How Anand won against a far stronger opponent ...

by Arne Kaehler
7/24/2023 – Of course, Viswanathan Anand isn't the topic at hand! But the Underdog Vignesh Anand Junior from the US was the player, who is more than 500 ELO points weaker than his opponent, GM Zaven Andriasian. In the Sicilian game, both players committed little errors that allowed the Armenian Grandmaster to gradually get the upper hand until everything went wrong. Yet another intriguing and fascinating instance of an underdog who shocked both his adversary and most likely himself.

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
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qf3 Nc6 9...0-0 9...Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Qc7 11.g4 h6 12.Kb1 b5 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Nb4 15.c3 Nbxd5 16.g5? 16.Rxd5 Qc6 17.Bg2? e4 16.Qg2! e4 16...Qc6 17.Na5 Qc7 18.Rxd5 Qxa5 19.Rxe5 17.Rxd5 Nxd5 18.Qxe4 Qc6 19.Bg2 16...e4! 16...hxg5 17.Bxg5 17.Qe2 Nxe3 18.Qxe3 hxg5 19.Qxg5 g6 20.Be2 Qc6 20...d5 20...Nh5 21.Qd5 21.h4 0-0-0 22.c4 bxc4 23.Bxc4 d5 23...Qxc4 24.Rc1 24.Be2 Qb6 25.Rh3 d4? 25...Kd7! 26.Rc1+ Kb8 27.Qe5+ Qd6 27...Bd6 28.Qxf6 28.Nxd4? 28.Qa5!+- d3 29.Nc5 dxe2 29...Ka7 30.Nxa6 Qxa6 31.Rc7+ Kb8 32.Qxa6 30.Qb4+ 28...Qxe5 29.Nc6+ Ka8 30.Nxe5 Rd2! 31.Bxa6 31.Nxf7 Rf8 32.Bc4 Ng4 31...Rb8 32.Rb3 32.b3 Ba3 32...Rxb3 33.axb3 Nd5 33...Rxf2 34.Nc6 34.Nxf7 Bf6 35.Rc2 Rd1+ 36.Rc1 36.Ka2 Nb4+ 36...Rd2 34...Bf6 35.Rc5 Rxb2+ 36.Kc1 Ra2 37.Bc8 37.Rxd5 Rxa6 37...Ra1+ 37...Nf4 38.Kd1 38.Kd2 Ra2+ 39.Ke1 Ra1+ 40.Ke2?? 40.Kd2 40...Bc3! 40...Ra2+ 41.Kf1 Nf4 42.Kg1 40...Nc3+ 41.Ke3 40...Nf4+ 41.Ke3 Ng2+ 42.Kxe4+- Nxh4 43.Rb5+- 41.Rxc3 41.Rxd5 Re1# 41.f3 Ra2+ 42.Kf1 e3 43.Rxd5 e2+ 44.Kf2 e1Q# 41...Ra2+! 41...Nxc3+ 42.Ke3 42.Ke1 Nxc3 43.Ne5 e3 44.fxe3 Re2+ 45.Kf1 Rxe3 46.Nc4 46.Nxf7 Rf3+ 47.Kg2 Rxf7 46...Re4 47.h5 gxh5 48.Kg2 Kb8 49.Bf5 Rf4 50.Bd3 h4 51.Ne5 Nd1 52.b4 f6 53.Nd7+ Kc7 54.Nc5 Kc6 55.Ne4 h3+ 56.Kg3 56.Kxh3 Rf3+ 57.Kg2 Rxd3 56...h2 57.Kxh2 Nf2 58.b5+ 58.Kg3 Nxd3 58...Kb6 59.Nxf2 Rxf2+ 60.Kg3 Rd2 61.Bf1 Rd4 62.Kf3 Kc5 63.Ke3 Rb4 64.Be2 Kd6 65.Bf1 Ke5 66.Bd3 f5 67.Kd2 f4 68.Kc3 Rd4 69.Be2 69.b6 Rd6 70.b7 Rb6 71.Ba6 f3 72.Kd3 Kf4 69...Ke4 70.Bf3+ Ke3 70...Kxf3 71.Kxd4= 71.Bc6 Rd1 72.Kc4 72.b6 Rc1+ 72...Rc1+! 72...f3? 73.Bxf3 Kxf3 74.b6 Rb1 75.Kc5 Ke4 76.Kc6 Ke5 77.b7 Ke6 78.Kc7 Rc1+ 79.Kb6= 73.Kd5 73.Kb4 f3 74.Bxf3 Kxf3 75.b6 Ke4 76.Kb5 76.b7 Rb1+ 76...Kd5 77.b7 Rb1+ 78.Ka6 Kc6-+ 73...f3 74.Kd6 f2 75.Bg2 Kf4 76.b6 Kg3 77.b7 Rb1 78.Be4 78.Bf1 Rxb7! 78...Rxf1 79.b8Q Rd1+ 80.Ke6+= 78.Kc7 Kxg2 78...Rxb7 79.Bxb7 f1Q 80.Bc6 Kf4 81.Kc5 Ke5 82.Bb5 Qc1+ 83.Bc4 Qc3 84.Kb5 Kd4 85.Bf1 Qb2+ 86.Kc6 Qc1+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Andriasian,Z2579Anand,V20380–12023B9051st Annual World Open1

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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