How to beat a Titled Player (Kenyan Method)

May 6, 2023

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How to beat a Titled Player (Kenyan Method)

Article by Harry Bairu.

The 2023 Kenya Open concluded a month ago with a very high attendance of titled players from all over the world. Most notable were GM Gareyev Timur (2602) and GM Safarli Eltaj (2601) in the Open Section and WGM Heinemann Josefine (2274) {She famously defeated Hikaru Nakamura in the 2023 Pro Chess League} , WGM Wafa Shrook (2138) and WGM Wafa Shahenda (2099) in the Ladies’ Section.

In such a star-studded field the host country Kenya would find it hard to produce wins but that did not stop Timothy Mwabu (1800) his photo is up above from defeating IM Jan Karsten (2292) of South Africa. IM Jan Karsten is not a weak player and this is evidenced by him winning the 2022 African Junior Chess Championship. Hence, it makes it more impressive that Timothy Mwabu was able to do it.

Here is the game.

Timothy Mwabu v IM Jan Karsten

The golden winning method that Timothy Mwabu used above is that he narrowed the options of both players hence he himself had to calculate less and it was not a mad tactics frenzy. Usually the lower rated player blunders here but this time the titled player became overconfident and did not calculate his 26……N4c5 move and the rest is history.

Fun Fact: Timothy Mwabu has also conquered life on and off the chess board. He scored an A plain in the 2020 KCSE Examinations this is the highest grade that can be achieved by any Kenyan Student.