One opponent after another the young Zimbabwean was able to continue his march toward Olympiad history…. read on.
The Talking Drum Featuring IM Robert Gwaze.. ( *January 2003*)
By Dr Daaim Shabazz, USA (The Chess Drum Online Magazine) *January 2003*
Introduction
Having recently celebrated his 21st birthday, IM Robert Gwaze is seeking higher heights in the new year. What many did not realize, is that IM Gwaze had been there all along charting a course for his destined success.
He has represented his country on board #1 in both the 2000 and 2002 Olympiad tournaments. In 2002, the former African Junior champion scored a perfect 9-0 in the Olympiad and as he won the gold medal for 1st board competitors.
A very well-spoken individual, the young IM is seeking to enter invitational tournament to gain an honest shot at earning the GM title. He is yet another example of African talent produced with a minimum of resources.
IM Robert Gwaze
The Great Zimbabwe!
Zimbabwe has been one of the most active chess nations on the continent having participated in several Olympiad tournaments and southern regional competitions. Gwaze picked up the game at age nine from a close friend and began to make his mark in scholastic tournaments. The young lad from Harare took the chess establishment by storm winning the under-12 championship in 1993! This would be the beginning of his longest streak of success in the shadows of players such as Arnold Kanengoni and Kudzanai Mamombe.
He continued his march to the top by winning the Zimbabwe Junior Championship which qualified him for the prestigious National Championship. Then at age 15, Gwaze became the youngest player to win the National Championship and has held the title since then. To add to his impressive feats, he won the African Junior Championship and won the IM title as a result. He has represented the Zimbabwean National Team in three consecutive Olympiad tournaments earning a 2205 FIDE rating in the 1998 Elista tournament. There was more to come.
“I spend 6 hours on chess everyday doing as many tactical problems as I can handle and analyse one game thoroughly.”
A Golden Performance!
Gwaze led Zimbabwe in the 2000 Olympiad in Istanbul with 6½-2½ score, holding Romanian GM Mahail Marin to a draw and defeating IM Johny Ceuto of Bolivia. He also defeated Ethiopia’s Mekitew Molla in a display of tactical brilliance. His performance was good enough for 7th place for board 1 players.
The 2002 Olympiad would be held in the historic chess town of Bled, Slovenia. This city was known for its famous 1959 Candidate’s tournament as well as the 1961 tournament featuring the likes of GMs Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres and many other chess luminaries. It was at the scenic setting that Gwaze would make his mark by scoring an amazing 9-0 score for the gold medal. As the tournament wore on, the world’s popular chess media paid little attention to what was brewing.
One opponent after another the young Zimbabwean was able to continue his march toward Olympiad history. His games against FM Abdul Hassan (UAE), FM Wong Zi Jing (Malaysia), Dewperkash Gajadin (Suriname), Dafi Almannai (Brunei) made lasting impressions. After the final tally was made, IM Robert Gwaze would record a 2690 performance and overcome the brilliant performance of GM Alberto David who scored 11-2 but had to settle for the silver medal for board 1 players.
Rules of Success
When asked of his study regiment, Gwaze remarked, “I spend six hours everyday doing as many tactical problems as I can handle and analyze one game thoroughly.” He also likes to get a healthy diet of lightening games with friends. En route to the 2002 Olympiad he even found himself in battle with members of the Jamaica national team in Gatwick airport. In terms of the materials, he finds inspiration in the games of Bobby Fischer. “My favourite books include My System by Aaron Nimzowitch, Think like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov and My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer.” His rule for success is to go over one’s games, especially the losses, and try to root out the inaccuracies.
Interview composed from e-mail exchanges: January 2003
Earlier post November 2002 (The Chess Drum)….
IM Robert Gwaze creates buzz with Golden Performance!
