The Kenyan chess camp at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad was in a celebratory mood yesterday, with both teams scoring decisive victories in their round two matches.
The Open team defeated the Kingdom of Bhutan with a score of 4-0, while the Ladies dismissed the Cameroonian squad with the same score.
Mehul Gohil reporting from Nairobi had this to say
“Speaking of the open section, it was important Team Kenya ate four clean servings of Steak Bhutanzelle today. Kudos to them. Even if that was a weak team, it was very important psychologically. That wipe out will boost confidence levels. It just feels damn good to win a point at the Olympiad. Just winning one game sends the chessgasms buzzing.”
The other day’s highlight was Kenyan National Champion Martin Njoroge, who FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal interviewed.Njoroge summed up his team’s philosophy: “We here to win! We are “simbas”, which means lions. We are here to roar and win… The Olympiad is the dream of every chess player, so I am super excited to be playing in this tournament! “. Watch the interview here.
However, the loudest cheer in African social media circles came from the news that Zambia had defeated Denmark 2.5-1.5, a team with four Grandmasters and one International Master! Nase Lungu was the hero of the day with his victory over IM Martin Haubro on board four.
The Zambian victory was made sweeter in the context of what renowned author GM Jacob Aagaard from Denmark had said a few months ago.
You can find out more on this controversy by reading a fine article from by Dr Daaim Shabazz title Geopolitics and the Diverse Voices in Chess.
Egypt squeezed past Panama with a narrow 2.5-1.5 victory despite GM Amin Bassem losing to IM Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez on board one.
Uganda lost 4-0 to Canada, while Nigeria lost to Cuba with the same 4-0 score. In other news, Botswana dismissed Tanzania with a 4-0 victory while Somalia defeated Laos 3.5-0.5.
The Ugandan ladies team scored a 4-0 victory over Eswatini.
World Champion Magnus Carlsen was back in action leading Norway to a 4-0 victory over Uruguay. His game, as usual, was clinical.
The 2022 Chess Olympiad: Opening Ceremony.
2022 Chennai Olympiad – Round 1 report.
More photos of the Opening Ceremony.
2022 Chess Olympiad on chess-results.com.
2022 Chess Olympiad – African teams on the way.
Team Uganda set for 2022 Chennai Olympiad.
Liberia Olympiad Team set for Chennai.
South Sudan Olympiad Team set for Chennai.
