After losing a tense match against Shangai Tigers in week 4 of the Pro Chess League and missing the first opportunity to qualify for the playoffs, Croatia Bulldogs would get one more (and final) chance to do so in week 5 of the Pro Chess League. Alas, the task would not be any easier than the last week, since in this must-win situation, we faced the three-time champions of the entire league, the mighty Saint Louis Archbishops, spearheaded by one of the best chess players in the world – GM Fabiano Caruana.

This do-or-die situation for both teams resulted in one of the tensest, most nerve-wracking, and most dramatic matches I have ever witnessed in the Pro Chess League.

The full match report follows.

Team Lineups

In this crucial match, Croatia Bulldogs decided to send the same lineup that brought us the sweet and dramatic victory against team Blitz, as follows:

• Deac Bogdan-Daniel
• Aleksandar Inđić
• Bardiya Daneshvar
• Polina Shuvalova

On the other hand, our opponents decided to do the same and send the very same lineup that brought them victory in their week 4 match:

• Fabiano Caruana
• Benjamin Bok
• Nikolas Theodorou
• Alice Lee

The team ratings were very much equal (2581 vs 2567  in Bulldogs favour unadjusted, or 2545 vs 2550 in our opponent’s favour adjusted), in my head the Bishops could have been considered as a slight pre-match favourites. Not only because they were led by Fabiano Caruana, but also because GMs Bok and Theorodou are very experienced online players and “blitz specialists”. Last but not least, FM Alice Lee has been playing tremendously the entire season and I was secretly afraid of how she might impact the match – and rightfully so (although I am getting ahead of myself).

On the other hand, our match vs team Blitz demonstrated we don’t necessarily have to fear the very best players in the world and throughout the entire season our team was very much competitive in every single match. Thus, a close and tense match with a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs could have been expected – although what happened on that fateful Thursday afternoon exceeded even the wildest expectations.

A round-by-round report follows.

Round 1

Shuvalova – Caruana

As customary for the Pro Chess League – in the first round of the match, we saw the clashes of the respective team’s boards 1 and 4. For Saint Louis, this matchup went “as expected” since their board 1 Fabiano Caruana managed to score a convincing victory against our board 4 Polina Shuvalova with the help of some nice tactics:

Lee – Bogdan-Daniel

On the other hand, the clash between our board 1 Deac Bogdan-Daniel and our opponent’s board 4 FM Alice Lee didn’t quite go as we wanted. Before the match, I was a little bit afraid of the capabilities of the young 13-year-old talent as she has been enjoying quite a good season so far:

Manager of Croatia Bulldogs live feed: https://t.co/sDUWP8eWJK pic.twitter.com/sV4WTFKL6y

— chessentials (@Chessentials_) March 16, 2023

Even though Deac managed to outplay his opponent and obtain a clearly won position at some point, at some point he misplayed it and lost most of his advantage:

Even though he was quite okay after that, in the resulting time trouble his opponent managed to pose concrete problems and score a remarkable upset victory:

Theodorou – Inđić

The clash between Theodorou and Inđić was another game that announced that Croatia Bulldogs will not be favored by Caissa on that fatal Thursday. Inđić nicely outplayed the opponent with the Black pieces, but lacked nerves/precision in the tricky technical endgame, allowing Theodorou to save an important crucial half-a-point:

Bardiya – Bok

Last but not least, Bardiya Daneshvar’s first-round game against Benjamin Bok was very customary for the Iranian’s star first-round games this season – solid opening with White, some small pull in the middlegame, good defence by the opponent, and a fair draw. Although the resulting pawn endgame was anything but “routine”:

Thus, after the first round, we already found ourselves trailing by two points (3-1). The match initiative was definitely in our opponents’ hands, although the match was far from over – as the subsequent rounds would demonstrate.

Round 2

Caruana – Daneshvar

In round 2, Fabiano Caruana continued on his warpath by scoring a nice victory with the White pieces over Bardiya Daneshvar. Even though his opening left something to be desired, he nevertheless managed to outplayed the Iranian in the complex middlegame and score another point for the Saint Louis Arch Bishops:

Deac – Theodorou

On the other hand, Deac Bogdan-Daniel managed to recover from his first-round shock against FM Alice Lee by scoring an important victory against Saint Louis’ board 3 Nikolas Theodorou. Even though he was winning almost directly out of the opening, the game became very complicated at some point, until the Greek GM made the final blunder:

Inđić – Lee

Alice Lee’s game against Deac Bogdan-Daniel was surely one of the biggest upsets in the entire Pro Chess League. But in the second round she was to face another very strong grandmaster. Surely, she couldn’t be expected to pull yet another miracle?

Well, even thought she did not win the game – she did come incredibly close. After a complicated opening battle, she stood somewhat better, but Inđić gradually outplayed here. However, at the crucial moment, he made several mistakes and allowed Lee to obtain a clearly won technical position:

By some miracle, Alice didn’t manage to convert to a full-point.

