Greatest Olympiad Underdogs - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
10/1/2026 – In this Olympiad special of The Underdog, Robert Ris presents seven remarkable upsets from both the Women’s and Open sections, chosen not only for the rating differences but also for the instructive chess behind them. The examples range from spectacular attacking ideas and sudden tactical reversals to missed winning chances and difficult endgames, showing how quickly a game can turn even when the stronger player appears to be completely in control. One particularly dramatic example sees Arjun Erigaisi lose after dominating much of his game, while another features a rating difference of almost 600 points and a winning material advantage that disappears after a major tactical oversight.
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!

_______________________________

Links:

<< Turlov: Chess is massively undervalued
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.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors

See also

Former Super GMs taken down - The Underdog

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.
More...
 3

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.
More...
 1

Video

60m How to fight Queen's Pawn Openigns

After 1.d4 d5 many players with White avoid the great amount of theory in the Slav, Semi-Slav, QGA and Orthodox Queen's Gambit and do not therefore play 2.c4. This is not very ambitious, but the painful experience of many chess players has been that the Colle System, the Trompowsky Attack, the Torre Attack and the London System are nevertheless extremely dangerous. Black has to be prepared for each of these openings and IM Valeri Lilov offers you some help with his six instructive videos, in which he demonstrates for each single opening a relevant plan for Black. In addition to the openings mentioned, the Bulgarian trainer also delves into the Catalan, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the Richter-Veresov Opening.