Who is the greatest Kenyan Player?

[Mehul Gohil]

Sometimes Chess Politics can become very boring...especially for a guy like me who likes to take pot shots at the first Chess Kenya rabbit that comes my way ( I now have to personify, or should I say rabbitify, the CK officials with a different specie of the mammalian branch of the animal kingdom as my former one didn't go down well with some  of them...they didn't want to be associated with the likes of Rentokil, things that wreck havoc in maize granaries, or an actor from the Tom & Jerry cartoon.)
 
So, perhaps we can debate on who we think is the GREATEST CHESS PLAYER KENYA HAS EVER PRODUCED. I have shortlisted 4 guys: Saif Kanani, Humphrey Andolo, Ben Magana & Peter Gilruth.
Let me give my ranking opinion from weakest to strongest with the pros and cons of each player:
 
4th Greatest: BEN MAGANA
 
PROS
 
1. He is a good middle game tactical improvisor, perhaps the best Kenya has had.
2. Out of the four, only Andolo has a greater fighting spirit.
3. Arguably Kenya's first GM slayer (Kanani has done it before Magana, 9 times over, but as a Canadian citizen).
4. Over the last 3 years he has entrenched himself as the Kenya No. 1 convincingly, only Kanani and Andolo have longer runs at the No.1 spot.
5. Good political skills, having the ability to mediate between osama bin laden/burnt forest like mentalities in polarized camps within the Kenyan chess fraternity...the 'Koffi Anan' of Kenyan Chess.
 
CONS
 
1. He has inferior international credentials to the other 3 in terms of exposure, though this may be a result of the poor chess infrastructure in 21st century Kenya.
2. His Endgame play is at best slightly above average and I don't think you can be the greatest without good endgame skills.
3. Can he really do what he did to GM Adly again?
 
3rd Greatest: PETER GILRUTH
 
PROS
 
1. In the early eighties, only Kanani stood between Gilruth and the No.1 slot. The Ben Nguku of his times.
2. Execellent International exposure, especially in his home ground of the allmighty USA where he has played with a bunch of GM's, IM's and +2300 players in the national open circuit.
3. 2nd best Kenyan performer (Behind Kanani) at the '84 Olympiad in Greece.
4. Ice cool temperment, strong positional skills (perhaps the 2nd best positional player in Kenya's history), crisp attacking skills.
5. Very consistent in getting the results...as witnessed by grabbing 1st places in the last 2 major events in Kenya.  
 
CONS
 
1. Falls victim to time pressure. His only two defeats at the hands of Kenyans in the 21st century in tourneys has come a) Against Magana at the September 2007 Checkmates Rapid when he lost on time b) Against the ever fast Mehul Gohil (aka Machakos road runner) in a LONG GAME at the Kim Bhari organised Gymkhana Open where a piece up he again lost on time!
2. Sometimes overestimates his skills in technical endgame positions (e.g game against Gohil at the recent Olympiad qualifiers).
 
2nd Greatest: HUMPHREY ANDOLO
 
PROS
 
1. Greatest fighting spirit Kenyan Chess has ever known. When he came back for a visit last year, many of the top Kenyans wrote him off as a 'has been', 'former strong player now regular patzer', after seeing him get crushed during Checkmates Blitz sessions, but come the 1st Kenya Blitz Championship he blowtorched the gathered field through sheer willpower...only the 'machakos road runner' managed to get away.
2. Only Kenyan to have drawn against a Super Grandmaster (Michael Adams).
3. During the period 1993-2000, his No.1 status was untouchable as he won tournament after tournament in the local scene, probably Andolo is also No.1 on the all time prize money list, it is doubful any other Kenyan has garnered as many 'chums' as him in Kenyan Chess. 
4. Only Kenyan to have taught those offsprings of Idi Amin in Kampala a lesson by winning a New Vision Open.
 
CONS
 
1. His performance in international events has been below par and I guess more is or was expected of him. He had a tendency to crack during the Olympiads and African Championships.
2. He tended to push himself too much at times, trying to win dead drawn positions, in these cases his awesome fighting spirit worked against him.
 
