Chess: Champ targets International Master Title at World Chess Olympiad

KCB Banks's Joseph Methu in action during a past Kenya Chess Premier League match. [Washington Onyango,Standard]

For Methu, it’s not what you know, but how you think

Getting ready for his 3rd Olympiad, the Kenya Premier Chess League champion turns to online tourneys for training.

Joseph Methu can’t get enough of chess.

Be it local or international championships, Methu always strives to be the unkind one on the board as he strives to achieve excellence

A French proverb offers these words for the kindhearted: “You cannot play chess if you are kindhearted.”

Last year, he helped his club KCB reclaim the Kenya Premier Chess League (KPCL) after finishing the season unbeaten.

He also completed a treble after winning the Kenya Open, Nairobi Open and Tanzania Open in the same year.

Had the coronavirus pandemic not scuttled sports activities across the globe, Methu would have this month attained another feat in his chess career at the Zonal Championships in Sudan.

Consequently, his dreams of gracing his third consecutive appearance at the 44th edition of the World Chess Olympiad scheduled for Moscow from August 5 to 18 were shattered after the tournament was postponed to next year.

As a result, Chess Kenya will in the coming days make a decision on whether or not to hold a new team selection. In March, some 10 players were selected for the competition.

However, the two-time Olympiad is not giving up on his dream after setting a target of attain the International Master (IM) title.

Methu is currently Kenya’s seed two with 2,125 points despite being without a title after previously under-performing in the past international championships, a result he wants to correct.

“Getting the opportunity to represent my country at the highest level of chess in the World is a privilege to me. Nothing makes me more proud than flying Kenya’s flag high at global games,” he said.

“I am training through numerous online games against masters across the globe and I am confident of doing better at the Olympiad games next year,” he said.

Furthermore, Methu said postponement of the games gives him enough time to prepare for the rescheduled championships.

“By next year, I believe I would be in a better position to challenge and fight for a podium finish because I have enough time to train and gauge my strengths whilst rectifying my mistakes,” he added.

Methu qualified for the 44th Olympiad after finishing second during the final round of the Kenyan qualifiers in March, in Nairobi. 

Other players in men’s category who qualified for the competition are KCB Chess Club’s Ben Nguku, Ben Magana, Jackson Kamau and Ricky Sang.

Woman Fide Master Sasha Mongeli, Woman Candidate Masters (CM) Joyce Nyaruai and Lucy Wanjiru, Nakuru Chess Club’s Julie Mutisya and Glenda Matelda of Equity Chess Club will parade their best form in the women’s category.

Methu began playing chess in 2012 during his final year as an Actuarial Science student at JKUAT after bumping into a Kasparov Chess App in one of his friend’s flash disk.

He took interest in the sport and began playing on his own before gradually upgrading to take part in Nairobi regional events.