Goj unbeaten as Mombasa tourney concludes

For the second weekend in a row, national draughts champion Crispin 'Goj' Odhimbo was the star act as the coastal region hosted the region's best in checkers at the Mombasa Open where he went unbeaten to emerge top as the tournament concluded. 

On the first weekend, May 22 and 23, Goj garnered a 15-point win and followed it up with a seven-point win over Caleb Obed on Saturday, May 29, as he won the with 21 points out of the possible 27 against Obed's 14. He played for seven wins out of nine opponents, with the two matches not played. 

Ukunda's Bernard Odoa placed third, a point behind Obed while Steven Ngidi and Kiema Musyimi from Kitui County completed the top five finishers at 12 and 11 points respectively. 

Goj has landed two invites to the US where he is expected to feature in this year's World Qualifiers Tournament and the US Open set for October in Vidor, Texas and Tisla, Oklahoma respectively. The two events had been slated for July and August but had to be pushed forward as the organisers try and monitor the Covid-19 situation that could hinder some players from travelling. 

The painter by profession is fancying his chances in the two events having held his own against the world’s best in 2019. He played World Draughts Champion, South African Lubabalo Kondlo, in a 20-game competition in November 2019. The highly attended class act ended in a stalemate as the two grandmasters played for 18 draws and one win each.  

Kondlo, became the World Checkers and Draughts Federation (WCDF) champion in 2018. He defeated then world champion, Italian-born Michele Borghetti, in the United States. He won 25-15 (5 victories, 15 draws, 0 defeats) in the Go-As-You-Please (GAYP) variation of the game. 

“I was supposed to travel to South Africa for a rematch with the International grandmaster but financial constraints delayed my travel then shortly after Covid-19 hit. Kondlo is a top-class player at the popular 3-move version of the game. He is the first and still only draughts grandmaster in the continent and the first world champion from Africa. Playing against him helped me gauge my game and as a result, more invites are coming,” explained Goj in a previous interview with Mozzart Sport.