Greatest of All: SAIF KANANI
 
PROS
 
1. Clinical style of play, well balanced in all departments. A model for Kenyan players to follow.
2. Greatest International Kenyan player: Only Kenyan to have won an Olympiad Medal (Silver on Board 1 in 1980.), from the records I have he has beaten 9 Granmasters in various Open tourneys in Canada and the US. (His current Elo is 2367)
3. Longest reign as the No.1 Kenyan from the years 1978-1986
4. One of the only two Kenyans to have played someone who was or eventually became World Champion (Kanani played Boris Spassky...the other guy was John Mukabi who played Vishy Anand.)
5. Philanthropist...when going off to Canada freely gave away many of his Chess books, sets and clocks to Kenyan Players.
 
CONS
 
There is a Maasai saying which goes "It is evil to talk about the defects of the greatest men on earth."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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[Benjamin Magana]

Quite insightful indeed.

If I were to list other great(est) players, I wud include Kanegeni, Ateka, Omolo, Kagambi, etc. I wud put Nguku on standby until he wins a national title (mo a matter of WHEN rather than IF).

Actualy,my criterion 4consideration is that u hav 2hav won something nationaly at some point...

The main difficulty we hav in chess is lack of EXACT records or game databases.We cant,for example, giv a list of national winners from 1978-2007. We wud hav 2rely on the Terrible Beast's memory, wich tho helpful aint adequate. In regard to keeping records, all successive CK ofices hav failed.

Personaly,I hav c. 400 pgn games of mine,and I'm sure any top player has his as wel.If these cud b fused into a megabase,then we cud dispassionately compare & contrast players in terms of tactics, strategy, endgame skill,etc. (but I do agree with Mehul that my endgame is appalling!)

So while big names easily stand out,others who may hav bn board wizards may b overshadowd, like the historical Keres & Korchnoi.

In terms of longevity,the prize goes to John "Terrible Beast" Mukabi, folowd closely b Martin "Anyanje" Oyamo. Funnily tho, in 1984 Gilruth was at the zenith of Kenyan chess. In 2008,he's stil hanging onto power UNASHAMEDLY! Thats serious longevity...

The best lady player of all time (or of recent times) has to b Linda Abur. Others like Jane Wambugu, Devisalini & Tina Sath-something... come close. In years past there was a female BEAST called Anastacia Mailu. I'm not sure of her objectiv strength - maybe the male Beast can fill us in.

Mehul Gohil wrote:
> Sometimes Chess Politics can become very boring...especially for a guy like me who likes to take pot shots at the first Chess Kenya rabbit that comes my way ( I now have to personify, or should I say rabbitify, the CK officials with a different specie of the mammalian branch of the animal kingdom as my former one didn't go down well with some  of them...they didn't want to be associated with the likes of Rentokil, things that wreck havoc in maize granaries, or an actor from the Tom & Jerry cartoon.)
>  
> So, perhaps we can debate on who we think is the GREATEST CHESS PLAYER KENYA HAS EVER PRODUCED. I have shortlisted 4 guys: Saif Kanani, Humphrey Andolo, Ben Magana & Peter Gilruth.
> Let me give my ranking opinion from weakest to strongest with the pros and cons of each player:
>  
> 4th Greatest: BEN MAGANA
>  
> PROS
>  

> 1 . He is a good middle game tactical improvisor, perhaps the best Kenya has had.

>   Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger
>

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[Mehul Gohil]

Personally, I would exclude Kanegeni, Ateka, Omolo etc, as strong as they are from the short list of the greatest...I think you have to show consistency at the No.1 or No.2 spots in Kenya, which magana, gilruth, andolo and Kanani have show. My bet for the next player to enter the realm of 'Kenya's Greatest' would be Ben Nguku....as Magana says, its a matter of When not If he enters this realm. And in an oblique way Mukabisaurus-Rex is also a great player because he is so well known amongst Kenyan Chess Players of any generation, but I lock him out of the top four because his quality of play does not match up to the standards of the four I shortlisted.  
 
