Giri's World Cup Struggle - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
9/6/2023 – The World Cup had it's fair share of underdog surprises in the first round. Robert Ris decided to pick a game from round three, though! Anish Giri faced Nijat Abasov, and in the tiebreaker, the GM from Azerbaijan played aggressive moves, which caused a lot of trouble for Giri. Ris shows us exactly, how the 150 points weaker player won impressively.
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.e41,187,37854%2421---
1.d4960,97355%2434---
1.Nf3287,04656%2440---
1.c4185,21656%2442---
1.g319,90856%2427---
1.b314,61554%2428---
1.f45,96148%2376---
1.Nc33,92350%2383---
1.b41,79148%2379---
1.a31,25354%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39366%2506---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 6...0-0 7.e3 c5 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.exd4 0-0 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Re1 Nh5 12.Bxe7 Nxe7 12...Qxe7? 13.d5 13.Ne5 13.d5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Nf4 16.Be4 Be6 17.Qd4 17.Bxb7 Rb8 17...Qxd4 18.Nxd4 Bd5 19.g3 Rfe8 20.Bxd5 Nxd5 21.Kf1 Kf8 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.Rc1 Rd8 24.Nf3 h5 25.a3 f6 26.h4 Kf7 27.Ke2 Rd7 28.b4 g6 29.Rc2 a6 30.Rc1 Ne7 31.Rc5 Nf5 32.b5 b6 33.Rc6 axb5 34.Rxb6 Rd5 35.Ra6 Ke7 36.a4 bxa4 37.Rxa4 Kf7 1/2-1/2 (37) Abasov,N (2632)-Giri,A (2775) Baku AZE 2023 13...Nf6 14.a4!? 14.Rc1 14.h4 14...a6 14...b6 15.Qf3 Rb8 16.Qg3 15.h4 Bd7 16.g4 Nc6 16...Be8 17.g5 Nd7 16...Rc8 17.g5 hxg5? 17...Nxe5 18.Rxe5 18.dxe5 Nh7 18...Nh7! 19.gxh6 Qxh4 18.hxg5 Nxe5 19.Rxe5! 19.dxe5 Nh7 20.Ne4 Bc6 19...Nh7 20.Qh5! Rc8 20...f6 21.g6 Ng5 22.Rxg5 fxg5 23.Qh7# 20...g6 21.Qh6 21.Bd3? 21.Ba2! 21...f5 22.gxf6 22.g6 Qg5+ 22...Nxf6 23.Qh4 23.Qg6? Be8 23...Kf7 24.Rae1 Rh8 25.Qg5 25.Qf4 Rh6 26.Rg5 26.d5 Kg8 27.dxe6 Bxe6 28.Rxe6 Qxd3 25...Rh6 26.R1e3 Bc6 27.Kf1 27.f3 Qh8 27...Nd5 27...Qxd4! 28.Rxe6 Kg8! 29.Re7 Ng4-+ 30.Re2 Rh1# 28.Rg3 Qxg5 29.Rexg5 Rg8 29...Rh1+ 30.Ke2 Rg8 30.Bg6+ Kf6 30...Ke7 31.Be4 31.Ne4+ Ke7 31...Ne7 31...Nxc3 32.Bxc6 Ne2 32...bxc6 33.bxc3 33.Kxe2 bxc6 32.Bxc6 Nxc6 32...bxc6 33.Ne4+ Kf7 33...Ke7 34.Rxg7+ 34.Rf3+ 34.Nd6+ Ke7 35.Nxb7 34...Ke7 35.Rb3 b5 36.Rc3 36.axb5 Nxd4 36...Rh4 36...Nxd4? 37.Rc7+ Kd8 38.Rgc5 Rgh8 39.Rc8+ Ke7 40.R5c7# 37.axb5 37.Rxc6 Rxe4 37...axb5 38.f3 Nxd4 39.Rc7+ Kf8? 39...Kd8! 40.Rgc5 Re8! 41.Rc8+ Ke7 42.R5c7+ Kf8 39...Ke8? 40.Nf6+ Kd8 40...gxf6 41.Rxg8# 41.Rd7+ Kc8 42.Rc5+ Kb8 43.Nxg8 40.Nd6 Rf4 40...Rgh8 41.Rf7+ Kg8 42.Rgxg7# 41.Rg4 Rxf3+ 41...Rxg4 42.Rf7# 42.Kg2 42.Kg2 e5 42...Rf6 43.Rxd4 43.Rxd4 exd4 44.Kxf3 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Abasov,N2632Giri,A27751–02023D37FIDE World Cup 20233.4

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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