IM Robert Gwaze of Zimbabwe won the gold medal for his board one performance at the 2002 Chess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia. The medal winners at board one were of distinguished company:
Gold: IM Robert Gwaze, Zimbabwe 100% Silver: GM Alberto David, Luxembourg 84.6 % Bronze: GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki, Qatar 83.3%
In addition, to the praise for the games he played in the Olympiad, he has also brought a sense of intrigue of those wanting to know more about African chess. At france-echecs.com, there was a discussion about whether he made a GM performance. One person posted saying he had to have played three GMs… and of course there are ELO rating requirements. While Gwaze did not earn a GM norm, his 9-0 score yielded a meteoric 2690 performance rating!
IM Kudzanai Mamombe of Zimbabwe was unable to make the trip to Bled due to other obligations, but simply said, “IM Gwaze did well. It’s good for us!” Well said. It is also good for the whole of Africa and those from developing nations. Let’s hope to hear more from this talented young man in the near future!
IM Robert Gwaze is on a mission. A remarkable young talent from Zimbabwe, he has taken the Bled Olympiad by storm. Those opponents unaware of his very raw attacking style and gift for tactics soon learned as they faced resignation. One-by-one these opponents have fallen… nine in a row!
Here are some of Gwaze’s 2002 Olympiad Games….
Queen’s Indian E14 FM Abdul Hassan (2280) IM Robert Gwaze (2296) Chess Olympiad (4) Bled, Slovenia, 2002 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4 a6 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. b3 Be7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Rfd1 Bd6 13. Rac1 Nbd7 14. Bb1 Rc8 15. h3 c4 16. bxc4 dxc4 17. e4 Bf4 18. Nd2 b5 19. a3 Qb6 20. Qf3 Bh6 21. d5 Ne5 22. Qe2 a5 23. Na2 Ba6 24. Bc3 Bf4 25. Re1 Ned7 26. Qf3 Bd6 27. Nf1 b4 28. axb4 axb4 29. Bd2 Ne5 30. Qf5 Rcd8 31. Be3 Qa5 32. f4 Bc8 33. Qg5 b3 34. fxe5 Rxe5 35. Qh4 bxa2 36. Bc2 Bb4 37. Red1 Bc3 38. Bd2 Qb6+ 39. Kh1 a1=Q 40. Rxa1 Bxa1 41. Rxa1 Qb2 42. Rc1 c3 43. Bf4 Rde8 44. Qe1 Rh5 45. Qd1 Bg4 46. Qd4 Bd7 47. Qd1 Ng4 48. Qe1 Qb6 49. Bg3 Rh6 50. Qxc3 Nf2+ 51. Kh2 Nxh3! 52. gxh3 Bxh3 53. Ne3 Bd7+ 54. Kg2 Qg6 55. e5 Qh5 56. Re1 Rc8 57. Qd3 Rg6 58. Bb1 Qh3+ 59. Kf2 Qxg3+ 60. Ke2 Qh2+ 61. Kd1 Ba4+ 62. Bc2 Rxc2 63. Nxc2 Rg2 64. Qa6 Rd2+ 0-1
French C02 IM Robert Gwaze (2280) IM David Gluckman (2384) Bled 2002 (5) Bled, 2002 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Bd7 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Be2 Bb5 7. O-O Bxe2 8. Qxe2 Nc6 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. b4 Be7 11. a4 a5 12. b5 Nb8 13. c4 Bb4 14. Be3 Qd8 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Na3 Nd7 17. Bg5 Ne7 18. Nc2 Nc5 19. Nfd4 Ne4 20. Bh4 Qb6 21. Bxe7 Bxe7 22. Nf5 Bc5 23. Nxg7+ Kf8 24. Nh5 Re8 25. Nf4 Rxe5 26. Qf3 Qf6 27. Rad1 Rf5 28. g3 Rg8 29. Kh1 Nc3 30. Rd3 Nxa4 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Qxd5 Rg5 33. Qxb7 Qb6 34. Qd7 Re5 35. Ne3 Re7 36. Qc8+ Re8 37. Qf5 Qxb5 38. Nfd5 Nb6 39. Nf6 Qc6+ 40. Kg1 Rxe3 41. Nxh7+ Kg7 42. Ng5 Re7 43. Qh7+ Kf6 44. Qh6+ 1-0
