FIDE Online Olympiad on Chess.com
Kenya took part in the FIDE Online Olympiad, an online chess event for national teams, that will run until the end of August. The team played in Pool A of Division 4 in a round-robin of 9 rounds. Kenya won 4 of its matches to end in 6th place overall. Not enough to make it to the next round as one of the top 3 finishers.
The Kenyan team had 6 players with 6 reserves and a team captain. For each match, the team would field 2 male players, 2 female players, and 2 U-20 players (male and female). Time control for the event was 15 minutes with a 5-second increment per move. Rapid chess might not be the best for developing players, but online chess has become a spectator sport!
Robert Mcligeyo was one of the youngsters playing for the Kenyan team. Kenya’s rising star had mixed fortunes in the online event with 2 wins and 3 losses but must have enjoyed the exposure. In round 3 he was up against Hamad Mosa playing for Bahrain. Let us find out what happened.
Black didn’t find counterplay against the King’s Indian Attack, a system that can arise from many different openings. White made good use of his space advantage and active pieces and won the game convincingly. The main lesson here is that every chess player must know how to play the King’s Indian Attack/Defense.
15-year old Robert Mcligeyo showed good positional awareness and tactical skills and kept his calm until the end of the game. He might have missed a few better moves, but this was a rapid online game. These games help to sharpen one’s skills, but they are not a match for the longer games.
Male, female, and U-20 chess players, that’s all for today. Stay on top of COVID-19 by following the WHO Guidelines and keep sharpening your chess skills with rapid chess on Chess.com like Robert Mcligeyo.
