Pranav surprises Foreest! - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
10/13/2023 – Offerspill Sjakklubb started the 38th European Chess Club Cup Open as fourth seed. Magnus Carlsen, Offerspill's first board, was certainly the main reason for this - after all he is the world number one with a rating of 2839. But it was still a big surprise that the Norwegians won the cup! One team member in particular - Pranav Venkatesh (whose birthday is today!) - rocked the house with 5.0/7 points. His game against Super Grandmaster Jorden Van Foreest was particularly daring. Robert Ris shows this magical Underdog 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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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,173,50054%2421---
1.d4952,12655%2434---
1.Nf3283,50356%2440---
1.c4183,15556%2442---
1.g319,79656%2427---
1.b314,44254%2427---
1.f45,92148%2377---
1.Nc33,85150%2384---
1.b41,77148%2379---
1.a31,23454%2405---
1.e31,07549%2409---
1.d396150%2378---
1.g466846%2360---
1.h446554%2381---
1.c343651%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411660%2462---
1.f39947%2428---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.a4 Bd7 10.Bc2 Re8 11.Re1 11.d4? exd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 11...h6 12.h3 Bf8 13.Nbd2 Ne7 13...d5 14.d4 exd4 15.e5 1-0 (58) Pranav,V (2579) -Sargsyan,S (2631) Eforie Nord 2023 13...Rb8!? 14.b4 14.axb5 axb5 15.Nf1 Ne7 16.d4 Ng6 1/2-1/2 (56) Grandelius,N (2635)-Ding,L (2806) chess24.com INT 2022 14...Ne7 15.axb5 axb5 16.d4 Ng6 1-0 (38) Carlsen,M (2847)-Ding, L (2799) chess24.com INT 2021 14.d4 Ng6 15.Nf1 Qb8 15...c5 16.d5 1/2-1/2 (30) Karjakin,S (2788)-Leko,P (2717) Ningbo 2011 16.Ng3 Bc6 17.Bd2 Qb7 18.Qb1 Bd7 19.b4 bxa4 20.Bxa4 Bxa4 21.Rxa4 d5? 21...Nd7!? 22.exd5 Nxd5 22...Qxd5 23.Ra5+- 22...exd4 23.c4± 23.dxe5 Qc6 24.Qb3 24.Ra2± Nxc3 25.Qc2 Bxb4 26.Re3+- 24...Nb6 25.Ra2 25.Raa1 Nc4 26.Bxh6 gxh6 27.Nd4 25...Nc4 26.Nd4 Qd5 27.f4 Rad8? 27...a5! 28.Rxa5 c5 28...Nxa5 29.Qxd5 29.Nf3 Rad8 28.Bc1 Bxb4 29.cxb4 29.Qxb4 c5 29...Qxd4+ 30.Kh2 Nb6 30...Qd3 31.Qc2 31.e6! Qd5 31...fxe6 32.Rxe6+- 32.Qb1! Qd3 32...Rxe6 33.Rxe6 Qxe6 34.f5 33.Qa1 fxe6 33...Rxe6 34.Nh5 f6 35.Rxe6 34.Rd2! Qb5 35.Rxd8 Rxd8 36.f5? 36.Rxe6 Rd6 37.Rxd6 cxd6 38.Qd4+- 36...exf5 37.Bxh6!? 37.Nh5 Rd7 38.Re8+ Kf7 38...Kh7?? 39.Qxg7+ Rxg7 40.Nf6# 39.Qxg7+ Kxe8 40.Qxg6+ Rf7= 37...Rd7 37...gxh6?? 38.Nh5 Rd7 39.Qf6 Nf8 40.Re7 40.Re8 Qxb4 40...Rxe7 41.Qxe7+- 38.Nh5 Qxb4 38...gxh6 39.Qf6 39.Bxg7 Qd6+ 40.Kh1 Nd5! 41.Be5 41.Bb2!? 41...Nxe5 41...Qc6 42.Rxe5 Nc3 42...Ne7 43.Qxc3 Qd1+ 44.Kh2 Qxh5 45.g4 45.Qc6 Rf7 46.Re8+ Rf8 47.Re6± 45...Qh6 46.Rxf5 Qd2+ 46...Rd2+ 47.Kg3 47.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 48.Kg3 Rd8 49.Ra5 Ra8 50.Kf4 c5 50...Kf7 51.h4 51.Ke4 51.Rxc5 a5 51...Kg7 52.Kd5 Rh8 53.Ra3 Rc8 54.Rxa6 c4 55.Ra2 c3 56.Rc2 Kg6 57.Kd4 Rd8+ 58.Kxc3 Rh8 59.Rh2 Kg5 60.Kd4 Rh7 61.Ke4 Rh8?? 61...Rf7 61...Ra7 62.Rd2 Rh7 63.Rd3 Rh8 64.Rd5+ Kg6 65.Rd6+ Kg5= 62.Kf3 Kh4 62...Ra8 63.h4+ Kg6 64.Re2 63.Re2 Rf8+ 63...Kxh3 64.Re5 Kh4 64...Rf8+ 65.Rf5 64...Rg8 65.Rh5# 65.Kf4 Rf8+ 66.Rf5 Rh8 67.Rf7+- 64.Kg2 Ra8 65.Re7 Ra2+ 66.Kf3 Ra3+ 66...Kxh3 67.Rh7# 67.Kf4 Ra4+ 68.Kf5 Ra5+ 69.Kf6 Ra6+ 69...Kxh3 70.g5 70.Re6 Ra5 71.Kg6 Ra3 71...Kxh3 72.g5 Kg4 73.Re4+ Kf3 74.Rb4 72.g5 Re3 73.Rf6 73.Rxe3 73...Rf3 74.Kh6 Rxh3 75.g6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pranav,V2579Van Foreest,J27071–02023C8438th ECC Open 20236.4

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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