New World Record: 8-year-old beats Grandmaster - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
2/29/2024 – In the latest episode of "The Underdog," we have a monumental moment in chess history, where 8-year-old Ashwath Kaushik shattered expectations by defeating a grandmaster in a classical chess game. Despite the crazy rating difference of almost 500 points, Ashwath demonstrated remarkable skill and strategic finesse. IM Robert Ris provides a comprehensive analysis of the game, breaking down the critical moves and strategies that led to this young prodigy's incredible victory.

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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1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 4...Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.h3 c6 8.a4 a5 9.Re1 h6 10.Ba2 Re8 11.Be3 Bf8 12.Qd2 Qc7 12...exd4 13.Bxd4 13.Nh4! Nh7 14.Ng6 exd4 15.Bxd4 Nc5 16.f4 Be6 17.Nxf8 17.Bxe6 Nxe6 18.Nxf8 Nhxf8 19.Bf2± 17...Nxf8 18.f5 18.Bxe6 Nfxe6 18...Bxa2 19.Rxa2 f6 20.Qf4 20.Bxc5 dxc5 20...Nfd7 20...Rad8?? 21.Bxc5 21.Nd1 21.Re3 21...Ne5 22.Ra3 Kh7 23.Nf2 Qf7 24.g4 Qc4! 25.Qd2 b6 25...Qb4! 26.c3 26.Qd1 Ned3 27.cxd3 27.Bc3 Nxf2 28.Bxb4 Nxd1 29.Bxc5 dxc5 30.Rxd1 Rxe4 27...Qxd4 26.Qxb4 axb4 26...Nf3+ 26.Kg2 26.Rg3! 26...Ra7 26...d5 27.b3 Qa6 28.exd5 Rad8 27.h4 d5 28.b3 Qb4 28...Qa6!? 29.g5 29.exd5 cxd5 30.Bxe5 Rae7! 29.Qxb4 axb4 30.Raa1 dxe4 31.Bxc5 31.Nxe4 Nxg4 31...Nxe4 32.Rxe4 c5 33.Bxe5 Rae7 34.Rae1 fxe5 35.g5+- 32.Ng5+ 31...bxc5 32.Nxe4 Nxg4 32...c4 33.g5! 33.Nd6 Rd8 33.Ng5+ fxg5 34.Rxe8 Nf6 35.Rc8 g4 35...gxh4 36.Rxc6 36.Rxc6 Rd7 37.a5 Rd2+ 38.Kg3 Rd4 38...Nh5+ 39.Kxg4 39.Rxf6! 39.a6 Nh5+ 39...gxf6 40.a6 Rd8 41.a7 Ra8 42.Kxg4 Kg7 43.Kf4 43.Kf4 Kf7 44.Ke4 Ke7 45.Kd5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kaushik,A1892Stopa,J23511–02024C4122nd Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open4


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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