But starting with 1.5/2 against the opponent’s boards 1 and 2 was huge for Saint Louis and definitely one of the key contributors to their overall match victory.

Bok – Shuvalova

Last, but not least, the game between Benjamin Bok and Polina Shuvalova was also quite crazy. Bok decided to go for a very creative idea against Polina’s Semi-Tarrasch, with some attacking prospects on the kingside. However, Polina defended well and put a big question mark on Bok’s play. Alas, at some decisive moments, she hesitated to take the offered material and decided to be more solid, which was sufficient for equality – but not for more:

Thus, after round 2, Saint Louis managed to preserve their 2 point-lead (5-3) and retain the commanding position in the match.

Round 3

Lee – Daneshvar

Despite Saint Louis’ huge lead, we weren’t yet ready to go away and round 3 saw a huge battle that almost resulted in a sensational comeback. First, Bardiya Daneshvar finally put an end to Alice Lee’s good run by scoring a very convincing victory with the Black pieces:

Theodorou – Shuvalova

While Bardiya was winning his game, it appeared that Polina Shuvalova would do the same, as she obtained a completely won position against Nikolas Theodorou’s Catalan. However, in time trouble, she failed to find the best way to continue, allowed the opponent some counterplay and then settled for a draw with seconds on a clock in a position where she is still pretty much winning:

Inđić – Caruana

Even more misfortune awaited us in the game between Inđić and Caruana. The Serbian nr. 1 played a fantastic game and completely outplayed the former World Chess Championship Challenger. However, the win was never easy and at the crucial moment, he went for a hasty queen maneuver:

Even though the resulting position was still equal, Inđić ended up losing the plot and the game. This game was one of the pivotal games of the entire match – had Inđić won this game, we would have entered the last round with an equal score. Alas, Caissa decreed otherwise.

Deac – Bok

To be fair, we did have some luck in this round, since Deac Bogdan-Daniel managed to beat Benjamin Bok while the latter overlooked a simple tactic in time trouble in a drawn position (which he defended extremely well up to that point):

Alas, due to the unfortunate ending of the Inđić game, Saint Louis Arch Bishops retained their 2-point lead going into the final round – and the outcome of the match was seemingly decided.

Round 4

Bok – Inđić

Alas, very early in round 4 it became clear that there will be no comeback, as Inđić – probably tilted from the previous games of the day – run intro trouble very early in the opening and never really got into the game:

Caruana – Deac

In the clash of boards 1, Fabiano Caruana managed to complete the perfect score (4/4) with the help of a nice positional exchange sacrifice:

Daneshvar – Theodorou

The situation could have been even worse for the Bulldogs as Bardiya Daneshvar was also losing at some point in his game against Nikolas Theodorou, but by some miracle he managed to establish a fortress and save the game:

Shuvalova – Lee

Last but not least – Polina Shuvalova managed to score a consolation point against Alice Lee, but it was too late to change the outcome of the match:

Thus, Saint Louis Arch Bishops ended up winning the match with 9-7 and qualifying for the playoffs, while simultaneously ending up our season. It is hard to shake the underlying feeling that we ran out of luck in this match and that the final result doesn’t necessarily reflect the events that happened on the board. But then again – which chess event does?

In the end, the result is the only thing that matters and Saint Louis Arch Bishops were more successful this time. I wish them all the luck in the playoffs! As for us, we are going to a deserved break and will be looking forward to returning even stronger the very next season. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my players and thank them for a very professional and good performance in the season. I would also like to thank chess.com for organizing this event and to their staff for ensuring that everything was running smoothly and like a clockwork.

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The post Croatia Bulldogs – Saint Louis Arch Bishops, Pro Chess League 2023: Match Report appeared first on Chessentials.

After scoring a remarkable victory against team Blitz in the week 3 of the Pro Chess League, Croatia Bulldogs were just one match victory away from reaching the playoff stage. Alas, on that path, we had to surmount a very difficult obstacle – the mighty Chinese team Shangai Tigers, led by the female World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun and former prodigy and top grandmaster Wei Yi.

The teams gathered on the International Women’s Day – 8th of March – to battle it out and determine who will proceed to the playoff stage.

Full match report follows.

Team Lineups

Unfortunately for us Bulldogs, we had to enter this match with a somewhat weakened lineup. Due to the fact both of our female players – Polina Shuvalova and Eline Roebers – were unable to participate, we were forced to introduce a last minute substitute for the female board in the form of Irene Sukandar – who graciously decided to step in in the very last minute and try to help the team!

