Kenya Championship: Njoroge and Mongeli clinch titles
The Kenya National Chess Championship 2021 ended yesterday at Luke hotel, Nairobi. The nine-round Swiss tournaments (open and ladies sections) were played over five days from December 26-30 and attracted 211 players. In open section saw a dramatic finale as the defending champion Mehul Gohil faced off against Martin Njoroge in a two-game tiebreaker of 15minutes each. Both contenders scored 8/9 to tie for the first place, making just two draws each. After the tiebreaker ended in a 1-1 draw, the opponents proceeded to a blitz match. Martin won all two games and clinched the title of the National Kenya Champion of 2021. Over a short period of time the young player broke into adult chess to notch up the greatest success in his career. His achievement will hugely motivate his young peers. Final standings open: 1 Njoroge, Martin 2014 8 2 Gohil, Mehul 1901 8 3 Magana, Ben 2081 7½ 4 Methu, Joseph Muragu 2024 7 5 Sagwa, Hillary 1820 7 6 Hugh, Misiko Okonga 1661 7 7 Kanegeni, Matthew Kamau 1977 7 8 Oluka, Robert Mcligeyo 1686 7 9 Gisore, Daniel 1777 6½ 10 Ndegwa, Jackson Kamau 1910 6½ The women’s tournament was also a close race with Sasha Mongeli and Triza Mwendwa sharing first place. Again, it boiled down to a tiebreaker to determine the champion. Sasha won both rapid games to be declared the Ladies National Kenya Champion of 2021. Final standings women: 1 Mongeli, Sasha 8 2 WFM Mwendwa, Triza 8 3 WCM Ndirangu, Joyce Nyaruai 7 4 Jumba, Gloria 6 5 Obondo, Cynthia Awino 6 6 Karanja, Ether 6 7 Mutisya, Jully 6 8 WCM Wanjiru, Lucy 5½ 9 Ngima, Cheryl 5½ 10 Madelta, Glenda 5½ The winner of the 2021 National Championship Open Section – Martin Njoroge was awarded Brand New Mazda Demio by Chess Kenya President Mr Benard Wanjala during a colourful closing ceremony.
Vachier-Lagrave and Assaubayeva are the new world blitz champions
In the tiebreak blitz shootout, the Frenchman defeated local superstar Jan-Krzysztof Duda with 2:1. In the women’s event, Bibisara Assaubayeva – the 17-year-old prodigy from Kazakhstan – spectacularly won the Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship, securing the title with a round to spare The open section of the World Blitz Chess Championship ended in a tiebreak shootout where 31-year-old Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave clinched the title after defeating local star Jan-Krzysztof Duda with 2:1. This is the first world championship title for the 31-year-old French Grandmaster, one of the top-rated players on the planet who came very close to this title in 2015 but had to settle for silver. The path of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to the top didn’t go in a straight line. On the first day of the event, he lost three games and didn’t immediately figure as someone who would win the event. However, his resilience showed on day two – not losing a single game, drawing rarely and winning when it was necessary, including in the 21st round against none other than Magnus Carlsen. A day of ups and downs The second day of the open section of the world blitz saw the remaining nine (out of altogether 21) rounds played. Although tournament leader Levon Aronian (who won the title in 2010) started the day well – scoring important victories against top dogs Daniil Dubov and Anish Giri – he then suffered three consecutive losses throwing the tournament wide open. What made things worse was how Aronian lost: first, playing against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as Black in Round 17, he equalized comfortably but then allowed the Frenchman to create some threats. In a game full of twists and turns, Aronian overlooked an almost winning move and then lost. In the next round, he fell to former compatriot Haik Martirosyan – after reaching an overwhelming position, he missed a simple move by his opponent and had to sacrifice a queen for a rook and a knight. Levon could have forced a draw by repetition at some point, but he took it too far. In the end, Levon was hoping for a ‘fortress’, but Black confidently led the white king away from his pieces before exchanging his queen for the rook and leaving his king to collect the remaining two pawns and promote his own. Then, in Round 19, Aronian lost to Vladimir Artemiev after making a risky choice in the opening. From a comfortable lead of one and a half points, Aronian lost it all in the end but still finished close to the very top – on fifth place, with 14 points. Just behind him is Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who also finished on 14/21 and had a good tournament overall. As the sun was setting on Levon Aronian, there was a new dawn for Alireza Firouzja. Having struggled for most of the event, the current world number two made a miraculous recovery, scoring five victories in the final five rounds of the tournament and ending up in shared first place. On his path to the top, Firouzja crushed two players who were at one point leading in the tournament – Daniil Dubov and Levon Aronian. However, at the end of the day, he was left disappointed as he didn’t make it to the tiebreaks, due to inferior point breaks. Unlike Aronian and Firouza, local hero Jan-Krzysztof Duda was much more consistent in his performance throughout the blitz, always playing among the top boards. Apart from losing to Martirosyan and Dubov, the Polish Grandmaster won all his games in the rounds with confidence and vigour, which ultimately landed him in the tie breaks. This was a very good tournament for the 2018 Rapid Champion Daniil Dubov, who was always just a step behind first place, taking the lead after Round 18. However, Dubov opted to make a few quick draws in the closing rounds of the event, which ultimately ended, costing him a place in the tie breaks as he was half a point behind the top three. Still, with 14/21, Dubov finished alone in fourth place. Magnus Carlsen, who was defending the title of world champion in blitz, had another bad day – again losing three games – and with 13.5/21 finished on 12th place, just ahead of Russian superstar Alexander Grischuk who also has 13.5 points. In the five-day event in Poland, Carlsen lost two of the three chess crowns in his possession – in rapid and blitz chess. The freshly defeated contender for the title of World Champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi, lost steam in the final part of the day, making some quick draws and losing two games, including to Magnus Carlsen. Nepomniachtchi finished the tournament in a group of players on 12.5/21. The Tie Breaks Before the final – 21st round – six players were sharing first place: Levon Aronian, Daniil Dubov, Vladislav Artemiev, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja. In the final round of the open event, Daniil Dubov drew quickly with Anish Giri in the last game, banking on a chance to get a place in the tiebreak. Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated Vladislav Artemiev. Defending champion Magnus Carlsen had no chances for first place, as he was on half a point behind the leading pack. He was leading black pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France. In a tense game with the advantage changing hands, Carlsen lost, putting Lagrave among three players ending the regular part of the tournament in the shared first place, on 15/21. After the final round, there were three players tied for first place, on 15/21: Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja. According to the rules, only the first two among them (Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave) could go to tie breaks. Vachier-Lagrave was leading the white pieces in the first game. However, both players were cautious and didn’t show too much appetite for risk, agreeing to a draw. In the second game, Duda was in time trouble and an inferior position, but he managed to consolidate and force the Frenchman to a draw. However, in the third and final game, in the Ruy Lopez, Vachier-Lagrave introduced an improvement comparing to the first tiebreak game and got