My_Crush wins Grandprix Edition 2
My_crush shocked Ugandans when he went on to win the second edition of the UG grandprix events for the first time.
The Bushenyi-based flag master snatched the top spot from Pmad1995, who had led the event for over 30 minutes.
My_crush, also known as Mugoda Solomon, is a well-known lichess ultra bullet expert and a semi-retired over the board (OTB) player. The second edition of the event was played on the 9th of July, 2021 at 8:30pm EAT.
My_crush took the top spot with 55 points, Pmad1995 was pushed to second place by a point and ended with 54 points, while IwantanIphone secured third place with 46 points. The UG grand prix continues with 3 more tournaments remaining to be played in July.
In the ladies category, WFM Namaganda Christine finished as the top lady with 20 points, and with a performance rating of 2155.
Tournament link
https://lichess.org/tournament/C7ygA7fR
In the Kiddies section, King_of_vica lifted the trophy (with 64 points) ahead of his brother Nyghtguard who finished in second place (with 54 points). Jol-Deng2005 scooped the third spot (with 40 points), making his first podium appearance of the month.
Tournament link
https://lichess.org/tournament/gpZbEDl2
IM Arthur Ssegwanyi represents Uganda at the FIDE 2021 Chess World Cup
In other news, International Master Arthur Ssegwanyi continued to prove that the number 1 spot in East Africa belongs to him and no one else. The 2409 rated player left Uganda on the 10th of July, 2021, to participate at the Chess World Cup, which is being played in Sochi, Russia. He was accompanied by his mother and the National coach, FM Wanyama Harold.
The event that is scheduled to run from the 12th of July to the 6th of August, 2021 attracted about 206 strong chess players from all over the world. The Chess world cup uses the knockout format. This implies that whoever loses after each round, jumps onto the nearest plane back home.
Arthur faced India’s number 5, GM Nihal Sarin, who is rated 2655 (as of July 1st, 2021) in round 1. In his first game, Arthur played 1. e4 and GM Nihal replied with 1….e6
A certain individual, who calls himself tournament_line, claims that whenever he sees the French, it is 1-0 in his favor, and on seeing GM Nihal’s response, he immediately declared the game lost. He added that the best the GM could get was a draw.
According to results from personal research, very few players considered the French defense a good opening. As a matter of fact, some have gone to the extent to naming themselves “The French defense punishers!”.
Well, anyone is free to say whatever they feel like, thanks to freedom of speech! In one country, someone says he is the national champion, while another one claims he’s the third best! You can’t blame them, it’s a free world and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Arthur played well, gaining a slight advantage out of the opening which he carefully and slowly built on to a point where the chances of him losing the game where thrown out the window.
However, an advantage wasn’t enough to win and Arthur still had a lot to prove to the young GM. All hell broke lose after he played a passive 40. Qd2, an inaccuracy where the best option was Qh1 preparing Qh4. Who knew things could get ugly pretty fast even for a player as strong and as experienced as Arthur. After this move, sadness was painted all over the faces of the fans as they knew exactly what was going to happen next (thanks to the engines, which has made it easier to follow games).
This was the moment Nihal had been waiting for. A chance to get into Arthur’s territory and cause commotion. He used this chance to quickly realign his forces and attack Arthur’s not-so-good looking king. He played Nf7 preparing to anchor his knight at g5 exploiting the fact that Bxg5 would end the game shortly for white, as he would have to deal with the fierce-looking f5 and g5 pawns.
There was no better way to hold the game after Nihal’s 49. …Qh4 and the killer 50. ….Rg4, putting white’s king in a defenseless and hopeless situation. Arthur resigned after failing to find a solution to Nihal’s multiple threats.
Game 2 of round 1 was played the following day and it ended in a draw with Nihal Sarin advancing to round 2 of the event and knocking Arthur out.
It should be noted that this was the second time Arthur would feature at the chess world cup. His first was during the 2015 edition.
Most people are happy with his performance and would like to appreciate his efforts for lifting the Ugandan flag high.
Stay tuned for more updates