Also, great players generate an aura of mystique and allure around their names. Mention the name Kanani and everyone knows who we are talking about. But mention the name of some 'Opiyo' who was actually present on Board 3 at the '84 olympiad together with kanani and Gilruth we don't know who we are talking about. These great players become the equivalent of brand names (which is why they become important marketing tools, which our current CK rabbits don't realise, or just don't have the intelligence to realise.)
 

> Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:26:03 -0800
> From: bmagn...@yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: [Kenya Chess Forum] Who is the greatest Kenyan Player?
> To: freshs...@hotmail.com
> CC: kenya-ch...@googlegroups.com

>
> Quite insightful indeed.
>
> If I were to list other great(est) players, I wud include Kanegeni, Ateka, Omolo, Kagambi, etc. I wud put Nguku on standby until he wins a national title (mo a matter of WHEN rather than IF).
>
> Actualy,my criterion 4consideration is that u hav 2hav won something nationaly at some point...
>

> The main difficulty we hav in chess is lack of EXACT records or game databases.We cant,for example, giv a list of national winners from 1978-2007. We wud hav 2rely on the Terrible Beast's memory, wich tho helpful aint adequate. In regard to keeping records, all successive CK ofices hav failed.
>
> Personaly,I hav c. 400 pgn games of mine,and I'm sure any top player has his as wel.If these cud b fused into a megabase,then we cud dispassionately compare & contrast players in terms of tactics, strategy, endgame skill,etc. (but I do agree with Mehul that my endgame is appalling!)

>
> So while big names easily stand out,others who may hav bn board wizards may b overshadowd, like the historical Keres & Korchnoi.
>

> In terms of longevity,the prize goes to John "Terrible Beast" Mukabi, folowd closely b Martin "Anyanje" Oyamo. Funnily tho, in 1984 Gilruth was at the zenith of Kenyan chess. In 2008,he's stil hanging onto power UNASHAMEDLY! Thats serious longevity...
>
> The best lady player of all time (or of recent times) has to b Linda Abur. Others like Jane Wambugu, Devisalini & Tina Sath-something... come close. In years past there was a female BEAST called Anastacia Mailu. I'm not sure of her objectiv strength - maybe the male Beast can fill us in.

[paul maloba]

this is some great deviation from politics, and quite insightful

previously we had juniors to watch, the venomous twins from UoN, Atwoli and Obutu. before them we had George Mwangi to watch. whatever happened in the recent qualifier, some thrashing that was, Its unlikely they'll complete the climb for its college life that one has chances to break the ceiling now that they are completing college and joining the professional world working their backs off, there is limited time.

its sad that juniors have more CK tournaments but we arent seeing anyone coming from there. (Its hard to avoid politics- someone had asked where all the contribution from these tournaments go to? I think we need the audited accounts )

Ateka- bring your son to the game to be the next upcoming

Nguku/Bom - what happened to that kid ...Obilo?

[kim bhari]

Mehul I think you have excluded the following players who deserve to be considered

Emmanuel Kabuye - Winner of many Kenya Open event.  He was brutal on the board.  It is a pity we do not have his games - perhaps Mukabi might have some and what events he won in the past.  I am talking before the 1990.

Jim Burnett - He was an Englishman who was a teacher for some school.  Won the Kenya Open 1994 or 1995 at Grand Regency.  Need Mukabi again for this. After winning he played against 3 players blind folded simultaneously and won.  He used to crush Andolo on the regular Sunday events which used to be held in Untied Kenya.

Last but not least Our good friend Lothar Nickolaiczuk

Came to Kenya in 1994 won the Kenya Championship without any effort.  Crushed all those he met.  Played on a different level from all of us.  He lived in Lamu for a while and then left when he was robbed.  Author of a chess book and numerous articles.  Lost touch with him

kim

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 11:33 PM, dOsHi <mun...@hotmail.com> wrote:

''You must take your opponent into a deep, dark forest where 2+2=5 and
the path leading out is only wide enough for one.''
 -Mikhail Tal , 1936-1992
World Chess Champion

Being a weaker player doesn't mean i can't post anything

I think a List of Great Chess Players tells it all,

Paul Morphy - USA

Morphy had a tough memory which he demonstrated in simultaneous
blindfold play.

