GM Pontus Carlsson tour of Nairobi
CMAT (Chess Masters Africa Tour) is sponsored by The Paul Allen Foundation in collaboration with the Kasparov Chess Foundation. The six countries included in the tour are Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.
GM Pontus Carlsson tour of Kenya is the third Chess Masters Africa Tour. The first one being the tour of GM Kenny Solomon (RSA) in Kenya in February. It was followed by IM Rodwell Makoto in April 2017.
Cohort 3 CMAT Trainees Kenya:
Itinerary
DAY 1 – 11TH May: Arrival and Rest Day
JKIA Airport – Arrival, pick up of GM Pontus Carlsson and Ms Tereza Pribanova of Chess in Schools and Communities UK by Githinji Hinga and Joy of MiniChess Kenya.
DAY 2 – 12th May: School Visits – Mukuru Kwa Njenga
0800-1500 – We set out for Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums where MiniChess Kenya has a pilot program with 100 learners drawn from three schools:
- Redroof School – (Carson Academy)
- High View Academy
- Imara Daima SDA Primary School
The program is sponsored by Chess in Schools and Communities (CISC) UK and Kapsarov Chess Foundation Africa. The program is run by MiniChess Kenya in collaboration with the Sports Outreach Ministries.
GM Pontus Carlsson and Ms Tereza Pribanova visited all three schools and had a chance to experience classes first-hand. These were conducted by MiniChess Teachers, Eric Oyugi and Titus Gichuka. They also had a talk with the principals and director of the slum schools. GM Pontus Carlsson gave an inspirational talk and chess lesson to the children. It was a rare and memorable occasion for all.
1430 – Visit Sports Outreach Office – The duo met with the Sports Outreach Ministries director, Pastor Francis Juma. There was a training in progress at the office and we got a chance to speak with the facilitator and world famous Eng. Robert Katende of the Queen of Katwe fame.
DAY 3 and 4 – 13-14TH May: Training of Trainers
1000 – 1900Hrs
Joint Training Sessions – Lotos Inn and Suites Hotel Nairobi.
GM Pontus Carlsson gave sessions on the following:
- Opening, Middle game and End game themes and drills.
- Strength Training.
- Training Techniques and resources.
- Training Etiquette and checklists.
- Rocket Chess, Suicide Chess and other fun but great chess strategy games.
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation TV Interview. Please find link to the TV Interview that appeared on KBC TV News 9 pm on 13th May.
DAY 5 – 7– 15TH May: Training of Trainers and School Visits
GM Pontus Carlsson gave one on one training plans and evaluations to individual trainees. He identified areas for improvement and prescribed books and videos as homework.
CMAT Partner Schools Visits
GM Pontus Carlsson along with the trainees visited partner schools and donated chess equipment as follows:
- 15 Chess boards and Sets.
- 2 Chess Clocks.
- 1 Demonstration Chess Board.
We met the School administrators and did chess coaching at every school. This gave an opportunity to GM Carlsson to evaluate the trainees ability to teach.
Monday – Ngara Girls High School
Tuesday – Dagoretti High School Boys
Editor’s note – We believe that these 3 visits have sown the seeds for chess to flourish over the next few decades. The hard work remains to ensure that there are enough events and strong structures to keep up the momentum.
Report on the CMAT (Chess Masters Africa Tour) was prepared by the Githinji Hinga. Heis the Regional Coordinator – East Africa for Kasparov Chess Foundation – Africa.
Links to other Chess Masters Africa Tour articles
IM Rodwell Makoto of Zimbabwe visits Kenya.
GM Kenny Solomon of South Africa visits Kenya.
