Alexandra Botez spectacular in Reykjavík - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
3/19/2024 – The famous Reykjavík Open is up and running, and ready for some surprises. Popular streamer Alexandra Botez managed to win against a South African opponent rated almost 400 Elo points higher than her! In the French Defence, her opponent played the MacCutcheon, which was covered by Robert Ris in ChessBase Magazine 198, and his Fast and Furious show (Links below). In the wild game, with several sacrifices, Alexandra converted the endgame in her favour.
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.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 8.Bc1 I wrote an opening article in CBM 198 about this popular move 8.Qg4 8...c5 8...Nxc3 9.Qg4 g6 9...Kf8 9.Ne2! Nc6 9...Qa5 10.f3 Nxc3 11.Qd2 cxd4 12.Nxd4+- 10.f3 10.h4 cxd4 10...Ng5 11.h4 Nh7 12.Ba3 12.f4 12...Qc7 12...cxd4 13.cxd4?? 13.Nxd4 Nxe5? 14.Nb5+- 13...Qa5+ 13.f4 13.Bxc5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Qxc5 13...b6 14.Qd3 Na5 15.Qg3 15.dxc5 Nc4 15...bxc5 16.Qb5+ 16.cxb6 Qxb6 17.Bc1 15...g6 15...0-0 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.Qe3 Nb7 18.c4 d4 19.Qf3?! 19.Qd3 Bd7 20.c3 dxc3 21.Nxc3 19...Bd7 20.Ng3?! 20.c3 20...Bc6 21.Qd3 0-0-0! 21...0-0?! 22.Be2 22.Kf2 g5 22.0-0-0 22...Bxg2 23.Kf2 Bc6 23...Bxh1 24.Rxh1 Qb6! 24.Bf3 f5 25.Rab1 25.exf6? Qxf4 25...g5 25...Nf8!? 26.hxg5 Bxf3 26...hxg5 27.Qxf3 hxg5 28.Rh6! 28.fxg5? Nxg5 29.Qf4 29.Qg2 Rhg8-+ 29...Nh3+ 28...gxf4 28...g4 29.Qb3 29.Nxf5 29.Qxf4 Rhg8 29...Ng5 29...exf5? 30.Rc6 30.Qxb7+ Qxb7 31.Nd6+ 31.Rxb7 Kxb7 31...Kc7 31...Rxd6 32.Rxh8+ 32.Rxb7+ Kc6 33.Rxh8 Rxh8 34.Rxa7 Rh2+ 35.Kf1 f3!? 35...Rxc2 36.Ra6+ Kd7 37.Ra7+ 37.Nb7 Nh3∞ 37...Kc6 37...Kd8 38.Bxc5+- 38.Nb5? 38.Ra6+ 38...Ne4? 38...Kb6! 39.Ra8 Ne4-+ 39.Rc7+? 39.Ra6+ Kb7 39...Kd7 40.Ra7+ Kc6 40...Ke8?? 41.Nd6+ 41.Ra6+= 40.Nd6+ Kxa6 41.Nxe4 39...Kb6 40.Bxc5+ 40.Kg1 Rg2+ 40...Nxc5 41.Rf7 Ne4 42.Kg1 42.Rxf3 Nd2+ 43.Kg1 Nxf3+ 42...Rg2+ 43.Kf1 43.Kh1 Nf2# 43...Rxc2 44.Rxf3 Nd2+ 45.Ke2 Nxf3+ 46.Kxf3 Rxc4 47.Nd6 Ra4 48.Ke4 Kc5 49.a3 d3+ 50.Kxd3 Rxa3+ 51.Ke4 Ra4+ 51...Ra4+ 52.Ke3 Kd5 53.Nf7 Ra7-+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karsten,J2323Botez,A19860–12024C12Reykjavik Open 20241.38

Here are the mentioned "MacCutcheon" Videos by Robert Ris:

ChessBase Magazine 198

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!

_______________________________

Links:

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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