How Caruana fell apart against Theodorou - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
12/4/2024 – Besides the World Chess Championship, some other important chess tournaments are currently going on. The US Chess Masters in Charlotte was crucial for Fabiano Caruana, to qualify for the candidates in 2026! He started with 5 out of 5, until he faced Nikolas Theodorou! The Greek GM also had 5 points, and got a nice king-side attack against Caruana in the English opening. Robert Ris has the full analysis of this fascinating game!
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.e41,172,27354%2421---
1.d4951,24355%2434---
1.Nf3283,16356%2440---
1.c4182,99656%2442---
1.g319,77556%2427---
1.b314,39754%2427---
1.f45,92048%2377---
1.Nc33,83450%2384---
1.b41,76548%2379---
1.a31,22854%2405---
1.e31,07449%2409---
1.d395850%2378---
1.g466746%2361---
1.h445753%2378---
1.c343651%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411560%2464---
1.f39646%2431---
1.Nh39166%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 4...g6 1-0 (36) Andreikin,D (2729) -Ris,R (2438) Vrnjacka Banja 2024 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Bd6 8.g3 0-0 9.Bg2 Qe7 9...Re8 0-1 (37) Caruana,F (2796)-Firouzja,A (2744) Chess. com INT 2024 10.d3 Bg4 White is up 30 min on the clock. 11.h3 11.0-0 11...Bd7 12.0-0 b6 13.e4 f6 14.d4 Qf7 14...Na5!? 15.Nd2 15.dxe5? fxe5 15.Be3 Kh8 16.a4 Rad8 17.Rfe1 Na5 18.Nd2 Qh5 19.g4 19.Kh2 19...Qf7 19...Qg6 20.Qa2 Be6 20...Qxa2 21.Rxa2 21.d5 Bd7 22.Nc4 Nxc4 23.Qxc4 h5 24.Qe2 g6 25.gxh5 25.a5 hxg4 26.hxg4 Kg7 25.g5 f5 25...gxh5 26.Kh1 26.Kh2 Rg8 27.Rg1 f5 28.f4!?∞ 28.exf5? Qxf5 28...exf4?? 29.Bd4+ Kh7 30.e5+- 26...Rg8 27.Rg1 Qh7 28.Raf1 Rg4!? 8-28 minutes 28...Bxa4 29.f4 29.Ra1 Bd7 30.Rxa7 Rg7 29...Bd7 29.f3 29.hxg4 hxg4+ 29.Kh2!? Rg7 29...Rdg8 30.hxg4 hxg4+ 31.Kg3 f5 32.exf5 e4+ 33.Bf4 Bxf4+ 34.Kxf4 Qh6+ 35.Kxe4 Re8+ 36.Kd3 Bxf5+ 37.Be4 Rxe4 38.Qxe4 Qf4 39.Qxf5 Qxf5+= 29...Rg3 30.h4 Rdg8 31.Kh2 Bc5 31...Qe7!? 32.Bxc5 bxc5 33.Qf2 Qg6 33...Qh6! 34.a5 34.Rb1!? 34...f5?? 4-4 minutes 34...Qh6! 35.Qxg3 35.f4 Qg6 36.f5 Qg4 35...Rxg3 36.Kxg3 Qf4+ 37.Kf2 f5 38.exf5 Qxh4+ 39.Ke3 Qf4+ 40.Kf2 h4-+ 35.exf5?? 35.Bh3! f4 35...Rxg1 36.Rxg1 Qxg1+ 37.Qxg1 Rxg1 38.Kxg1+- 35...Rxh3+ 36.Kxh3 f4+ 37.Kh2 36.Bxd7 35...Qxf5 36.Qxg3 36.c4 Rh3+ 37.Bxh3 Qxh3# 36...Rxg3 37.Kxg3 Qf4+ 38.Kf2 Qd2+ 39.Kg3 Qf4+ 40.Kf2 Qxh4+ 41.Ke3 Qf4+ 42.Kf2 42.Ke2 Bb5+ 42...Qd2+ 43.Kg3 h4+ 44.Kh2 Qf4+ 45.Kh1 h3 46.Rb1 Bf5 47.Rb8+ Kh7 48.Rf8 48.Bf1 Qxf3+ 49.Kh2 Qf2+ 50.Kh1 Be4+ 48...hxg2+ 49.Rxg2 Qc1+ 49...Qh6+ 50.Rh2 Bh3 49...Qc1+ 50.Rg1 50.Kh2 Qh6+ 50...Qh6+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2805Theodorou,N26120–12024A28US Chess Masters 20246.1

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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