The Oshwal Youth League Chess Tournament held on 6th March 2016 at the Oshwal Sports Complex attracted slightly over 50 players spread out in 4 sections. The overall winner in the Adult section was Savan Haria who defeated pre-tournament favourite Mehul Gohil on his was to a clean 6/6 result.
The great thing about this event was that it was an open one which attract a mixed crowd of players. My heroine for this event had to be Linda Abur who was one of the strongest lady chess players in the recent past. Linda is a teacher with Riara Girls School and she brought a team of 5 players and 5 supporters. I just love it when teachers take time and effort to encourage their kids to come and play in chess tournaments.
What was even more interesting for me was to bump into an old school mate Nalin Shah who was taking part in the event.
Tournament organiser Ronak Gudkha has promised that this will now become part on an annual event which is great news for chess players.
The Oshwal Sports Complex has a long history of supporting chess. It was in this complex that Sandip Shah taught hundreds of children from the Oshwal community many of whom played for Kenya like Dipak Shah and Khilan Shah.
I bring you an old photo from what might have been the first speed chess tournament in Kenya and which was held at the Oshwal Complex. This photo was taken on 9th May 1993 during the Hindu Council Open and which was won by Humphrey Andolo & Joseph Kanyingi.
