Game of the Year

John B. Henderson • March 3, 2023

We’re just two months into 2023, give or take a day or two, I am still putting “2022” on my cheques/checks when paying bills, and already we are being treated to a wild-ride-of-a-game that’s being touted and tagged by pundits, streamers and fans alike as an early candidate for the traditional year-ending award of “Game of the Year”!


It’s not often we hear anything of the Romanian Championship, nor see it mildly trending on social media - but while newer generation stars GM Kirill Shevchenko, 20, and WIM Miruna-Daria Lehaci, 18, took all the plaudits and top honours by winning maiden national titles, their feats were largely overshadowed by a crazy sacrificial game that had some online fans jokingly asking - much like the fabled Levitsky-Marshall Gold Coin game of 1912 - how they could throw bitcoin onto the playing board.

The Romanian Championship ran February 19–26 in Sebes and was won by former Ukrainian rising star Shevchenko who confirmed his new status in his adopted country as top dog by dominating the open championship with an unbeaten score of 8/9; while in the women’s championship, Lehaci comfortably took the title ahead of top seed WGM Michaela Sandu to claim the women’s title.


But all the fun was to be found in the Round 6 mid-table clash in the open between GM Gergely-Andras-Gyula Szabo and FM Nicodim-Cosmin Stephanencu, where a veritable fireworks factory of pyrotechnics was going off! 

Interviewed by Norwegian journalist Tarjei J. Svensen on Chess24 this week, Szabo, 39 - not exactly a household name, though an experienced chess coach - commented on his brilliancy: “I am very happy to have played such a game, especially as my mission as a player and as a coach is to make chess more popular.”  


So sit back and buckle up!

GM Gergely Szabo - FM Nicodim Stephanencu

Romanian Championship, (6)

