Round 3 – Kenya vs Ethiopia – Open Section
We all know about the great rivalry between Kenya & Ethiopia when it comes to long distance running.
Kenya has won 2 gold medals & Ethiopia has won 4 gold medals in the Olympic marathon races.
This rivalry resumed in Batumi but this time over 64 squares rather than 26 miles. This was round 3 and the date was 26th September 2018.
Leading from the front was CM Ben Magana (aka ‘Big Ben‘) who took on CM Girum Teklewold Altaye.
Kenya managed to squeeze past Ethiopia with a score of 2.5 – 1.5 points. CM Magana was victorious and Joseph Mehtu scored his most important maiden Olympiad victory.
Dr Victor Ng’ani lost his game while Ricky Sang managed to squeeze a draw right at the end.
Round 3 – Kenya v Kosovo – Ladies Section
The Ladies played well to secure an important draw against Kosovo.
2022 Chess Olympiad
The Congress which starts on the 3rd of October 2018 will evaluate bids for the 2022 Chess Olympiad. Three cities have placed a bid and include Tunis, Seoul and Minsk. Minsk is the capital city of Belarus.
I will bet my last dollar on Minsk. The city seemed all geared up and even had a stand at the Exhibition Hall. The President of the Belarus Chess Federation is the charming Ms Anastasia Sorokina.
If the city of Minsk wins the bid then it will mean that a total of 4 consecutive Chess Olympiads will be held in former USSR.
2016 -Baku, Azerbaijan.
2018 – Batumi, Georgia.
2020 – Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
2022 – Minsk, Belarus.
Legends of Georgia Chess
In the afternoon Susan Polgar interviewed two stalwarts of Georgian chess.
Nona Gaprindashvili was Ladies World Champion from 1962 to 1978 followed by Maia Chiburdanidze from 1978 to 1991.
For more news on the 2018 Batumi Olympiad please visit –2018 Batumi Olympiad.
Exhibition Hall
The Exhibition Hall which is located next to the Playing Hall is a beehive of activity. We bring this short video clip to give you a feel of what is going on – Video of 2018 Batumi Olympiad Exhibition Hall.
#BatumiChess2018
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