Action on the Board
Kenya received it’s first baptism of fire during Round 1 in the 2018 Batumi Olympiad.
They faced highly rated Montenegro a team that was ranked 48 compared to Kenya’s 137.
With a gap of over 400 Elo points between the players it was mission impossible from the word go.
In the end both Victor Ngani and Philip Singe put up a good fight before defeat.
The Ladies team also had a tough round 1 match against Estonia who were seed number 41. Kenya was seeded as 115.
The result was 4-0 in favour of Estonia – the land of the legendary Paul Keres!
An interesting fact about Estonia. Did you know that the Consul in the Consulate of the Republic of Estonia to Kenya is a keen chess player?
Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world.
A number of Estonia technology companies have been exploring business opportunities in Kenya.
Uganda face Russia
If you thought Kenya had it rough in their first round then consider Uganda. They faced the formidable Russian Team on board 2.
The Russians won without too much effort.
The Ladies managed to snatch half a point from the Canadians with the help of young Gloria Nansubuga.
Zambia v Ukraine
There was other big news for Africa as well. IM Andrew Kayonde (aka ‘AK47‘) of Zambia played a spectacular game today. He held held GM Vassily Ivanchuk (aka ‘Chucky‘) to a draw!
More photos can be found here – 2018 Batumi Olympiad Day 1 photos by Kim Bhari. Photos can be used for publication as long as the name of the photographer is mentioned.