Akiba Rubinstein - Poland

Scholars consider him to be strongest player about 1906-13

Jose Capablanca - Cuba

He was nicknamed ''The Chess Machine" b coz of uncunny accuracy of his
moves.
He never lost a single international event 1916-24

Alexander Alekhine - Russia/ France

He became world champion by beating Capablanca 1927 and held the title
till 1935 and again 1937
even now many young players study his games.

Mikhail Botvinnik - Russia

He was known as ''Iron Logician''  had extreme precise style and was
able to understand and demonstrate the essence
of the most complicated chess position.He was Champion 1948-57,
1958-60 and 1961-63

David Bronstein  - Ukraine

He drew with Botvinnik in 1951 world Championship. Botvinnik retained
the tittle by virtue of ''draw odds''
Bronstein had conventional ideas and deep love of Chess. His
contribution to the literature of Chess tells it all.

Mikhail Tal - Latvia

''The magician from Riga'' talented in sacrifices and combinations in
otherwise ordinary positions. World champion 1960-61

Garry Kasparov - Azerbaijan/ Russia

I will not leave my favourite ''The Beast of Baku'' Champion 1985-2000
Known for amazing depth of opening preparation , bold and dynamic
style, will to win, and willingness to sacrifice material in order to
gain or hold
initiative.

I would add Late Bobby Fisher, Susan Polgar , Judith Polgar and Bent
Larsen in my List.


Mehul, you did a wonderful research, but I wonder why our FM Gateri is
no where in the list. Is the FM title a fake?

Munemba

On Feb 28, 8:50 pm, "paul maloba" <mal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> this is some great deviation from politics, and quite insightful
>
> previously we had juniors to watch, the venomous twins from UoN, Atwoli and
> Obutu. before them we had George Mwangi to watch. whatever happened in the
> recent qualifier, some thrashing that was, Its unlikely they'll complete the
> climb for its college life that one has chances to break the ceiling now
> that they are completing college and joining the professional world working
> their backs off, there is limited time.
>
> its sad that juniors have more CK tournaments but we arent seeing anyone
> coming from there. (Its hard to avoid politics- someone had asked where all
> the contribution from these tournaments go to? I think we need the audited
> accounts )
>
> Ateka- bring your son to the game to be the next upcoming
>
> Nguku/Bom - what happened to that kid ...Obilo?
>

> On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 4:40 PM, Mehul Gohil <freshscena...@hotmail.com>

> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Personally, I would exclude Kanegeni, Ateka, Omolo etc, as strong as they
> > are from the short list of the greatest...I think you have to show
> > consistency at the No.1 or No.2 spots in Kenya, which magana, gilruth,
> > andolo and Kanani have show. My bet for the next player to enter the realm
> > of 'Kenya's Greatest' would be Ben Nguku....as Magana says, its a matter of
> > When not If he enters this realm. And in an oblique way Mukabisaurus-Rex is
> > also a great player because he is so well known amongst Kenyan Chess Players
> > of any generation, but I lock him out of the top four because his quality of
> > play does not match up to the standards of the four I shortlisted.
>
> > Also, great players generate an aura of mystique and allure around their
> > names. Mention the name Kanani and everyone knows who we are talking about.
> > But mention the name of some 'Opiyo' who was actually present on Board 3 at
> > the '84 olympiad together with kanani and Gilruth we don't know who we are
> > talking about. These great players become the equivalent of brand names
> > (which is why they become important marketing tools, which our current CK
> > rabbits don't realise, or just don't have the intelligence to realise.)
>
> > > Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:26:03 -0800

> > > From: bmagnum2...@yahoo.com

> > > Subject: RE: [Kenya Chess Forum] Who is the greatest Kenyan Player?

