Advocate Dr Lyndon Bouah attended the 2017 Zone 4.3 Individual Chess Championships – Open Section as a player. Below are his reflections on the tournament. Lyndon is not only a very strong chess player and excellent promoter of chess in South Africa but also a very prolific writer. Enjoy!

I have now been home in Cape Town for two weeks and thought it apt that I allow an opportunity for reflection after the Zone 4.3 Individual Chess Championships. The event was definitely a success for South Africa and Zambia. The Zambian organisers really went out of their way to accommodate all the requests and make the players feel comfortable. The things that were in their control they controlled and the things outside it, well it’s hard! I discovered how much we as chess players and human beings are dependent on Wi-Fi! I needed to know what South Africa did against Nigeria in the football and what the Proteas did in the cricket! So yeah I learnt a lesson about Wi-Fi. I know in Estonia the internet and access to it is a human right so perhaps for chess players it will also become a human right! Let’s jump straight in and look at the final results!

2017 Zone 4.3 Individual Chess Championships – Open Section Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	Rp	rtg+/-
1	4	GM	Solomon Kenny	RSA	2376	7.5	0	38	5	2544	18.3
2	5	IM	Mwali Chitumbo	ZAM	2312	7	0	38	4	2506	44
3	10	IM	Phiri Richmond	ZAM	2235	6	0	37	4	2366	32
4	1	IM	Cawdery Daniel	RSA	2434	6	0	36	5	2342	-7.7
5	6	IM	Aderito Pedro	ANG	2310	6	0	33	4	2161	-9.2
6	2	IM	Kayonde Andrew	ZAM	2412	5.5	0	40	5	2374	-3.7
7	3	IM	Jere Daniel	ZAM	2387	5.5	0	35	5	2318	-6.7
8	8	IM	Bwalya Gillan	ZAM	2281	5.5	0	33	5	2263	-2.8
9	23	CM	Bezuidenhout Roland	RSA	2076	5.5	0	31	4	2251	42.4
10	19	CM	Simutowe Musatwe	ZAM	2157	5	0	39	4	2244	20.4
11	13		Masango Spencer	ZIM	2187	5	0	34	4	2251	14.6

12	11	FM	Paulino Domingos	ANG	2203	5	0	32	4	2204	-0.4
13	22		Katowa Kennedy	ZAM	2092	5	0	31	5	2201	26
14	27		Zhemba Jemusse	ZIM	2020	4.5	0	37	4	2243	47.6
15	15	FM	Pon Matt	RSA	2165	4.5	0	32	4	2150	-2.4
16	21		Mulenga Prince Daniel	ZAM	2110	4.5	0	32	5	2140	9
17	17	FM	Alberto Manuel	ANG	2157	4.5	0	31	4	2122	-7.2
18	20	CM	Bouah Lyndon	RSA	2130	4.5	0	29	5	1984	-13
19	24		Mosenya Ndawana	BOT	2044	4.5	0	24	5	1961	18.2
20	12	IM	Chumfwa Kelvin	ZAM	2189	4	0	32	5	2084	-24.8
21	14	CM	Gaealafshwe Barileng	BOT	2169	4	0	31	4	2004	-8
22	16		Simulundu Judah	ZAM	2159	4	0	31	5	2130	-7.4
23	26	CM	Nyimbili Dalington	ZAM	2025	4	0	30	4	2121	14.6
24	32	CM	Dimba James	ZAM	2086	4	0	30	5	1968	-9.2
25	7	IM	Chumfwa Stanley	ZAM	2291	3.5	0	35	3	2217	-13.4
26	9		Luanja Geoffrey	ZAM	2247	3.5	0	33	4	1945	-49.6
27	28	CM	Abrantes Persson	MOZ	2010	3.5	0	26	5	1982	-6.8
28	31		Ngomi Henry Chambula	ZAM	0	3.5	0	26	4	1972
29	18	CM	Do Santos Julio Joao Manuel	ANG	2157	3	0	28	4	1876	-47.2
30	29		Keagan Lwandamina	ZAM	1986	2.5	0	25	4	1907	-39.6
31	30	FM	Beukes Dante M	NAM	1763	1.5	0.5	27	5	1686	15.2
32	25		Mabetu Puso	BOT	2029	1.5	0.5	22	4	1629	-55.6

You find all details to this tournament under http://www.chess-results.com/tnr277585.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984

The event was deservedly won by GM Kenny Solomon. GM Solomon who is as cool as they come started off at a blistering pace when he powered himself to a 5/5 start! In his first game against CM Musa Simutowe he essayed a pawn sacrifice to open up the game and caught Musa’s king in the centre. No mercy was shown thereafter.GM Kenny started off as the fourth seed but from round three he sat on top board and never looked back. He gained 18 points and is poised to cross 2400 soon if we include his Italian tournament and league wins.

