Magnus Carlsen World Chess Champion Supremo
As a chess prodigy, Magnus Carlsen seemed destined to become world champion. He got his GM norm at the age of 13 and topped the FIDE rankings when he was 19. Indeed, Carlsen became...
Author: Willy Simons
Kasparov vs Karpov the Greatest Rivalry in Chess
Gary Kasparov is admired for his brilliant tactics and aggressive dynamic style. He became the world chess champion in 1985 and held the title until 2000. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov...
Bobby Fischer Ends Soviet Domination
Let’s take a pause from the Kenyan chess scene and look at some of the world’s greatest chess players. Many consider Bobby Fischer to be the best chess player who ever lived. He played...
Nathan Ateka Kenya’s Highest Rated Chess Player
Currently, Kenya’s highest-rated chess player is Nathan Ateka with a FIDE rating of 2131. He won the Kenya National Championship in 2005 and represented Kenya in several Chess Olympiads. However, few would argue that...
Brilliant Queen Sacrifices
In chess nothing speaks more to the imagination than a brilliant queen sacrifice. It involves exchanging the queen for less material to gain a positional advantage that wins the game. Queen sacrifices are even...
Nairobi Chess Club on Chess.com
The first NCC Open Tournament on Chess.com has just ended. The tournament started in June 2019 with 100 players and went to 4 rounds to decide the winner. I am relieved to have come...
Anand Narrowly Outgrinds John Mukabi
In the 1988 Chess Olympiad John Mukabi was up against 18-year old Viswanathan Anand, India’s first chess grandmaster. It appeared that the game was heading for a draw, but Anand managed to grind out...
FIDE Online Olympiad on Chess.com
Kenya took part in the FIDE Online Olympiad, an online chess event for national teams, that will run until the end of August. The team played in Pool A of Division 4 in a...
Meet Woman FIDE Master Sasha Mongeli
Sasha Mongeli attained the Woman FIDE Master title due to her good results at the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Batumi. As a debutant, she put in a commanding performance and won 7 of her...
Meet FIDE Master Steve Ouma
Steve Ouma (with Martin Gateri and Ritvik Pendyala) is one of Kenya’s FIDE Masters. He obtained the FM title in 2014 due to his excellent performance at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway....
