2010 Olympiad: Round 11, Ghana 1.5 - Guernsey 2.5

In the final round of the Olympiad Ghana lost to Guernsey 1.5-2.5. Kees did not play in this round.

Anquandah, Francis Eric - Kirby, Peter J, 0-1
In the Accelerated Dragon of the Sicilian Defense, Kirby quicky struck in the centre with 8...d5 and after exchanges in the centre had the initiative.

Cummins, John - Koney, Nii, 0.5-0.5
The game was balanced after the opening with both players manoeuvring their pieces to optimum squares. Cummins gained a slight advantage from his kingside attack and won two pawns but the game was drawn on move 46.

Thompson, Edward Nii Lamp - Brookfield, Toby, 1-0
Brookfield´s bishop pseudo sacrifice for a kingside attack met with good defending from Thompson who won two pawns in the process. Thompson later sacrificed a pawn for a winning attack that ended in mate on move 44.

Rowe, Peter - Bempa Bonsu, Kwandwo Ovus, 1-0
Kojo Bonsu was down a pawn after a slight error in calculation but after winning back the pawn, he held a slight advantage. However after moving his knight to the edge of the board, it had no way back into the game.

2010 Olympiad: Round 10, Ghana and Haiti share points

Ghana and Haiti both won two games each to tie at 2-2. Nii Koney and Anquandah won their games.

Sanon, Mondoly - Anquandah, Francis Eric, 0-1
After opposite side castling, both places set their pawns rolling towards the opposite king. But it was Anquandah´s attack that looked more threatening. After a lot of manoeuvring by both players, Anquandah won a knight by taking advantage of Sanon´s weakened back rank.

Koney, Nii - Luxama, Jacques, 1-0
After the opening, Nii had good control of the centre and had a kingside attack going. Luxama couldn´t stop the attack as Nii brought all his pieces to join the attack.

Lebrun, Piersont - Thompson, Edward Nii Lamp, 1-0
Thompson had a bad position after his fianchettoed bishop was exchanged off. Lebrun took advantage of the weakness around Thompson´s king.

Bempa Bonsu, Kwandwo Ovus - Bazil, Joslin , 0-1
With a closed centre, Kojo attacked on the kingside but his attack was halted. Basil had the better placed pieces and a well advanced pawn chain. Kojo blundered on move 40, losing his queen.

In the last round, Ghana will play Guernsey.

2010 Olympiad: Round 9, Ghana lose to Trinidad & Tobago 0-4

Round 9 wasn´t good for the Ghana team as they lost 0-4 to Trinidad & Tobago.

Harper, Ryan - Anquandah, Francis Eric, 1-0
It was a Scandinavian with queenside castling by both players. White possessed a small spatial advantage and better placed pieces. Harper continued to improve his position and won two pawns later.

Koney, Nii - Cabralis, Keron, 0-1
After the opening, Cabralis had firm control of the centre and a lead in development. But it was Nii who struck first with a bishop sacrifice on h6. Although Cabralis defended well to prevent checkmate, Nii recovered the piece and was two pawns up. He lost control of the game in the endgame after a few errors that allowed Cabralis to obtain a passed pawn.

Yee, Frank - Bempa Bonsu, Kwandwo Ovu, 1-0
In the Caro Kann with 3. Nc3, the game followed theory until move 5 when Kojo Bonsu deviated with e6. Yee had the more active pieces and initiated a kingside attack that won a piece.

Hoogendijk, Cornelis Will - Singh, Ravishen, 0-1
Both players developed smoothly. On move 13 Singh sacrificed a pawn for the initiative. This paid off when this initiative, combined with the greater piece activity, led to the win of a piece. In the endgame it was Kees´ rook versus Singh´s queen.

In round 10 Ghana will play Haiti.

2010 Olympiad: Round 8, Ghana lose to Ethiopia 0.5-3.5

After two consecutive wins in the previous two rounds Ghana succumbed to Ethiopia, losing 0.5 – 3.5.

Anquandah, Francis Eric - Mesfin, Leykun, 0.5-0.5
Anquandah obtained a small advantage out of the opening but it wasn´t enough to convert to a win. The queens came off in the middlegame and Mesfin sacrificed the exchange to stop the progress of Anquandah´s two connected passed pawns on the queenside.

Mulugeta, Ashenafi - Koney, Nii, 1-0
This round saw the return of Nii Koney, playing his favourite opening, the Sicilian Dragon. After castling on opposite sides, Mulugeta´s initiative resulted in a strong kingside attack.

Bempa Bonsu, Kwandwo Ovus - Fekadu, Desalegn Jimma, 0-1
Fedaku easily equalized and after queen exchanges had more active pieces. Kojo was down a pawn and his blunder on move 32 resulted in the loss of a rook.

