Home Chess News Gorilla Fart #3 – Round 3 Review

Gorilla Fart #3 – Round 3 Review

September 14, 2024

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Gorilla Fart #3 – Round 3 Review

Report by – Mehul Gohil aka ‘Gorilla’

Kenya lost 1-3 to Luxembourg. But they are yet to be walloped 0-4. Any points collected, even in a lost match are worth their weight in gold. As the finishing straight approaches next week, the difference between finishing position 90 and position 130 is small. Little points make a big difference in the end for the final table standing. Thus, Team Kenya did a decent job trying to salvage that 1 pt.

Kenya is ranked 103 after 3rds. This is not bad at all. We are currently performing above expectation. McLigeyo has a TPR of 2181 which is healthy.

Kenya faced Luxembourg, a seasoned team with vast experienced playing against 2300 plus opposition. The team sported 2 IMs.

Our clash with them had two themes:

Boards 1 & 2:

Martin and McLigeyo basically played passive, non-challenging opening lines and their IM opponents grabbed the edge and basically kept it and nursed it and grew it over the coarse of the game. Martin hardly saw ball. McLigeyo tried a dynamic fightback but the weaknesses would not go away. Martin tried an interesting Spassky-like stunt with Ne4!?!? to try and muddy the waters but his position was just technically lost anyways. Learning lessons for the two here. They were outplayed.

Boards 3 & 4:

Here too, our guys were outplayed in the opening. But their opponents thereafter played it too safe and Likoko and Mutuge are by nature aggressive players. Likoko was still technically lost all the way to the Rook endgame. And indeed this was the theme of the two games….the Luxembourg players on Boards 3 & 4 had bad endgame technique.

The Likoko game is worth studying. Try and figure out what should be the correct plan for Black. As it was, Likoko held out as his opponent move by move messed up his chances.

Mutuge’s opponent could not plan properly into the late middle-game/early endgame and think schematically to figure out how to exploit the Knight vs bad Bishop situations. He over simplified and Mutuge gingerly escaped.

That was a valuable 1pt (despite the loss) salvaged.

Overall, it looks positive to me. It helps Likoko and Mutuge that they can save bad positions. Games are not lost in the Opening. They are lost if you don;t put up a bitter fight. OK, Martin’s and McLigeyo’s IM opponent’s did not give them any chance….but McLigeyo could have slipped away had his IM opponent not been accurate. You have to force the opponent to be accurate.

Personally, I think Team Kenya can beat Trinidad & Tobago today.

About Mehul Gohil

Mehul Gohil is the a three times Kenya National Chess Champion (2014, 2019 & 2022. He has won several major events in the country including the 66th Nairobi Chess Club Championship.