Caro-Kann Defence, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 The Advance variation is a byword for double-edged play on both sides of the Caro; a variation that - very fittingly - came to fame with the rise of Mikhail Tal and his adoption of it in his early 1960s World Championship Matches against Mikhail Botvinnik. 3...Bf5 4.h4 Typically a player who opts for the Caro is looking for some quiet positional struggle - however in this game, it is anything but! But along with 4.g4, the early 4.h4 falls into a category known as the "Caveman Caro-Kann" where Black has to be extremely careful. 4...h5 The principled and best reply. If you treat it like the Classical main-line in the Caro with 4...h6?! 5.g4! Bd7 (Alternatively, 5...Be4 6.f3 Bh7 7.e6! and Black is in trouble after 7...fxe6 8.Bd3 etc.) 6.h5 and White has a very unpleasant space advantage on the kingside. 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 Qa5+ 7.Nd2 Also popular is the pawn sacrifice 7.b4!? 7...e6 8.Nf3 Nh6 9.O-O Nf5 In reality, if White doesn't do something now, then Black will consolidate his position to solve all his problems. Rather than that, Szabo opts to throw a big spanner in the works. 10.c4?! This certainly "spices" things up - but more preferable is the standard 10.Nb3 Qb5 11.Qd1 c5 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.a4 Qc6 as seen in Praggnanandhaa-Carlsen, Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022. 10...Be7 11.g3 O-O 12.b3?! Szabo continues his devil-may-care plan to "mix" things up with another risky move - simpler was playing 12.a3 with the idea of b4 to stop Black breaking up the centre with the freeing ...c5. 12...Rd8 13.Rd1 c5! Honestly, this is a dream position for Black - his only downfall is that he gets bamboozled and taken in by his opponent continuing to push the envelope with a series of more and more dubious moves. 14.dxc5N?! Hard to tag this as being a "novelty", which it is, but more usually seen here is 14.Bb2 or even the better 14.cxd5. 14…Qxc5?! After the correct call of 14...Nc6! White's position is fast reaching a crisis point - but now the game is on such a high-wire that it only takes a couple of “dodgy” moves from Black, and the game enters the realms of joining the mysterious Mr Roarke & Tattoo as a lucky guest on Fantasy Island!15.Nf1?! It wasn't too late for 15.Bb2 and the prospects of only being "worse". But then again, where would all the fun be in that with the rollercoaster ride set to come? 15…dxc4? The last call for sanity was 15...Nc6! - my only assumption here was that Black just wrote off any possible threats to his king as being false. 16.Qxd8+! Of course, what else? 16...Bxd8  17.Rxd8+ Kh7 18.Ne3? I can see the point, looking to bring all his pieces into the attack, but better was 18.bxc4 with another fantasy outcome being 18...Qc7 19.Rf8 Qc5 20.Ng5+ Kg6 21.Rh8 Qxe5 22.Rb1 with a sharp game. 18…Qa5! Hitting the rook on d8 and threatening the awkward cxb3 - all leaving White with no option other than to go “all-in” now on his big bluff. 19.Ng5+ Kg6 20.Ng2! A resource that’s equally both desperate and brilliant at the same time. 20…Nxg3? Black thinks that he, too, can have resourceful moves here - but this move isn't half as clever as it looks. Safer was 20...Nh6! with another fantasy continuation running 21.Nf4+ Kf5 22.Ngxe6!? fxe6 23.Rf8+ Ke4 24.f3+ Kd4 25.Rc8 Nc6! 26.Rxa8 Kxe5 and Black has managed to avoid landing on any mating mines. 21.Nf4+ Kf5 22.Nxf7! Now all the fun really begins! 22...Qc3 I can only assume that, in his analysis of all the crazy moves from his opponent, Stephanencu felt such wild mating attacks would backfire because of 22…Qe1+, only to realise too late in the day that after 23.Kg2 Black has nothing to save him. 23.Kg2!! Amidst all the smoke from the pyrotechnics in this game, the silent killer of the simple king move - leaving the rook hanging in the corner - is the best move of this whole crazy game. 23…Ne4 The only move. If you get greedy with 23...Qxa1?? 24.Nd6+ Kxe5 (There’s no sanctuary for the king. After 24...Kg4 25.f3+ Kxh4 26.Ng6#) 25.Nxc4+ Kf5 26.Rf8+ Ke4 27.f3+ (hence the reason for the silent killer of 23.Kg2!!) 27...Kd4 28.Bb2+ Qxb2+ 29.Nxb2 Nf5 30.Nxe6+ and White now easily mopes up with no answer to Nc7. But all things considered here, there’s this golden rule in chess that if you find yourself in difficulties, yet far ahead in material, then you can always try throwing some of the extra material back again! For that reason, the only safe way to continue, as the engines concurred, was with 23...Nc6! 24.Rxa8 Nd4 25.fxg3 Qf3+ 26.Kg1 Qxg3+ 27.Kf1 Qc3 28.Nd6+ Kg4 29.Rc8! Qxa1 30.Rxc4 b5 31.Rc7 Kxh4 32.Ng2+ Kh3 33.Nf4+ Kh4 (It is a bit of risk to try 33...Kh2 as after 34.Ne4 b4 Not 34...Qxa2?? 35.Rc3 and Black gets mated.) 35.Rc4 h4 36.Nd3 with White still having all the fun and all the advantage. 34.Ng2+ Kh3 35.Nf4+ Kh4 and bailing out with a "boring" draw! 24.Rf8 Kg4??Looking to walk away from the potentially nasty discovered check, only to discover that you’re now running right into a mating minefield! Again, the only try was to throw back some of the extra "wood" with 24...Nc6! 25.Nd6+ Kg4 26.Be3 Nxe5 27.Nxe4 Qc2 28.Nf6+ gxf6 29.Rxa8 Qe4+ 30.Kg1 Nf3+ 31.Kf1 e5 32.Rg8+ Kf5 33.Nxh5 Nh2+ 34.Kg1 Nf3+ 35.Kg2 Ng5+ 36.Kg1 Nf3+ 37.Kg2 Ng5+ and once again a draw. 25.Be3 A sensible, very human move, looking to bring his remaining pieces into the fray, and also stopping the potentially awkward ...Qf3+ - but the stunning sacrificial game-stopper, and quickly spotted by the engines, is 25.Nh6+!! gxh6 26.Nd3! Kxh4 27.Bxh6 and the only way to stop the major threat of Rf4 mate is by giving up the queen with 27...Qd2 28.Bxd2 Nxd2 but after 29.Rg8! there's no way to stop Rh1 mate. 25...Nxf2 Trying desperately to stave off the mate. If 25...Qxa1?? 26.f3+ Kf5 (Also no use is 26...Kxh4 27.Ng6#) 27.Nd6+ Kxe5 28.Nxc4#. 26.Nd5! Another wonderful sacrifice, this time vacating the f4 square for a potential Rf4 mate attack. 26...Qxa1 The mating theme to avoid this time was 26...exd5 27.Nh6+! Kxh4 28.Rf4+ Ng4 29.Rh1+ Kg5 30.Rxg4#! 27.Nh6+ Kxh4 Again, 27...gxh6 28.Rf4#. 28.Bxf2+ This time 28.Rf4+? lets Black off the hook with 28...Ng4 29.Bf2+ Kg5 30.Nf7+ Kg6 31.Ne7+ Kh7 32.Ng5+ Kh6 33.Nf7+ Kh7 34.Ng5+ and it is "only" a draw. 28...Kg5 29.Be3+ Kg6 30.Ne7+ Kh7 31.Nf7 Nc6 With 31...Qxa2+ 32.Kh3 then you only avoid the inevitable by a move. 32.Ng5+ Kh6 33.Nf7+ Kh7 34.Ng5+ Szabo only repeats a couple of times to help reach the time-control on move 40. 34...Kh6 35.Nxe6+ Kh7 36.Ng5+ Kh6 37.Nf5+ Kg6 38.Nh4+ Kh6 39.Nf7+ Kh7 40.Ng5+ Kh6 41.Rxa8! Now, having safely reached the time-control, Szabo has the extra time needed to double check that there’s no “perfect mate” by not having to capture the rook - but he has to take the rook and then come back for the mate with his opponent's hapless king trapped with no escape. 41...g6 42.Rg8 Nxe5 [see diagram] 43.Rxg6+!!  1-0 The final stunning sacrifice that forces Black into resignation - a pity really, as in the spirt of the game and the swashbuckling way Szabo played it, it would have been more sporting for Stephanencu to allow on the board the aesthetically-pleasing mate with 43...Nxg6 44.Nf5# .

The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • October 2, 2023
Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • September 29, 2023
The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • September 27, 2023
Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • September 25, 2023
Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • September 22, 2023
With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • September 19, 2023
India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • September 14, 2023
“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • September 11, 2023
With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • September 8, 2023
The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • September 4, 2023
The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.
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