Temesgen, Addisalem - Hoogendijk, Cornelis Will, 1-0
Kees experience his first defeat of the tournament losing to Temesgen, who held a slight advantage after the opening phase due to his space advantage on the queenside and better positioned pieces. Kees tried to generate counterplay but he overlooked a tactic on move 20 and had a bad position thereafter.

Hopefully the Ghana team can get back to winning ways when they play Trinidad and Tobago in round 9.

2010 Olympiad: Round 7, Ghana wins again, 3-1

Team Ghana continued their winning ways with a second straight victory over Bermuda. Nii Koney was rested for the round 8.

Anquandah, Francis Eric - Faulks, Nick, 0-1
In the Sicilian Kan variation, Anquandah dropped a pawn early in the middle game. Although he did manage to win the pawn back Faulks´ bishop and rook combined very well in the endgame.

Radford, Michael - Thompson, Edward Nii Lamp, 0-1
A very impressive game played by Thompson in this round. Playing on the black side of the Queen´s Gambit Declined, Thompson developed smoothly with very active knights. After a dubious pseudo-sacrifice, Radford’s king was quite exposed. Thompson exploited the weaknesses in Radford´s king´s position with a crushing bishop and queen battery.

Bempa Bonsu, Kwandwo - Bacchas, Clevert, 1-0
The second Queen´s Gambit Declined game between the two countries in this round. Bacchas started an early kingside attack but after it fizzled out due to Kojo´s solid, creative defense, he was down two pawns. Kojo brilliantly outplayed Bacchas with neat tactical shots in the endgame.

Cooper, Gary – Kees, 0-1
Playing the Scandinavian Defense for the second time in the tournament, Kees defended well against Cooper´s kingside attack after the latter´s exchange sacrifice. After neutralizing all threats Kees was up three pawns.

2010 Chess Olympiad: Round 6, Ghana wins

Team Ghana posted their first win in the Olympiad with a clear win over U.S Virgin Islands. All four boards recorded wins for the team. Final result: U.S. Virgin Islands 0 – 4 Ghana.

Creswell, Reece - Anquandah, Francis Eric, 0-1
Creswell didn´t trouble Anquandah much in the opening phase. Anquandah had smooth development of his pieces and easily equalized. After a series of exchanges with the queens coming off, Anquandah won a pawn and in the ensuing endgame outplayed his opponent.

Koney, Nii - Mongiello, Anthony, 1-0
Playing against Mongiello´s French Defense, Nii had a spatial advantage on the queenside and better harmony between his pieces. There is quite a bit to be said about Mogiello´s suspicious third move, 3... Nc6. This move blocks the c7 pawn that is used for the typical pawn break in the French Defense. With lots of weakened squares around his opponents king, Nii launched a kingside attack and won a queen for a rook.

Smith, Michael - Thompson, Edward Nii Lamp, 0-1
In this tournament, Thompson has shown his versatility with various openings. He has played the Steinitz variation of the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense, Pirc , Two Knights Defense and in this game the Colle System. Smith sacrificed a bishop on g6 and had an attack going on the kingside. Thompson stopped it with nice tactics to win a queen for a rook and bishop.

Hoogendijk, Cornelis Will - Hensley, Alexander Charles, 1-0
Kees sacrificed two pawns for the initiative in the opening. The better piece activity resulted in Kees doubling rooks on his opponent´s seventh rank. Hensley blundered and was mated on move 29.

Ghana plays Bermuda in round 7.

2010 Chess Olympiad: Round 5, San Marino 2.5 – 1.5 Ghana

In the fifth round Kees was rested and Kojo Bonsu played instead. This round saw Nii Koney post his first win at the Olympiad.

Grassi, Enrico - Anquandah, Francis Eric, 1-0
Anquandah employed the Scandinavian Defense for the second time in the tournament. Both players castled long and the game was balanced until Grassi won a pawn in the middle game. He created a passed pawn later in the endgame and went on to win.

Nii Koney - Cecchetti, Roberto , 1-0
It was all Nii Koney in this encounter, putting a lot of pressure on his opponent with an early attack on his opponent´s King. The attack was rewarded with the win of a piece and Black never stood a chance after that. Congrats Nii!

Righi, Ezio - Thompson, Edward Nii Lamptey, 0.5-0.5
This was an interesting game where Thompson employed the Berlin Defense and had some counterplay on the Kingside. After piece exchanges the game went into the endgame where it was Thompson´s Knight versus Righi´s Bishop. Eventually, the game was drawn in 68 moves with Thompson having two connected passed pawns on his opponent´s third rank.

Kojo Bonsu - Volpinari, Danilo, 0-1
Kojo Bonsu enjoyed a good spacial advantage for most part of this game. Volpinari played the Benko Gambit but Kojo neutralized the pressure on the queenside and obtained a good position. However his position slipped after a blunder on move 46.

Ghana plays the U.S Virgin Islands in round 6.