Final Results of the Ultimate Chess Challenge II.
GODFREY GALYA
ELIJAH EMOJONG WINS PHASE II OF THE ULTIMATE CHESS CHALLENGE:
Elijah Emojong 5.5 Vs 4.5 Ssegwanyi Arthur
Chess ace - Elijah Emojong, has emerged champion of phase II in the highly competitive Ultimate Chess Challenge that ended at Lugogo with the prize awarding ceremony.
The second phase of this championship commenced on Wednesday at 8:00am and ended Friday at 9:15pm. The tightly contested match of six rounds each lasting five hours was unpredictable on who was to emerge victor, as it was characterized by blow after blow with no clear winner. All matches were extremely explosive with very sharp theoretical lines and no passive play; the participants displayed a high level of professionalism with evidence of adequate match preparation as there were no notable blunders save for a few theoretical diversions which were all aimed at eking wins from otherwise ‘drawish’ positions.
In the first six rounds that ended in a tie at 3- 3 .Emojong beat Arthur Ssegwanyi in the very first round but Ssegwanyi composed and delivered a quick blow in the second , the two eventually settled for a hard fought draw in the third match. Ssegwanyi then inflicted another defeat in round four in what was one of the best games of the championship. He now needed two draws to clinch the title but Emojong in round five pulled a surprise when against all odds, he sneaked through Ssegwanyi’s defence to crown a pawn in a clearly theoretical drawn position with opposite coloured Bishops.
With one game to go, and each player at 2.5 points, the two opted for known drawing theoretical lines in this last round crucial match to avoid a mishap. In this game six each player made their moves watching carefully for any blunders in the opponent’s camp, but all played accurately and tied ending the six round matches at 3-3.
In game four, perhaps the most brilliant of all. Emojong as black played the Sicilian defence to which Ssegwanyi responded with the Rosolimo (Moscow variation), Ssegwanyi then hutched a careful plan to deliver a thorough checkmate against the black King. He offered three pawns to secure the initiative. All the major pieces were mobilized to the king side in order to launch a final assault. Arthur then carefully opened the f- file which now gave him access to the delicate f7 square. With Bishop at b1 watching the g6 square, rook at g3, queen f4 the plan was complete.
Meanwhile Emojong with a three pawn advantage tried to neutralize Arthur’s initiative which would enable him to have an automatic won end game. But this excessive greed resulted into disaster when after 18 minutes of deep thought, Arthur sacrificed a whole Rook at f7 to every body’s surprise. This seemingly desperate move shuttered Emojong’s defence forcing mate in five moves against all defence.
Perhaps most interesting, was the four tie break rounds in which the first three rounds were drawn with each player wining one, losing the other and drawing the third. This resulted into a very tense final round whose winner would emerge champion.
Emojong playing black opted for the poisoned pawn variation of the Sicilian defence against e4. This variation is well known to lead to forced drawing lines and normally employed by players who want to secure forced draws even against Grand masters.
However, Ssegwanyi determined to win this battle of wits opted to deviate from the known standard lines. Emojong who had thoroughly studied this defence the previous night responded energetically and with absolute confidence. He promptly punished these deviations in what was a very tense game that attracted numerous people who were mesmerized by the accuracy of the moves made by Emojong, move after move as suggested by the most powerful computer engine (Rybka- 4).
Ssegwanyi’s plot to inflict a dubious early mate was quashed as it resulted into loss of two pawns and the light squared Bishop at d3 forcing the white monarch to flee via the B – file onto to the A- file; mate become inevitable in three moves and Arthur had to painfully resign. It was a sad climax to this very competitive phase where both players displayed talent and attacking chess hitherto unknown in the chess community as of recent times.
The match ended in an Emojong victory. He beamed with excitement after this epic battle that lasted three days and numerous hours on the chess board.
The match could have gone either way but this was deservedly his day. The excitement on his face could not be contained . He takes Ugx 400,000 and now awaits his next opponent on his way to mastership.
This was a splendid performance and perhaps a clear pointer to the birth of a new Tsar on Uganda’s local chess scene. After outwitting a Fide master in phase one and now winning the second phase The Country has every reason to be expectant that Uganda could produce its first international master in the near future.
The next phase III is slated to start on Tuesday 22nd after three day’s rest. He meets Bob Gilbert Bibasa aka "the Beast" in what is likely to be a tougher challenge, although Bibasa has been shying away for quite some time.
The winner of this event shall represent Uganda ( resources allowing) in several international events like the world amateur chess championships, the Africa individual chess championship due to take place in Mozambique around Sept ember 2011, the All Africa games and common wealth chess championship and among other international events.
Attached is game IV.
Gali L, M Godfrey.
Lugogo.
0702924139 / 0755924139.