I quite enjoyed Kenny’s joy when at the prize-giving he showed some chutzpah and showmanship by lifting his hands high.

It was a tough event and he deserved his moment. His speech was one for the ages. He thanked God and dedicated the event to the late president of Chess South Africa, Mr. Eldo Smart who was a personal friend of Kenny and me. Kenny brought a tear and a smile when he thanked me for also assisting him in the event! I didn’t expect this at all! All I did was share jokes and meals with Kenny. But seriously in an event of this nature, I think everyone needs some camaraderie and that’s what Kenny and I had. We co-ordinated our schedule to share meals and take walks out of the hotel as well. This allowed us to talk about matters away from the chessboard and just talk about life generally. I remember fondly reading in the old books about how Botvinnik used to walk and Kasparov used to swim and run. Kenny and I have been travelling together since 1993 so remarkably we have been playing together in events for over 24 years!

IM Chitumbo Mwali impressed me with his dedication and seriousness. A no-nonsense chap he was very determined and I genuinely thought he was lost against IM Daniel Cawdery but he fought back and secured the draw which placed GM Kenny under pressure. IM Mwali is a true warrior and I shall look forward to his games.

Daniel Cawdery and IM Andrew Kayonde are probably not quite happy with their performances as they could’ve done better but crucial half points lost and of course the fatal loss in the last round for Andrew cost him. Well done to IM Phiri. Unsung but a strong player he took the bronze medal.

IM Andrew Kayonde (aka AK47)

The players generally were competitive on the board and gentleman off it! Of course when I think about those endless blitz games in the dining hall for ten kwacha I get a wry smile! Some clocks took a beating for sure. The dining hall served as the meeting room for players at breakfast and supper.

Blitz dominated and of course in the evening the joys of Bacchus were apparent. I must say I would’ve enjoyed an analysis room although there was no other space big enough.

There were some lunches and suppers that we were challenging! I didn’t know Mopani worms were a delicacy in Zambia! Only one or two brave South Africans tested that! We were served fish on most days. Look its brain food! But of course I couldn’t suppress a laugh when we went to Ocean Basket and what does Tinus Goosen, the South African arbiter order? You guessed it the same fish served at lunch and supper!

Anyone for a serving of Mopani worms

A few interesting happenings I noticed. Two Zambian players who appeared to have some beef didn’t shake hands at the end of the game. I don’t know if they shook hands at the beginning as I

was busy with my own game but when black resigned he simply resigned and then signed the score sheet and beat a hasty retreat. I was playing next to them and before I could say ahem I saw that the resigned king was indeed even lying next to me on the floor! I have been playing for thirty years at a competitive level and had never seen this! Now most of us don’t like losing but I thought this was extreme. I chatted with the player at the end of the event who agreed that next time he will offer to shake his opponents hand because I didn’t like our noble game being disrespected!

Another matter of emphasis which happened to me was the aspect of a player who is on the move getting up after a five minute think without consulting the arbiter! And then simply making him a

coffee or going to the bathroom. I always believed that a player must complete his move and then get up. Mr. Goosen, the arbiter, showed me the rule afterwards that allows a player to get up while it is his move. I found this a bit strange because perhaps the guy goes to check something… It is a point worthy of debate so we should review this rule because I prefer a player to sit until they have made their move and then get up to get coffee etc…

In the final round another interesting happened in the women’s section. Let’s look at the final results

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	Rp	rtg+/-
1	10	WFM	De Bruyn Aleida	RSA	1702	6.5	0	34	5	1887	90
2	8	WCM	Fisher Michelle M	RSA	1724	6	0.5	34	5	1846	26
3	3	WIM	Laubscher Anzel	RSA	1802	6	0.5	33	4	1861	13.8
4	6	WIM	Mudongo Boikhutso	BOT	1774	5.5	0	36	4	1744	-5
5	5	WIM	Lopang Tshepiso	BOT	1774	5.5	0	33	4	1806	8.8
6	14	WFM	Joubert Dantelle	RSA	1517	5.5	0	28	4	1771	104
7	2	WIM	Francis Onkemetse	BOT	1837	5	0.5	35	4	1771	-15.6
8	4	WCM	Mbatha Constance	ZAM	1784	5	0.5	32	4	1703	-16.2
9	11	WIM	Domingos Maria M	ANG	1697	4.5	0	30	4	1644	-12
10	12		Ndachipiwa Kgomotso	BOT	1611	4	0.5	31	4	1629	2.4
11	9	WCM	Hamoonga Linda Banti	ZAM	1722	4	0.5	30	4	1610	-24.6
12	7		Wakuruwarewa Colletta	ZIM	1750	3.5	0	30	4	1536	-45.2
13	13	WFM	Jambo Linda	MAW	1554	2	0	29	4	1382	-29.2
14	1	WGM	Sabure Tuduetso	BOT	1855	0	0	21	0	0	0