Sicilian B42 FM Wong Zi Jing (2297) IM Robert Gwaze (2280) Olympiad 2002 (6) Bled, Slovenia 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Qc7 6. O-O Nf6 7. c4 d6 8. b3 g6 9. Bb2 Bg7 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Kh1 Nc6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. f4 Nd7 14. Rb1 Bb7 15. f5 e5 16. Bc1 a5 17. Qe1 Rfe8 18. Ba3 Nc5 19. Bc2 Na6 20. f6 Bf8 21. Rd1 Nc5 22. Qh4 Ne6 23. Nf3 a4 24. Bc1 Nf4 25. Ng5 h6 26. Nh3 axb3 27. axb3 Ra2 28. Bb1 Nxg2 29. Qg3 Ra1 30. Bb2 Rxb1 31. Rxb1 Nf4 32. Rbe1 Nxh3 33. Qxh3 d5 34. Bc1 Kh7 35. Rd1 d4 36. Rd3 c5 37. Qg2 Qc6 38. Re1 Qxf6 39. Rf3 Qe6 40. Ref1 f5 41. exf5 gxf5 42. Qh3 f4 0-1
Sicilian B42 FM Wong Zi Jing (2297) IM Robert Gwaze (2280) Olympiad 2002 (6) Bled, Slovenia 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Qc7 6. O-O Nf6 7. c4 d6 8. b3 g6 9. Bb2 Bg7 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Kh1 Nc6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. f4 Nd7 14. Rb1 Bb7 15. f5 e5 16. Bc1 a5 17. Qe1 Rfe8 18. Ba3 Nc5 19. Bc2 Na6 20. f6 Bf8 21. Rd1 Nc5 22. Qh4 Ne6 23. Nf3 a4 24. Bc1 Nf4 25. Ng5 h6 26. Nh3 axb3 27. axb3 Ra2 28. Bb1 Nxg2 29. Qg3 Ra1 30. Bb2 Rxb1 31. Rxb1 Nf4 32. Rbe1 Nxh3 33. Qxh3 d5 34. Bc1 Kh7 35. Rd1 d4 36. Rd3 c5 37. Qg2 Qc6 38. Re1 Qxf6 39. Rf3 Qe6 40. Ref1 f5 41. exf5 gxf5 42. Qh3 f4 0-1
Sicilian B57 IM Robert Gwaze (2280) Edwin Borigas Olympiad (11) Bled SLO, 2002 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 g6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Ng4 9. Bf4 d5 10. Be2 Nh6 11. O-O Bg7 12. h3 Qb6 13. Qd2 Nf5 14. Rad1 h5 15. Na4 Qd8 16. c4 e6 17. Nc3 Rb8 18. Ne4 Qc7 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Rc1 Qb6 21. Nf6+ Bxf6 22. exf6 Nd6 23. Qc3 Kd7 24. Qa3 a6 25. Qa4+ Nb5 26. Rc7+ Qxc7 27. Bxc7 Kxc7 28. Rc1+ Kd6 29. Qb4+ Ke5 30. Bxb5 Rxb5 31. f4+ Kf5 32. Qd4 g5 33. Qe5+ 1-0
Sicilian B21 Dafi Ibrahim Almannai IM Robert Gwaze (2280) Olympiad (12) Bled SLO, 2002 1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. c3 d5 5. e5 Bg7 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nh6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. e6 fxe6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qe2 Qc8 12. Nd2 O-O 13. N2f3 Nf5 14. Nb3 c5 15. g4 Nd6 16. Be3 Bb5 17. Qg2 Ne4 18. Nfd2 Bd3 19. h4 Rb8 20. h5 c4 21. hxg6 hxg6 22. Bd4 e5 23. fxe5 Rf4 24. Qh2 Qxg4 25. e6 Bh6 26. Nc1 Nxd2 27. Qxh6 Nf3+ 0-1
