn’t as lucky in the second half.

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Photos by Samuel Nderitu Ndumia and Paras Gudka

Tudor resident Sajid Nurmohamed continued to show excellent form in the post-Covid era of OTB (over-the-board) chess by winning the 2021 Mombasa Blitz Chess Championship with 10.5 points from 12 rounds on Sunday, 28th November at Khadija Secondary School.

Neither sultry weather nor fellow rated players were able to stop the Sajid juggernaut at Khadija Secondary School where he has now won three back-to-back tournaments since the Pre Mombasa Open Practice event held in early October. His path to a 100% score of 12 points was hindered by a draw against Mombasa Chess Club chairman Paul Ombui and a loss to Pwani Chess Club founder Kosi Danford in the third and seventh rounds respectively.

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Photos by Paras Gudka, Jackson Kalema, and Samuel Wafula

Sajid Nurmohamed cemented his place as Mombasa’s strongest active chess player by winning the Mombasa U2200 Classical Tournament with 4 points from 4 rounds on Sunday, 7th November 2021. This was his second victory after winning the Pre Mombasa Open Practice Tournament in October.

His unfortunate victims included Brian Obwoge Omwoyo of South Eastern Kenya University, Noreen Nyambura Ndungu of Mombasa Technical Training Institute, Jackson Kioko Kalema of Mombasa Chess Club, and Samuel Wafula of Technical University of Mombasa.

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Photos by Thayu Macharia, Samuel Nderitu, and Paras Gudka

Mombasa County’s strongest chess player by rating (and reputation) Sajid Nurmohamed retained his ‘Boss of Mombasa Chess’ title on Sunday by winning the Pre Mombasa Open Practice (PMOP) tournament with 4.5 points out of a possible 5. The Lighthouse Chess Club member’s only draw came at the hands of James Njuguna Mwangi in the final game. 

Group photo of all prize winners. Back row (L-R): Kelvin Kapino, Daniel Nyamu, Samuel Wafula, Sajid Nurmohamed. Front row (L-R): Shubh Shah, Lemuel Manyala, Jamie Kanango, Genevieve Maashao.

This 5-round rapid tournament was the second OTB (over-the-board) event in Mombasa County after the CtG Pilot Tournament held in September and the first FIDE-rated event since the pandemic began. The tournament was held to help players (juniors in particular) get some practice ahead of the 2021 Mombasa Open event and for more of them to get their FIDE rapid ratings.

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Photos by Esther Ocholla and Paras Gudka

Sana Kayyar, a plucky twelve-year-old from Nyali, made history on Saturday, 4th September by winning Mombasa’s first OTB (over-the-board) chess tournament since February 2020 with 6 points from 6 rounds at the Close the Gap Pilot Chess Tournament.

Sana, a Year 8 student at Oshwal Academy Mombasa, began learning chess after the pandemic began and has been trained by ex-national champion CM Ben Magana for the past 6 months.

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