chessctc

After three days and 8 rounds of ferocious battles, Salama chess heroes proved their power and resilience. Here is the result from their strong play:

4 players from Salama Gachie Community Primary School –

U15 Girls: Alicia Kimberly Mwihaki – 3 points
U15 Boys: Emmanuel David Lioba – 1.5 points
U17 Girls: Gloria Wakoli Mbolo – 3 points and Jesca Ajiza Moi – 2 points

3 players from Gachie High School –

U15 Boysl: Brian chinda Ayodi – 3.5 points
U17 Girls: Lucy Nekesa Nyang’au – 2 points and Rebecca Wanjiru Luvuga – 2 points

The heartening Facebook post by Chess Kenya, Kenya’s national chess federation, on Salama players’ impressive performance highlighted their awe-inspiring chess crusade:

“A heartfelt commendation to the Salama Gachie Community Primary and High School team, who have defied all obstacles to grace the national arena.”

“Witnessing their journey from notices to competitors on a national platform is a testament to their unwavering dedication, hard work, and genuine determination. May this achievement serve as an inspiration for others, showcasing the power of commitment and effort.”

For pictures at the tournament, please visit here.

As described in its mission statement, “The Chess Journalists of America encourage chess journalists and writers, editors and publishers, and creators and producers of digital media to exchange information and ideas for their mutual benefit. We promote the highest standards of ethics in chess journalism, represent United States chess journalists in appropriate national and international bodies, and influence policies affecting the promotion of chess.”

While being appreciative for the recognition by CJA, CTC is calling for more youth players to engage in chess journalism, to share their chess stories and get their voice heard through writings, drawings, and photographs as well as all other forms of journalism.     

The qualifiers are Alicia Mwihaki in the U15 Girls section, Emmanuel Lioba and Brian Chinda Ayodi in U15 Boys, Gloria Wakori, Jesca Ajiza, Lucy Nekesa and Rebecca Wanjiru in Under 17 Girls.

Huge congratulations to these qualifiers as well as to the other Salama players—all from impoverished backgrounds. They must cope with life challenges day-in and day-out to continue with their education and chess study, and to be able to play and win the national qualifications is by no means a small feat! In fact, these players had to cook and pack their own lunch and travel by public bus for one hour and a half to make it to the tournament venue!

There are many people CTC wants to say thank you to for helping make this happen. Big thank you to Mercy Kamoni, who helped register the Salama players and layout all the logistics; thank you to Catherine Biketi, Salama’s resident teacher who quickly rallied the chess club members and the alumni in Gachie High School; thank you to the two Salama faculty members who chaperoned the players to and from the venue; thank you to Chess Kenya for waiving half of the registration fees and many other chess families and coaches who extended their helping hands on site; and lastly, thank you to all CTC donors—without their generosity, CTC’s Global Outreach leaders would not have been able to visit Nairobi in March to build strong coalitions with the Salama players and Kenyan chess families, and to cover all the expenses to send these players to the qualifiers and to the national.

For the full album of this big day, please visit here.  Please join us to wish all qualifiers the best for their debut at the national!