(Press release courtesy of Chess Kenya)
(ICKC) Interim Chess Kenya Committee Appointed by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to Manage Chess Affairs in Kenya for Six Months
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports backed by the Kenya National Sports Council and the National Olympic Committee of Kenya has appointed an interim committee christened the Interim Chess Kenya Committee (ICKC) to manage chess affairs in Kenya for a period of six months from 21st April to 20th October 2012. This was in response to a petition filed by 76 chess players across Kenya in March for the overhaul of chess in the country starting with the removal of incumbents from office for breaching the constitution on numerous affairs and the drafting of a new, progressive constitution that is in line with the new constitution of Kenya.
The ICKC’s main functions will be organising chess events, instituting constitutional reforms and preparing for elections before handing over management to a new executive at the end of its term.
Members of this interim committee include:
- Douglas Ratemo – Chairman
- Githinji Hinga – Secretary
- Charles Nyaberi – Treasurer
- Paras Gudka – Program Director
- Lawrence Kagambi
- Francise Ngesa
- Steve Ouma
- Dr. Victor Ng’ani
Since taking office, the ICKC has opened up new channels of communication that include Facebook and Twitter and an internet domain (www.chesskenya.or.ke) for its official website and email addresses. The committee is also busy preparing for two major events that will see Kenyan chess players travelling abroad later this year—the 2012 Istanbul Chess Olympiad and the World Youth Chess Championships.
2012 Istanbul Chess Olympiad
The biennial world cup of chess – the 40th Chess Olympiad – will be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 27th August to 10th September 2012 where teams from all over the world will congregate for the chance to win 2 team prizes and numerous individual prizes for their countries. To select two teams to compete in the ‘Open’ and ‘Ladies’ categories, the ICKC will be organising a three-phase qualifiers event in Nairobi in June where top players in each phase will progressively move to the next phase until the top 5 in each category remain.
Phase One of these qualifiers will be held on 1st, 2nd and 3rd June and will also serve as the Kenya Open with top cash prizes of KShs 30,000/- in the Open category and KShs 15,000/- in the Ladies category. The top 24 players in each category will progress to Phase Two on 9th and 10th June. The top 10 players in each category from Phase Two will progress to a round-robin Phase Three event on 22nd, 23rd and 24th June.
World Youth Chess Championships
The World Youth Chess Championships will be held in Maribor, Slovenia from 7th to 19th November 2012 where youth chess players will compete for prizes in the age based categories of: Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18.
Eight boys and eight girls who qualified in each category during the first phase held in late February, will compete in the final selection tournament that will take place at Oshwal Academy Nairobi Primary School on 19th and 20th May bringing the total number of participants to 96. The winners in each category (boys and girls) will then get to represent Kenya at the international tournament in Maribor.