Wenjun's masterpiece against Firouzja - The Underdog

by Arne Kaehler
2/9/2024 – The Tata Steel 2024 tournament is over, and the masters tournament had at least one clear Underdog with Ju Wenjun, as the only player with a rating under 2600! But despite this setting, she won against the third highest rated player - Alireza Firouzja. Master coach Robert Ris describes perfectly well, why this happened, what went wrong for Alireza, and what Ju Wenjun accomplished delightfully.

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.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Nf6 5...dxc4 6.Bxc4 6.c5 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 Bg4 8...b6 9.h3 Bh5 10.Be3 Nc6 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Bb5 12.Re1 12...Ne4 13.Qa4 Nxd2 14.Nxd2 Bg5 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Rae1 16.Bxg5 Qxg5 16...Bxe3 17.Rxe3 Rxe3 18.fxe3 Qe8 19.Re1 f5 20.Qa6 f4 21.Qf1 fxe3 22.Qd3 e2 22...Qb8 23.Rxe3 Qxb2 24.Re7 23.Nf3 23.g4 Bg6 24.Qxe2± 23...Qf7? 23...Bxf3 24.Qxf3 24.Ng5! 24.g4 Bg6 25.Qxe2 Qf4 24...Qg6 25.Qxg6 Bxg6 26.Rxe2 h6 27.Nf3! 27.Ne6 Rc8 27...Be4 28.Ne5 a5 29.Nxc6 a4 30.Re3 Ra6 31.Nb4 31.Ne5 31...Rg6 32.g3 h5 33.Ra3 33.h4 33...Kf8 34.Kf2 34.Rxa4? Rxg3+ 34...Rf6+ 35.Ke2 Rg6 36.h4 Ke8 37.Re3 Kd7 38.a3 Re6 39.Kd2 Rf6 40.Ke2 Rf8 41.b3 axb3 42.Rxb3 Bg2 42...Ra8 43.Re3 43.a4 Bf1+ 44.Kd2 Bc4 43...Be4 44.Na2 Rb8 45.Nc3 Rb2+ 46.Ke1 Rb3 47.Kf2 Bh1 47...Rxa3 48.Nxe4 Rxe3 49.Kxe3 dxe4 50.Kxe4+- 47...Rb2+ 48.Re2 48.Nd1 48.a4 Ra3 49.Ke2+- 48.Ne2 Rb2 48...Rb8 49.Re5? 49.Nc3! 49...g6 49...Kc6 50.Rxh5 Rb3 50.Re1 50.Nc3 50...Be4 51.Nc3 Rf8+ 52.Kg1 Rf3? 52...Kc6 53.Nxe4 Re8 53.Nxe4 dxe4 54.Kg2! Rxa3 55.Rxe4 Rd3 56.Kf2! c6 56...Kc6 57.Re6+ Kd5 58.Rxg6 Kxd4 59.Rg5+- 57.Kg2! Rd1 57...Ra3 58.Re5 Rd3 59.Rg5 Rxd4 60.Rxg6 Rd5 61.Rg5 57...Rd2+ 58.Kf3 Rd3+ 59.Kf4 Rd1 60.Kg5 Rd3 61.Kxg6 Rxg3+ 62.Kxh5 57...Kd8 58.Re6 58.Kf3 Rf1+ 59.Ke3 Rf7 60.Rf4 Rg7 61.Kd3 Ke6 61...g5 62.Rf5 gxh4 63.gxh4 62.Rf8 Ra7 62...g5 63.Rh8 63.Ke4 Ra1 63...Ra3 64.Kf4 64.Rd8 Rxg3 65.Rd6+ Kf7 66.Rxc6 Rg4+ 67.Ke5 Rxh4 68.d5+- 64...Rd3 65.Rd8+- 64.Rd8 64.Rd8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ju,W2549Firouzja,A27591–02024C0186th Tata Steel Masters5


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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