A count down to the Banjul African draught championship

By Lamin Cham

Banjul hosts a major African indoor game championship this month as the continent's brightest draught players arrive for the continental title. Having reported very little about the game and driven either by nostalgia or want of a better story line, Gamsports’ Lamin Cham wandered into his own early memories of the game and hopes it would inspire Gambian competitors. Read On.... So African draught players would soon be arriving in Banjul for an African championship  This may not be having much attention in the Gambian press compared to say, the Under 17 football tourney of 2005  but believe it the event is hitting headlines elsewhere on the continent. As reported first in this site, (wherelse?) Uganda alone is sending a big team of 20 draught players and the event is widely reported in their most popular daily, the Kampala Monitor.
Well typical of the Gambian, I myself have never given much respect to indoor games both at school and in my career. However, the little fantasy I have for it is found in Scrabble and Draught.
Draught was a favourite pass time among my elderly companions during my school days at Latri Kunda German, when we are not playing nawettan in Bakau as Uniclam FC. There was my Reggae lover friend who called himself Ijahman for example who played Draught only when Attaya was being brewed alongside. He spent awful lots of time studying the game than pushing the Tiles (lets use the French term, Pions).  So naturally he bored his faster and often better opponents. He never believed in draw matches even if each player was left with only one Pion, preferring instead to keep pushing the Pions across the board until someone made a mistake. He seldom won any match but never decline an invitation to play.
Another of my mentors was Lang Njango. He was a master in the game and had a sharp eye to open up spaces in the opponent's area by offering his own Pions in a well calculated laid out trap before going on a killing spree that often took a huge part of the opponent's Pions. His target was always to reach the crown (Dam) first which enabled him to condemn a whole segment of the opponent's Pions from crossing a certain line. He was star to watch but very annoying to listen to, in his self praising and singing of draught songs.  He would often tap a Pion on the board with a loud thud screaming "Enter the man like a Jigger."
But if I had no patience with both the above mentioned players, I turned to Lie. He was never a good player but his sideline commentaries on matches (which are often live) and therefore unfairly guided the player whose turn was on, often led to disputes. Lie knew where and when to push the Pions to create a route to Dam on the sidelines but hardly showed it in his performance on the board.
When I get  bored with all of them though I go to Brufut on holiday where my Primary Six teacher Sheriff Boye, a very good  draught player, would tell me  and I quote;" Lamin,  Draught is certain  sum of mathematics with different methods aimed at one objective: kill the opponent out of Pions or corner him to the slaughter''.
So fellow country men representing Gambia, this month, I think I have given you enough '"Suhlu'" now. I shall now wait and see how you fair.

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