How Lu Miaoyi destroyed Frederik Svane - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
1/29/2025 – The first Underdog of 2025 has been chosen by Robert Ris. It is IM Lu Miaoyi. Currently, she is playing formidable at the Tata Steel Chess Festival tournament. She is second worst rated in the Challengers group, but could already gather 4.5 out of 8 points. One favourite to win the Challengers in Wijk aan Zee is Frederik Svane, who advanced to Germany's second-best player behind Vincent Keymer. Frederik Svane played as Black in the French exchange variation, against Lu Miaoyi, and the board was on fire quickly.
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.e41,193,24854%2421---
1.d4964,72255%2433---
1.Nf3288,46456%2440---
1.c4186,16756%2442---
1.g319,94856%2427---
1.b314,68954%2428---
1.f45,99648%2376---
1.Nc33,95550%2383---
1.b41,79948%2378---
1.a31,26454%2406---
1.e31,09249%2409---
1.d397150%2378---
1.g467346%2360---
1.h446954%2381---
1.c344552%2425---
1.h329456%2418---
1.a412060%2461---
1.f310147%2431---
1.Nh39366%2506---
1.Na34861%2472---
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 4...Bd6 1-0 (72) Ju,W (2549) -Firouzja,A (2759) Wijk aan Zee 2024 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Nbd2 h6 9.Bh4 Nbd7 10.c4 dxc4 10...c6 11.Nxc4 Nb6 12.Ne3 12.Nxd6 Qxd6 12.Nce5!? 12...Be6 13.Bc2 Re8 14.Qd3 c6 15.Rfe1 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Qh7+ Kf8 15...Nbd7 15...Nbd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Qh7+ Kf8 19.Ba4 Red8 20.Bd7‼ Ke7 20...Bxd7 21.Qh8# 20...Rxd7 21.Qh8+ 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Re3± 16.Nf5 Bf8 16...Bxf5 17.Qxf5 Qc7 17.Ne5 Nxe5 17...g6 18.Nxd7 18.Qg3!? 18...Bxd7 19.Rxe8 Qxe8 20.Nxh6+ Bxh6 21.Bxf6 Bf5 22.Qc3 Bxc2 23.Qxc2 Qe6 24.Be5 Re8 18.Rxe5 18.dxe5? Qxd3 19.Bxd3 Nh5 18...g6 19.Ng3 Bg7 19...g5 20.Nh5‼ Bd6 20...gxh4 21.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21...Kg7 22.Nh5+ Kg8 23.Qh7# 22.Qh7# 21.Bg3 Kf8 21...Bxe5 22.Bxe5 Nxh5 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.Qxh6+ Ke7 25.Qxh5+- 22.Qf3 Nxh5 23.Qxh5 Qf6 24.Rae1 19...Bd6? 20.Ne4 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Qxd3 22.Nxf6+ Kf8 23.Bxd3+- 20.Ne4! Bf5?? 20...g5 21.Nxg5 hxg5 22.Rxg5! 22.Bxg5 Qd6 22...Qe7 22...Kf8 23.Qa3+ 23.Qg3 Bh6 23...Qe7 24.Qg3 Bf5 24...Bg4 25.h3 24...Bh6 25.Bh7‼ Bxg5 25...Nxh7 26.Rg8# 26.Bxg5 Nxh7 26...Red8 27.Qh4 Ke8 28.Bxf6+- 27.Bh6# 25.Bxf5?? 25.h3 Bxc2 26.Rxg7 Bg6 27.Rxg6 fxg6 28.Qxg6 Qf7 29.Qxf6 Qxf6 30.Bxf6± 25...Qe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rxe1# 23.Re1! 23.Rxg7+ Kxg7 24.Qg3+ Bg4 23...Rad8 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qg3+ Kf8 26.Qe3 Kg7 27.Qg5+ Kf8 28.Qh6+ Kg8 29.Bxf6+- 21.Bxf6 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.Bxf6 22.Nxf6+?? Bxf6-+ 22...Bxe4! 23.Qxe4 Bxf6 21...Bxe4 21...Rxe5 22.Bxd8 21...Bxf6 22.Rxe8+ Qxe8 23.Nxf6+ Kh8 24.Qd2+- 22.Bxd8 Rxe5 22...Bxd3 23.Rxe8+ Kh7 24.Bxd3 23.Qc3 Re6 24.Ba5 Bxc2 25.Qxc2 Bxd4 26.Bc3 Rae8 27.Kf1 27.Bxd4?? Re1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxe1# 27...Bc5 28.Re1 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Lu,M2429Svane,F26641–02025C01Tata Steel Challengers3.6

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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