> > > To: freshscena...@hotmail.com

> > > CC: kenya-ch...@googlegroups.com
>
> > > Quite insightful indeed.
>
> > > If I were to list other great(est) players, I wud include Kanegeni,
> > Ateka, Omolo, Kagambi, etc. I wud put Nguku on standby until he wins a
> > national title (mo a matter of WHEN rather than IF).
>
> > > Actualy,my criterion 4consideration is that u hav 2hav won something
> > nationaly at some point...
>
> > > The main difficulty we hav in chess is lack of EXACT records or game
> > databases.We cant,for example, giv a list of national winners from

> > 1978-2007. We wud hav 2rely on the Terrible Beast's memory, wich tho

> > helpful aint adequate. In regard to keeping records, all successive CK
> > ofices hav failed.
>

> > > Personaly,I hav c. 400 pgn games of mine,and I'm sure any top player

> > has his as wel.If these cud b fused into a megabase,then we cud
> > dispassionately compare & contrast players in terms of tactics, strategy,
> > endgame skill,etc. (but I do agree with Mehul that my endgame is appalling!)
>
> > > So while big names easily stand out,others who may hav bn board wizards
> > may b overshadowd, like the historical Keres & Korchnoi.
>

> > > In terms of longevity,the prize goes to John "Terrible Beast"
> > Mukabi, folowd closely b Martin "Anyanje" Oyamo. Funnily tho, in
> > 1984 Gilruth was at the zenith of Kenyan chess. In 2008,he's stil

> > hanging onto power UNASHAMEDLY! Thats serious longevity...
>
> > > The best lady player of all time (or of recent times) has to b Linda
> > Abur. Others like Jane Wambugu, Devisalini & Tina Sath-something... come
> > close. In years past there was a female BEAST called Anastacia Mailu.

> > I'm not sure of her objectiv strength - maybe the male Beast can fill us

> > > >   Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text - d text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Soulman Nyandiek]

A one eyed man in a group of the blind. 100 stupid daft people will stll have a sharper one. Kenya has been exposed to the global chess that talking of 'GREATEST' and naming Kenya's lame chess players who have been around with me and gone no far is an insult to them. Its like saying who is the greatest Patzer and answering 'Githinji'.

 

Drop the crap all of you. Kenya ahs never produced a good player. I think Kosi has got the answer in the names he has mentioned and especially the question of WHERE IS MARTIN GATERI? If you ask me he is the one who has won the top most prize Kenya standard.

 

Dont say GREAT again coz you ALL PATZERS! What are any of you good at on the board? Nothing just like me.

 

 

kim bhari <kimb...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[ANDOLO HUMPHREY]

Hi Kim,

I have been following some of chess debates going
on there,but Kim the question is "who is the greatest
chess player to participate in Kenyan events"
but.."WHO IS THE GREATEST KENYAN NATIONAL PLAYER ".I
am sure you are answering the earlier question of
which I am sure again this debate does not CONCUR with
this debate.

BYE LATERS...HUMPHREY

=== message truncated ===

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[Mehul Gohil]

I am glad that a non-political topic has generated some exciting debate for once...let me start be refuting some guys here:

Kim - Kabuye, Burnett, and Lothar are Ugandans, Englishmen and Germans respectively, not Kenyans so I don;t think they would qualify as being Kenya's greatest, though I do admit, excepting Kanani, the three of them at their peak kick the ass out of any Kenyan past or present.

Doshi - FM Martin Gateri does not get into the list of greatest Kenyans because of two simple reasons: 1. He has never won a really big tournament here in Kenya and has never been at the No 1. or No.2 spot.  2. His FM title, to be blunt and no disprespect to the man (he is a good buddy of mine), is very artificial and in all honesty a gift from Ilyumzhinov do that our CK rabbits could give him the vote during the last elections. As far as I understand it, FM is someone with Elo 2300 and above...no Kenyan currently approaches this standard and Only Saif Kanani is above that elo (2367 on the present FIDE ratings, and by the way has the FM title plus one IM norm in the bag).

Solman - It had to be Solman to spew out that baloney! Anyways, kenya is a democratic country and you have a right to say what you want...and we will respect that right of yours on this forum...we are not communists and Dictators like CK, so feel at home Solman.

