The overdog? Alireza Firouzja is back at the top - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
9/12/2024 – Obviously, Alireza Firouzja cannot be considered an Underdog, right? But who would have guessed that he could play so brilliantly against one of the best players in the world with the Black pieces? Fabiano Caruana is still considered one of the best prepared players ever, and just like Magnus Carlsen, can rarely be beaten, when leading the White pieces. Robert Ris presents an unusual Underdog, which can rise back to his "overdog" status, end of 2021!
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.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
120 min + 30 sec per move increment. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.b4 Bb6 7.a4 a5 8.b5 Ne7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.d4 Bg4 11...h6 12.Re1 Re8 13.Ba3 13.h3 1/2-1/2 (39) Caruana,F (2795)-Sevian,S (2696) Saint Louis 2023 13...exd4 14.Qb3 d5 15.exd5 dxc3 16.Rxe8+ Qxe8 17.Re1 Qxe1+ 18.Nxe1 cxd2 19.Nf3 Ne4 20.d6 Nxf2 21.Bxf7+ Kh8 22.Nxd2 Ne4+ 23.Kh1 Nf2+ 24.Kg1 Ne4+ 25.Kh1 Nf2+ 26.Kg1 1/2-1/2 (26) Caruana,F (2764)-Giri,A (2768) Bucharest 2023 12.Qc2 Qd7 13.Re1 Rfe8 14.h3 14.Bb2 Nf4 14...d5! 15.Bf1 Bh5 16.h3 1-0 (41) Abdusattorov,N (2766)-Grischuk,A (2719) Tashkent 2024 14...Bxf3 15.Nxf3 exd4 16.Bb2 16.cxd4 d5! 17.Bd3 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Nxe4 19.Rxe4 Qd5 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Be3 h6 22.Rc1 Re6 23.Qd3 Ne7 1/2-1/2 (23) Tsygankov,E (2510)-Kruse,H (2516) FICGS email 2021 16...dxc3 17.Bxc3 Ne5 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Rad1 Qe7 20.Rd3 Red8 White one hour up. 21.Rf3 Rd7 22.Rf5 22.g4!? 22...Bd4 23.Bd2 c6 24.bxc6 bxc6 25.Bg5 Rb8 25...Rd6!? 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Qc1 Rb4 27...Rb2!? 28.Rf1 Qb4 29.Rxf6 Qd2 28.Bf1 28.Qh6!? Rxc4 29.Rf3 29.Rh5 Qd8!-+ 29...Rc3 30.Ree3! Rxe3 31.fxe3 Kh8 32.exd4 32.Rg3 Bxe3+! 32...Rd8 32...exd4 33.Rf5! Rg8 34.dxe5 Rg6 34...fxe5 35.Qxc6± 35.Qd2 Qa7+ 36.Qf2 Qxf2+ 37.Kxf2 fxe5 38.Rxe5 28...Rd6 29.Qh6 Qf8 30.Qh5 30.Qh4 30...Qg7 31.Kh2 31.Rf3 Qg5 32.Rg3?? Qxg3-+ 31...Qg6 32.Qf3 c5 33.Rc1 Rb2 33...Rxa4 34.Rb1 Rb4 35.Rxb4 cxb4 36.Qb3 34.Qd1? 34.Qd3! 34...Rdb6 34...Kg7! 35.Rf3 Qxe4 35.Be2 35.Rf3 Kh8 35...Qh6 2 minutes rest of the game. 36.Bb5 Kf8 36...Rxf2 37.Rxf2 Bxf2 38.Qd8+ Kg7 39.Rf1 Qf4+ 40.Kh1∞ 37.Rc2! Rb4! 37...Rxc2 38.Qxc2± 38.Qd3 Rd6 39.Bc4 Ke7 40.Qg3 Rd8 41.Qf3 Qg6 42.Qe2 Rdb8 43.Bb5 Rd8 44.Qf3 Rd6 45.g3 Qg8 46.Kg2 Rb6 47.h4 Rd6 48.Qe2 Rb6 49.Kh3 Qc8 50.Kg2 Qg8 51.Kh3 Qc8 52.Qg4 52.Kg2= 52...Rb8 53.Bc4 Qg8 54.Qe2 R8b6 55.Bd5 Rd6 56.Rc4 Qc8 57.Qg4 Qd7 58.Qg7 Kd8? 58...Rxd5 59.Qxf6+ 59.exd5?? Qxf5+ 59...Kf8 60.Rxb4 cxb4 61.exd5 Qxd5= 59.Bxf7 59.Rxb4! cxb4 60.Kh2! 60.Bxf7 Kc7 60...Rxd5 60...Kc7 61.Qxh7 61.Rxf6 Rd6 62.Rxf7+- 59.Kh2 Rb2! 59...Kc7 60.Qg8 Bxf2 61.Qa8 61.Rxb4!? axb4 61...cxb4 62.Be8 62.a5 61...Qxf7 62.Rxb4 62.Qa7+? Rb7-+ 62...cxb4 63.Rxf2 Qd7+ 64.Kh2? 64.Kg2! Kb6 65.Qb8+ Ka6 66.Qa8+ Qa7 67.Qf8! 64...Kb6 65.Qb8+ Ka6 66.Qa8+ Qa7 67.Qc8+ 67.Qf8?? Qxf2+ 67...Qb7 68.Qc4+ Ka7 69.Rc2 69.Qc5+ Qb6-+ 69...Qd7 70.Qc5+ Ka6 71.Qf2? 71.h5 Rb6 72.Qf8 Kb7-+ 71...b3 72.Rb2 Qxa4 73.Qf3 Rb6 74.Qd3+ Ka7 75.Qd5 Qa3 76.Qd2 Qb4 77.Qd8 a4 78.Rd2 b2?? 78...Qxe4 79.Rd7+ Ka6 80.Qc8+ Kb5-+ 79.Rd7+ Rb7 79...Ka6?? 80.Qc8+ Ka5 81.Ra7+ Kb5 82.Qd7+ Kc4 83.Qd5+ Kc3 84.Rc7++- 80.Rxb7+?? 80.Rd5‼ b1Q 80...Ka6 81.Qa8+ Kb6 82.Qd8+= 81.Ra5+ Qxa5 82.Qxa5+ Kb8 83.Qd8+= 80...Kxb7 81.Qd7+ Kb6 82.Qd8+ Kb5 83.Qd5+ Qc5 84.Qb7+ Qb6 85.Qd5+ Kb4 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2793Firouzja,A27510–12024C5011th Sinquefield Cup1.1
Caruana,F2793Firouzja,A27510–12024C5011th Sinquefield Cup1.1

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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