Day 2 at the 2024 Team Qualifiers Final Phase – The Gorilla Odyssey
A frontline report by Mehul Gohil
My play over the first weekend of the 2024 Team Qualifiers Final Phase can be summed up as follows: Playing well but lacking stamina and precision at the ‘4th hour’ and lacking objectivity by taking unnecessary risks.
My 3rd game vs Demio owner and fellow National Champ Martin Njoroge: Out prepared him in the opening. Got a small but nagging positional bind that lasted into the endgame. Then I got caught up in my own fantasies of the position and complicated things.
At the last critical moment I lost objectivity, disdained the draw, went in for a K+P endgame, completely miscalculated it, and went down in flames. I will have to do some work on the K+P endgames as my judgement has been off. I probably botched a 4th national title by going into such an endgame vs Andiwoh (draw).
After that loss, my situation in the points standing was dire. I was in a must win against former two time Kenya National Champion Ken Omollo.
I finally managed to compose my nerves and played a good game and maintained good self control in the complications (Ken, desperate for his first win threw the kitchen sink at me). Basically, I destroyed Omolo.
So, at least I remain in contention for a slot going into the second weekend.
Glad to have some days to repair some psychological and chess problems.
Link
2024 Final Phase Olympiad Selection Tournament on chess-results.com.
Joseph Methu & WFM Sasha Mongeli crowned 2023 Kenya Champions.
2023 Kenya National Chess Championship – A sneak preview.
Final day report on the 2021 Kenya National Chess Championship by Mehul Gohil.
Day 4 report on the 2021 Kenya National Chess Championship by Mehul Gohil.
Report on Day 3 of the 2021 Kenya National Chess Championship by Mehul Gohil.
Day 2 Report on the 2021 Kenya National Chess Championship by Mehul Gohil.
Interview with Mehul Gohil aka ‘Gorilla’ in September 2020.
Article by Kenya Chess Masala.