WFM Aleida De Bruyn in the final round was paired to play black in the final round. This would’ve meant that she would be the only player in the event to play six times with the black pieces and only three whites. South Africa then protested this fact because we believe (as we still do) that this is patently unfair as most colour schemes should be 5\4 either for white or black. The players were then consulted and after consultation with the main organisers, De Bruyn was allowed to play with white and the pairings changed. So this is of course a very interesting situation. It is I believe worthy of debate. De Bruyn went on to win and secured a WIM title. Was it fair to pair her with Black six times and what if South Africa didn’t protest?

Aleida de Bruyn went on to win and secured a WIM title

So some interesting rule debates. I was a bit thrown with the score sheets as well. We were given scorebooks at the start of round one and then we had to return these as we were not allowed due to anti cheating rules to take the books out of the playing hall. Perhaps the organisers should in future consider only using paper and carbon sheets? As I am a sponsor of chess events in South Africa the loss of a recording book would of course deprive a potential sponsor such s myself of marketing material and would also not allow the book to be taken to the respective country of origin of the players. Most players ditch their recording sheets once they have downloaded the games from TWIC or www.chess-results but I can show you many players who with fondness will show you recording books of specific events fondly kept in a shoe box in the corner of their study….

In the women’s section the games were generally hard fought and of course the 30 move rule has forced players to play! There are still tactics being missed but I do feel that the standard has increased. It is reported that this zone 4.3 event in the Open section was the strongest ever because of the World Cup spot on offer. Incentives are important and I think that’s what attracted all these talented players.

Kenny told me that he is very excited to have qualified for the World Cup in Georgia. I remember with fondness when IM Watu Kobese qualified. And the joy when he beat super GM Peter Leko! Ah the good old days! And of course watching Kenny becoming an IM in 2003 when he defeated Egyptian IM Abdelnabbi in Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup in Libya. Kenny played super GM Alexander Grischuk and lost 0.5/2. IM Henry Mohammed Steel was the last South African to qualify for the World Cup in 2011 when he played super GM Vassily Ivanchuk. In the Women’s equivalent SA

Champion WIM Denise Frick played in Khanty Mansisyk in November 2012 when she competed against GM Humpy Koneru.

Besides the chess my most endearing memories will be of Dr. David Livingstone and the Victoria Falls.

I have certainly started a reappraisal of the role of Dr Livingstone and what he did to open Africa. I am re examining my own feelings about him and other explorers. We generally get caught with historical facts and some not so real facts that distort issues. I am reading up on his exploits as I have a connection with him! I was born in the David Livingstone Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The majesty of the Victoria Falls will remain with me forever. I was not prepared for its beauty and its strength. I have always heard about it and of course everyone was telling me how privileged I was to visit it. I now understand it. I went to the Victoria Falls on two different days. The first day with my fellow competitors (thank you Chanda! ) and then on a pilgrimage of my own on Friday 16 June. I decided to spend some time on my own thinking about my departed friend Eldo Smart. I dedicate this article to him and remember with fondness the belief we shared that chess brings communities together whether it is Bishop Lavis or Bishopscourt, Cape Town or Cairo, whether it is Kimberley or Kampala, whether it is Johannesburg or Lagos or whether it is Windhoek or Nairobi. To the Vic Falls it is not the last time I see you! I do believe that the chess players played moves like thunder to honour your name as the Smoke that thunders!

Thank you Lewis and Chanda for showing us what “Ubuntu” means. We can only be human through our interaction with other human beings. Your generosity of spirit and welcoming attitude has indeed fortified my belief that we must all work together to better African Chess. To Kenny and Aleida your inspiring chess was fantastic to behold. The subtle moves in the endgame which you both love were a joy to behold. In the final round I couldn’t even concentrate on my final game (which I won) because I was watching your games with interest! Gunther and Tinus your friendship with me has now spanned more than two decades! The boys from the Eastern Cape! To everyone involved in Zone 4.3 thank you. IM Aderito Pedro i enjoy your play. I have known you now since 1993 when we first played as boys and I am proud of your result! I trust and hope that you have enjoyed my reports as this is my last report on Zambia Zonals 4.3

Regards Dr Lyndon Bouah

Goodbye Vic Falls (The smoke that thunders in the view is the Victoria waterfalls)