Mehul Gohil Living a Chess Player’s Dream

Mehul Gohil is a two-time national chess champion. He won the championship in 2014 and repeated the feat in 2019. Nobody remembers what he won in 2014, but in December 2019 he drove off in a brand new Mazda. It’s an incredible story so here’s a picture of freshly crowned Mehul Gohil posing with the shield in front of his car.

Photo Credit: Kim Bhari

In 2019 Mehul Gohil accomplished what every chess player dreams of; winning a big prize and beating a chess grandmaster. Grandmaster is the highest rank in chess which can only be awarded when your FIDE rating has passed the 2500 mark. In comparison, Kenya only has a handful of chess players with a rating between 2000 and 2200.

The feat of beating a grandmaster was accomplished at the Zone 4.2 Individual Chess Championships at the Shaza Hotel in Mombasa. In round 5 Mehul Gohil had the white pieces against GM Essam El Gindy from Egypt. Mehul dominated the opening but a mistake turned the game into a topsy-turvy battle that neither player will forget. Let’s take a look at that riveting game.

The Benoni Defense is very popular with amateurs and occasionally played at the highest level. White has dominance over the white squares and Black typically has to sit back and wait. Ben-oni is a Hebrew term meaning “son of my sorrow”. GM Essam El Gindy should have known what he was getting himself into.

The abrupt end to the game suggests that time was a critical factor in this game. This only adds to the sorrow of GM Essam El Gindy, but Mehul Gohil will forever remember this game with a smile. He really took the battle to his opponent and deservedly came out as the ‘lucky’ winner when the GM missed his chances.

Even my time is up, so I’m signing off. Keep following the WHO Guidelines and live a chess player’s dream with combative chess like Mehul Gohil (aka ‘Gorilla’).