Former Super GMs taken down - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
9/6/2026 – In this episode of Underdog, Robert Ris presents two entertaining blitz upsets from a strong event in Sofia. First, Jolanta Zawadzka punishes former 2700 player Ivan Cheparinov with a sharp kingside attack in a Sicilian, finishing the game in just 20 moves. The second example features José García Molina against Sanan Sjugirov, where White sacrifices material for a dangerous initiative and builds a powerful attack against the black king. Both games show how quickly even very strong grandmasters can come under pressure in blitz when tactical threats and initiative take over.
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.

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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Topics: Robert Ris, Underdog
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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See also

The 1858-Rated Kid Who Beat a Super-GM - The Underdog

7/13/2026 – In this episode of The Underdog, Robert Ris presents a spectacular upset from the Asian Esports Chess Cup, where a young Thai player (Pakornnarong Liukasemsarn) defeats super-GM Andrey Esipenko despite an enormous rating gap. In a sharp Italian Game with opposite-side castling, Black bravely pushes the kingside pawns, opens the g-file and keeps finding dynamic resources while White misses several powerful attacking chances on the queenside. The game turns into a wild attacking masterpiece, ending with decisive tactics around the white king and a memorable victory for the underdog.
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1900 beats IM with 2400 - The Underdog

5/30/2026 – In this episode of The Underdog, Robert presents a game from the 25th European Women's Chess Championship 2026 in Batumi, Georgia. As he has done in several previous episodes, the featured game is not from the opening round but from round four. The talented Armenian player Polina Kobak faced IM Stavroula Tsolakidou of Greece, one of the tournament favourites, and met the King's Indian Defence with impressive play. Interestingly, both players had opportunities to force a draw, but neither was willing to settle for half a point.

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60m English The Elephant Gambit

The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.