As far as I can 'research', only Magana, Gilruth, Andolo and Kanani have shown any consistency at the No.1 & No.2 slots in Kenyan Chess for more than 2 years....There is also Ben Nguku, who has not been out of the No1. or No.2 spot for the last 2 years, but we are waiting for him to win one of the big tournaments and he will become the fifth greatest.



> Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:03:19 -0800
> From: anhum...@yahoo.com
> Subject: [Kenya Chess Forum] Re: Who is the greatest Kenyan Player?
> To: kenya-ch...@googlegroups.com

[kim bhari]

Mehul - Is Gilruth Kenyan.  I thought he was an American ?
kim

[william wachania]

Dear Mehul,

Gateri's rating is not the weakest for an FM there are FMs with 1800 according to the latest rating list.Its not artificial it was acheived over the board.And everyone knew the percentage they required for each and every title right from the start of the Olympiad.So the issue of Illuymzinov being alittle too generous does not arise.There are even IMs who are lower rated.Challenge him to a match and analyse the games for us and let the moves speak.This would be more efficient in proving or disproving Gateri's title rather than getting on a rant about how well or badly someone plays.Chess is a sport  and doesnot need writing skills to prove ones's strength.I bet he would rout you.

Mehul Gohil <freshs...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Mehul Gohil]

Dear Mr. Wachania,
 
I bet he would not.

---

Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 00:55:22 -0800
From: wach...@yahoo.com
Subject: [Kenya Chess Forum] Re: FM GATERI
To: kenya-ch...@googlegroups.com

> </HTML

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[william wachania]

I bet he would. Pick it up with him,I am even willing to personally write to FIDE to rate the match.whats your lifetime tournament score against him?

Mehul Gohil <freshs...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.</a

[Mehul Gohil]

I wouldn't mind a match...rated by FIDE?! All the better! While we wait for that to happen what would you say to a blitz match (12 games) between me and him...I can put my Blitz title on the line...???? Are you willing to arbitrate that one?

---

Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 01:16:31 -0800

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</HTML

[Singe Gong]

 About FM's remember that getting a title at the Olympiad is different since its all about team tactics some people have to be sac'ed that is play on board 1 -2-3 while their colleagues go fo titles on lower boards so i have to say am proud of being part of the process that created FM Gateri...to those going to this Olympiad get your tactics right and get more FM's for Kenya.

 

and Checkmates what happened to the Checmates Website was it ever launched ???

Mehul Gohil <freshs...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.</a

[Soulman Nyandiek]

I was rummaging my repository and found out this mail from my other buddy MG that seemingly rubbished M Gateri's FMism on two points but one in specific got me thinking. That 'He has never won a really big tournament here in Kenya'. Mehul may have an argument here but the sync is diluted by the fact that there have never been the so called 'really big tournaments' in Kenya in substance and content other than the name. Actually Mehul himself won one such 'Really Big Tournament' held at the 680 and sponsored by Bamburi Cement but it later turned out that the proverbial Fritz One could be consulted from the convenience rooms. Like for Mehul's 2nd anti Gateri's FMism on prize for votes, this famous win has been dogged by that unproven allegations that crucial positions were actually analyzed along the way to the victory. Kenya Open was such a big name before as Mukabi would tell you but it has since been diluted by the mediocrity of our chess that it can not be used to find 'Kenya's Greatest Ever'. I think we should strategically elect to make our choice by Titles won or best ratings on international arena.

 

And that means that Gateri and Wachania are still ahead of all the great players. Another thing - It could be that we only made up of small game players - THE KENYA OPEN GAMES.

 

Here I come. Mehul why cant you challenge Gateri to a seven round contest to just prove your point. And Gateri why cant you accept it. And I will place a beer bottle on the palm of everyone who attends to watch you. We are in with Wachania.

 

And thanks for sparing me on that one. I guess you didnt have anything to say about me because I neithe a Patzer or a Strong Player leave alone the Best of Them.

 

But lets take the challenge.

