Chess Just Took Me: South Africa's 1st GM Kenny Solomon

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

We love these chess success stories. Here's another one straight from South Africa. Kenny Solomon - South Africa's first Grandmaster - spoke to IoL Lifestyle about his success and chess dreams. It's a must-read interview for chess lovers particularly in Africa. Kenny Solomon has made history and fulfilled his dream by becoming the first South African chess grandmaster-elect. And he dreams of opening a chess academy. Solomon became a grandmaster-elect last month at an Olympiad tournament in Istanbul, Turkey. This means he is 50 ratings points away from becoming a grandmaster.

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First Chess Grandmaster for South Africa: Kenny Solomon? (Updated)

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Cape Town's Kenny Solomon is almost South Africa's first chess Grandmaster! A nice article by Aziz Hartley states: Solomon played his first game of chess at 13. Kenny Solomon, 32 was in a team of five South Africans at the 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul for two weeks.

When results were announced at the weekend, he was one of eight international contestants "awarded" grandmaster – a title held for life. Solomon could not be reached as he was flying from Turkey to Italy, but Anant Dole, whom he taught chess for five years, said his rating performance had been around 2600 over nine rounds at the Olympiad as well as at three other previous tournaments.

Dole who lives in Constantia said Solomon moved to Italy last year to hone his skills. “Playing top-class chess in South Africa is very difficult because there are few top-class players. Kenny was number one here, but for him it was not enough,” Dole, 19 said. He said Solomon was married with a daughter.

On his blog, Solomon said he started playing in Mitchells Plain aged 13 after his older brother, Maxwell, was flown to Manila to play in an Olympiad. He began reading chess books, taught himself and in two years won the national championship. Also on the blog were messages, including one from a Sharon Snell who wrote: “South Africa’s first grandmaster. You are an inspiration to us all.”

Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Ivan Meyer said: “We await with great excitement for the confirmation of his new status ... making him only the second chess player from sub-Saharan Africa and only the eighth in Africa to ever achieve this.”

P.S. An article on Chess Drum adds: Kenny adds two norms to the one he had in Italy and gets the required three norms for the GM title. He only has to get his Elo rating to 2500 to complete the requirements. His title will officially remain “IM” until he reaches that plateau. 

Solomon's Fide rating card shows a chess rating of 2426 before the Istanbul Chess Olympiad. The 2500 shouldn't be a problem for Kenny Solomon, we suppose!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
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Using Chess to Unlock Children’s Latent Intellectual Potential in South Africa

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,

We feel absolutely delighted when chess makes it to the front page or cover story in mainstream media. Here is the latest:

Chess has made it to the cover of Engineering News in South Africa with a special article exploring chess in education.

The Moves for Life (MFL) programme aims to unlock children’s latent intellectual potential through structured exposure to the game of chess – which stimulates the same analytical cerebral functions as academic subjects such as maths and science – and ultimately improve the national performance in these areas.

“Chess essentially rewires the brain, encouraging one to think in a far more logical fashion. It is not just a game,” explains nuclear physicist and MFL cofounder Kelvin Kemm.

He points out that it provides rich, early-age ‘brain training’, and encourages an understanding of concepts such as instantaneous feedback, problem solving, planning and anticipation, and emphasises that the earlier these thinking skills are stimulated, the better.

MFL cofounder Marisa van der Merwe, a long-time chess tutor and developer of MFL’s junior programme, MiniChess, adds that it is critical to expose children at the earliest possible age.

“Many children in South Africa who come from underprivileged homes are not stimulated and, as a result, the necessary brain development does not take place. This programme will eliminate the issue of children who are not mentally prepared to deal with the start of their academic career,” she says.

The MFL programme, which has been implemented at more than 70 schools across the country since its inception in 2010, hosts over 11 000 children each week and has also produced some unexpected results.

“The most surprising upshot of this process is the degree to which the children’s self-confidence has improved, because, for some of them, this is the first time they feel capable of learning and sense that they are part of a group,” explains MFL cofounderMickey Scheepers. The legendary Garry Kasparov is a great supporter of this programme. Read the full article on chess in education in South Africa here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com