Africa U8 Chess Champion wins prestigious national award in Kenya
Nathaniel Manyeki emerged as the 2nd runner-up in the Most Promising Personality of the Year 2023 category at the Sports Personality of The Year Award, Kenya (SOYA Awards). The reigning Under 8 Africa Youth Champion, Nathaniel, showcased his exceptional talent by achieving a perfect score at the Africa Youth Chess Championship held last year in Egypt. Amidst cheers and applause, Chess Kenya Federation officials, along with Nathaniel Manyeki’s family and friends, gathered at the KICC Nairobi for the award ceremony, celebrating his remarkable accomplishments. The SOYA Awards, marking its 20th anniversary this year, brought together a multitude of sportsmen and women from various disciplines across Kenya. This celebration of excellence united partners from esteemed organizations, including CMA, Safaricom, KAS, and the Paul Tergat Foundation. Nathaniel, who is the current Under 8 Boys’ Kenya National Chess Champion, the title he has held for three consecutive years, started playing chess in 2021 and has secured a podium finish in many regional tournaments under different age categories, frequently taking on bigger challenges in the open events against much higher rated players such as the Kenya and Uganda Open. Milestones Achieved: ● Current Africa Youth Chess Champion under 8 Open, having emerged victorious with 9/9 points at the 2023 championship in Cairo, Egypt. He was awarded the title of Candidate Master (CM). ● Represented Kenya in the African Youth Chess Championship ( Lusaka, Zambia, 2022) ● Represented the country in the Africa Schools Individual Chess Championships (Nairobi, Kenya) 2021 and ranked 4th U7 Open ● Current U8 National Chess Champion, the title he has held for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) ● Current U9 Open National Chess Champion (2023) ● National Chess Champion U7 Open ( 2021, 2022 ) ● Regional Champion and podium finisher in various competitions: (2022) – Kajiado 1st in U10 Open, Nairobi region 1st in U8 Open, Machakos Region 1st in U10 Open, St. Bakhita Open 1st in U8, Sanlam invitational 1st U12 Open, Village Market 2nd in U10 Open, (2021) Nairobi Region 2nd in U7 Open, Village Market Open 2nd U8 Open, Kitengela Open 1st U8 Open, Oshwal Academy 1st in U8 Open. He is also a part of the Business Meets Chess and Kids program, connecting business people with young chess players in an effort to help them improve their game and acquire the tools needed to play chess competitively.
FIDE Chessable Academy’s third season gets underway
The FIDE Chessable Academy’s 2024 season kicked off on January 13, drawing 450 students from over 100 federations and 22 FIDE Endorsed Academies into its arena Aimed at talented young players who are nominated by their national Federations and FIDE Endorsed Academies, the FIDE Chessable Academy brings together top players and coaches teaching a specially designed training program for future chess masters. The roster of lecturers featured esteemed coaches and chess legends, such as Hou Yifan, Stefanova Antoaneta, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Alexander Khalifman, Boris Gelfand, Artur Jussupow, Mikhail Gurevich, Ramesh R B, Vladimir Potkin, Aleksey Dreev, Vladimir Malakhov, Victor Bologan, Igor Lysyj, Evgeniy Najer, Miguel Illescas, Yevgeniy Vladimirov, Surya Ganguly, Sergei Tiviakov, Anton Filippov, Melikset Khachiyan, Thomas Luther, Yannick Gozzoli, Farrukh Amonatov, Alexey Kuzmin, Igor Khenkin, Hicham Hamdouchi, Georgui Castaneda, Dejan Bojkov, Ilaha Kadimova, Robert Hungaski, Reynaldo Vera, Alonso Zapata, and Vishal Sareen. The program aims to unravel important skills and techniques. It includes a meticulous study of important chess openings explained by leading experts in these specific areas, exploring typical and innovative ideas, abundant secrets, as well as practical challenges and revealing various topics. The topics include the evaluation of the position and the plan, prophylactic thinking, principles of attack, principles of defense, how to play against the pieces, un-evident moves and full board vision, danger of passed pawns, practical rook endings, correct and incorrect attack, “bad” pieces, advantage realization principles, feeling of danger, the principle of two weaknesses in addition to other important topics. Organized into 12 groups, the program, slated to run until the end of April, unfolds with weekend sessions conducted in English, Russian, Spanish, and French. One of the focuses of the project is gender equality, as an equal number of female and male students actively participate, creating a diverse and inclusive chess community. So far, since its establishment in 2021, the academy has welcomed over 1000 students from more than 100 countries in its online sessions. “Having access to coaching and high-quality training material is essential for chess development. As the world’s leading chess courses platform, we are thrilled to be part of this important project, which levels the field for players of all ages and backgrounds. We sincerely hope to contribute to the development of future champions as well as future chess professionals,” Geert van der Velde, Head of Chessable.com, said. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich emphasizes the academy’s role in personal development, stating that “the Chessable Academy is not just about mastering the game; it’s about creating well-rounded individuals. This feeds well into FIDE’s overall approach and strategy in popularizing chess – it is not just about the sport, it is about building your character and helping individuals grow as people”. Two in-person camps held in Dubai (2021) and Sitges, Spain (2022) served as global meeting points, fostering camaraderie among chess enthusiasts. The In-person Training Camp Breaking new ground, the academy introduces personal development training as a core component. The FIDE Chessable In-Person Training Camp, led by GM Judit Polgar and GM Artur Jussupow in Menorca from March 27 to April 2, promises to be a transformative experience. The “FIDE Personal Growth Academy” within the camp features experts like Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Geert van der Velde, Maria Yuste, and Natalia Ryzhenko, covering topics from healthy nutrition to personal brand development. How the participants of the course will be selected: The FIDE Trainers’ Commission and Chessable will carefully evaluate and choose the 12 students based on the following outlined criteria: Participants of any language and rating who fulfilled the attendance criteria (minimum 75% attendance) and were not selected for the camp will receive Chessable courses.