 

Soulman

Singe Gong <phili...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[Soulman Nyandiek]

I was rummaging my repository and found out this mail from my other buddy MG that seemingly rubbished M Gateri's FMism on two points but one in specific got me thinking. That 'He has never won a really big tournament here in Kenya'. Mehul may have an argument here but the sync is diluted by the fact that there have never been the so called 'really big tournaments' in Kenya in substance and content other than the name. Actually Mehul himself won one such 'Really Big Tournament' held at the 680 and sponsored by Bamburi Cement but it later turned out that the proverbial Fritz One could be consulted from the convenience rooms. Like for Mehul's 2nd anti Gateri's FMism on prize for votes, this famous win has been dogged by that unproven allegations that crucial positions were actually analyzed along the way to the victory. Kenya Open was such a big name before as Mukabi would tell you but it has since been diluted by the mediocrity of our chess that it can not be used to find 'Kenya's Greatest Ever'. I think we should strategically elect to make our choice by Titles won or best ratings on international arena.

 

And that means that Gateri and Wachania are still ahead of all the great players. Another thing - It could be that we only made up of small game players - THE KENYA OPEN GAMES.

 

Here I come. Mehul why cant you challenge Gateri to a seven round contest to just prove your point. And Gateri why cant you accept it. And I will place a beer bottle on the palm of everyone who attends to watch you. We are in with Wachania.

 

And thanks for sparing me on that one. I guess you didnt have anything to say about me because I neithe a Patzer or a Strong Player leave alone the Best of Them.

 

But lets take the challenge.

 

Soulman

Singe Gong <phili...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[John Mukabi]

There is a saying that race horses are caused by differences of opinion leading to betting in the professional circuits worldwide. The same can be said of the above question about chess players.

 

Anyway, a player Mehul overlooked on his list when I was starting chess  is the late Jonathan Yongo who died in 1982! If my memory serves me right, he managed beat both Kanani and Belgian who was resident in Kenya then Richard Polaczek (now IM) in tournament play.

 

Since he managed to die before his full powers would have been realised, it was widely believed he and Kanani would have been the first Kenyan IMs. The way we perceive our best players here, outside Kenya the players there will tell you different things about the same.

 

For instance, while Andolo dominated the local scene in the '90s, all were shocked when he went to reperesent Kenya in the African Individual Mens' Championships in Cairo 1998, a bad hunting ground as I discovered five years before in the same tona.

 

Out of some 11 games he came out with 0.5 or was it a point, but what was clear he was winless! At the time, his style of play was too open to play against players over Elo 2300.

 

After that he became a monster as he was to demostrate in Uganda to become the only Kenyan to win a strong tournament there. Kanani's style of play was solid much like Peter Gilruth.

 

Regards   

kim bhari <kimb...@gmail.com> wrote:

[John Mukabi]

There is a saying that race horses are caused by differences of opinion leading to betting in the professional circuits worldwide. The same can be said of the above question about chess players.

 

Anyway, a player Mehul overlooked on his list when I was starting chess  is the late Jonathan Yongo who died in 1982! If my memory serves me right, he managed beat both Kanani and Belgian who was resident in Kenya then Richard Polaczek (now IM) in tournament play.

 

Since he managed to die before his full powers would have been realised, it was widely believed he and Kanani would have been the first Kenyan IMs. The way we perceive our best players here, outside Kenya the players there will tell you different things about the same.

 

For instance, while Andolo dominated the local scene in the '90s, all were shocked when he went to reperesent Kenya in the African Individual Mens' Championships in Cairo 1998, a bad hunting ground as I discovered five years before in the same tona.

 

Out of some 11 games he came out with 0.5 or was it a point, but what was clear he was winless! At the time, his style of play was too open to play against players over Elo 2300.

 

After that he became a monster as he was to demostrate in Uganda to become the only Kenyan to win a strong tournament there. Kanani's style of play was solid much like Peter Gilruth.

 

Regards   

kim bhari <kimb...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Maamoon Jeneby]

Hahahaha,

Soulman you nearly got me there. "I will place a beer bottle on the palm of everyone who attends". Thats coming from the second last paragraph of your e-mail. The problem is "What do you want the crowd watching to do with empty beer bootles in their hands??!!"