2624 wins against 2847 with the French? - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
11/27/2023 – Teimour Radjabov had a terrible tournament at the European Team Championship, and couldn't win a single game. Robert Ris steps in to the rescue. When Radjabov was just 15 years old, he faced Garry Kasparov, who had an incredible rating of 2847 at that time. In a French Defence game, we can witness several Knight sacrifices, and stunning attacks against Garry's king, by the Underdog.

Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!

The Underdog!

with IM Robert Ris

We all love stories where a vastly underrated player surprises everyone by beating a much stronger player. Fortunately, we are all human.

But how do these things happen? What are the moves that lead to success? And what can we learn from these examples for the times when we face a stronger opponent?

Dutch IM Robert Ris presents us with real-life examples of such encounters from the past month. Together with his co-host Arne Kaehler, they look at the tactics and strategies that led to the upset victory.

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 Qb6 10.Ne2 c4 11.g4 h5 11...b4 12.gxh5 12.g5 g6 12...Rxh5 13.Ng3 Rh8 14.f5!? exf5 14...b4 15.fxe6 fxe6 16.axb4 Bxb4 17.c3 15.Nxf5 Nf6 16.Ng3 16.exf6 Bxf5 16.Nxg7+ Bxg7 17.exf6 Bxf6 16...Ng4 17.Bf4 Be6 18.c3 18.Bg2 18...Be7 19.Ng5 0-0-0 19...Bxg5 20.Bxg5 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Be2 Ngxe5!? 21...Rxh2 22.Rxh2 Nxh2 23.Kf2 21...Nh6 22.0-0 21...Nxh2 22.Nh5 Na5 23.Qe3 22.Qe3 22.dxe5?! d4! 23.cxd4 23.0-0-0 g5! 24.Bxg5 dxc3 25.Qxc3 25.Qf4 Bxg5 26.Qxg5 b4 27.bxc3 bxc3 25...Bxg5+ 23...Nxd4 23...Rxd4 24.Be3 Bc5 22.Bxe5! Nxe5 23.dxe5 Bc5!? 23...d4 24.0-0-0 d3 25.Bg4 23...Qc7 24.0-0-0 24.Qe3 Bc5 25.Qg5 Be7 26.Qxg7 Rdg8 27.Qf7 Rxg3 28.Qxe6+ Kb8 29.Qxa6 Qc5 30.0-0-0± 24...Qxe5 25.Kb1± 24.Bg4 24.0-0-0?? Be3 24...Be3 25.Qg2 Kb8 25...d4 26.Qa8+? Kc7 22...Nd7 22...Bd6 23.dxe5 Bc5 24.Qf3 Rhf8 25.0-0-0 Rxf4 26.Qxf4 Be3+ 23.Qxe6 Bh4 24.Qg4 24.Qxd5! 24...g5 25.Bd2 25.Bxg5? Rdg8-+ 25...Rde8 25...Na5!? 26.0-0-0 Na5 26...Bxg3 27.hxg3 27.Rdf1?       27.Kb1 Qg6+ 28.Ka2 27...Nb3+ 28.Kd1 Bxg3! 29.Rf7 29.hxg3 Qg6! 30.Bc1 Qb1 31.Qxg5 Nxc1 32.Qxc1 Qe4-+ 29.Qxg3 Qg6 29...Rd8 29...Qe6?! 30.Qxe6 Rxe6 31.Bg4 29...Qc6! 30.Qxg3 Qg6 30.Bxg5 30.Qxg3 Qg6-+ 30...Qg6 31.Qf5 31.Rf5 Rde8-+ 31...Qxf5 32.Rxf5 Rdf8 33.Rxf8+ 33.Rxd5 Kc7 33...Nxf8 33...Rxf8? 34.hxg3 34.Bf3 34.h4 34...Bh4 35.Be3 35.Bxh4 Rxh4 36.Bxd5 Nxd4! 37.cxd4 Rxd4+ 35...Nd7 36.Bxd5 Re8 37.Bh6 37.Bf4 Rf8 37...Ndc5! 38.Bf7 38.dxc5 Rd8 38...Re7 39.Bh5 Nd3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kasparov,G2847Radjabov,T26240–12003C11Linares 20th2


Robert Ris has authored plenty of FritzTrainers for ChessBase — these are his newest, and perfect for every "Underdog"

Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!

Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!

_______________________________

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Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.

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