Last Saturday, 23rd July 2011, Dutch GM Dimitri Reinderman took on 35 Kenyans in a simultaneous exhibition at Hotel Jacaranda as part of his 7-day ‘chess clinic’.
As is normal at Kenyan chess events, the ‘simul’ (what a simultaneous exhibition is known as in chess terms) was delayed by half an hour due to the late arrival of some participants. Dimitri almost expected it as he looked at his watch at 12.50 am and jokingly asked if the simul would begin in the next 10 minutes.
GM Dimitri Reinderman chats with Nairobi Chess Club official Dr. Nikolai van Beek while waiting for the simul to begin
At about 1.36 pm, after all of his opponents had been seated and the rules explained to them, the simul finally began with this:
GM Dimitri moves on to the second board after making his first move
The ladies were represented in good numbers too:
The ladies v/s GM Reinderman
Local television station KBC, was the only channel from mainstream Kenyan media covering the event:
KBC crew filming the simul
By 2.05 pm, Harold Wanyama, East Africa’s strongest chess player looked like he was in trouble:
Harold Wanyama trying to make sense of his position on the board
GM Dimitri’s first casualty (at 2.43 pm) was Sumit Deshpande, a junior participant:
Sumit Deshpande (in red t-shirt) was the first to taste defeat
Purity Gachigi, a veteran of Kenyan ladies’ chess who has represented the country at past Olympiads, replaced Sumit to become GM Dimitri’s 33rd opponent:
Purity Gachigi on Board 33 after Sumit's departure
At 2.51 pm, this is what the room looked like:
A bird's eye view of GM Dimitri's opponents
At 3.48 pm, Asim Shah representing Tarpo Industries Ltd, the main sponsor of the event, had no moves left. The expression on his face says it all:
Asim Shah, director of Tarpo Industries Ltd, cornered by the GM
Mike Kinuthia, one of only 2 players to draw against the GM, making history at 4.19 pm:
Mike Kinuthia (extreme right) records a move on his way to a draw
At 5.18 pm, I took my last photo of the event—that of GM Dimitri signing a junior participant’s score sheet as he resigns:
GM Dimitri makes a kid happy with an autograph
An hour or so after I left the venue, GM Dimitri Reinderman finally ended his simultaneous exhibition against 35 Kenyans by handing Bryan Taboso, one of two contestants representing Chess Kenya, the final loss of the evening. It was 7.40 pm by then.
Update: For more photos from the simultaneous exhibition, have a look at the album ‘GM Dimitri Reinderman v/s Kenya – Simultaneous Exhibition’ on our Facebook page.