This meant that our maximum allowed rating cap was reduced from 2550 to 2525. Therefore, the decision was made to play without our highest rated player Deac Bogdan-Daniel and to go with the two 2600+ players in the form of Mustafa Yilmaz and Vasif Durarbayli, as well as the league debitant, GM Ante Šarić. Thus the final lineup with the average rating of 2522 was:

• Mustafa Yilmaz
• Vasif Durarbayli
• Ante Šarić
• Irene Sukandar

On the other hand, the Shangai Tigers also decided to go with a somewhat curious lineup without some of the notable strong grandmasters such as Ni Hua or Zhang Zhong, but a lineup featuring the female World Chess Champion, Wei Yi and two young and arguably underrated players, as follows:

• Wei Yi
• Ju Wenjun
• Xu Yi
• Lou Yiping

Even though the opponent’s rating was nominally lower than ours (2511), before the match they could have been probably considered as favourites, due to the fact that Ju Wenjun’s adjusted rating was more significantly reduced than Irene Sukandar’s – as well as to the fact that their young boards 3 and 4 could have been considered somewhat underrated.

However, Croatia Bulldogs were certainly not going to go under without a fight. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the action that unfolded on 8th of March!

Round by round coverage follows.

Round 1

Lou – Yilmaz

Even though Tigers could have been considered as a slight favourites, it didn’t look like that at all in the very first round of the match, as Bulldogs achieved one of the most remarkable round results in the entire season by achieveing an astounding result of 3.5 points!

First of all, Mustafa Yilmaz managed to score the first point for the Bulldogs by convincingly outplaying their board 4 with the Black pieces from a seemingly level position:

Šarić – Ju

Then, on the third board, GM Ante Šarić scored a fantastic positional victory in his debut in the league against the Women World’s Champion:

Xu – Durarbayli

While Šarić and Yilmaz were winning their games, Vasif Durarbayli made a very solid draw on board 2, despite having severe internet issues throughout this encounter:

Sukandar – Wei

Finally, the game on board 4 definitely tipped the scales in our favour, as it featured one of the biggest upsets in the entire Pro Chess League history. Another debutant in the league, IM Irene Sukandar, managed to swindle her way out of a very difficult position against the Chinese superstar Wei Yi and to score a remarkable upset victory:

IM @irene_sukandar fights back from a worse position and ultimately WINS vs. the Shanghai Tigers board one! #ProChess pic.twitter.com/rBrCkBNFD0

— ProChessLeague (@ProChessLeague) March 8, 2023

Therefore, round 1 ended up in an overwhelming +3 lead for the Bulldogs (3.5-0.5). And even though we were all aware that the match is far from over, it was hard not to get optimistic at this point and start thinking about an overall match victory.

Round 2

Yilmaz – Xu

Alas, our lead and optimism didn’t last for too long, as already in round 2 the Chinese team came back into the match and even took the lead by accomplishing a remarkable comeback sweep with the remarkable 4-0 score. It all started when Mustafa Yilmaz threw away a massive advantage in severe time trouble in his game against their board 3 Xu Yi:

“This man is the luckiest man alive!” ( @gmcanty)#ProChess pic.twitter.com/xcJlOK7HqD

— ProChessLeague (@ProChessLeague) March 8, 2023

Durarbayli – Lou

On board 2, something apparently went wrong with Vasif Durarbayli’s opening preparation as he ended up in a position with a clear piece down very early and never came close to coming back in the game:

Wei – Šarić

After his dramatic loss in round 1, Wei Yi showed his class by continuing to play on a very high level, as if nothing happened. After obtaining a very stable advantage in the opening, he continued squeezing Ante Šarić until the latter blundered, allowing a very nice tactical combination, winning the game and clinching another important point for the Tigers:

Ju – Sukandar

Finally, on board 4, Irene Sukandar handled Ju Wenjun’s Catalan very well and probably equalized at some point. Alas, the game kept going and Ju continued to have a nagging pressure, until Irene blundered a knight in a very difficult position:

Thus, after 2 rounds, the situation has changed by 180 degrees, as Bulldogs were the ones who found themselves trailing by one point, with the match score standing at 4.5-3.5.

Round 3

Wei – Durarbayli

Unfortunately for us, in round 3 Wei Yi continued scoring points for the Chinese team. In his game against Durarbayli, the Chinese super-GM opted for the Ruy Lopez, squeezed the opponent on the last three ranks and then simply won a pawn, retaining his positional pluses and providing his opponent zero chances for counterplay:

Ju – Yilmaz

On the other hand, Mustafa Yilmaz managed to recover from his terrible loss in the previous round and score a very important victory against Ju Wenjun, keeping our hopes alive:

Šarić – Lou

Unfortunately, we were not as fortunate on boards 3 and 4. GM Ante Šarić played a wonderful game against Lou Yiping and came very score to scoring a full point, but the Chinese IM managed to escape by the skin of his teeth and save a very important half-a-point for the Tigers:

Sukandar – Xu

On the other hand, board 4 saw another game go in the favour of Tigers as Irene Sukandar made a very unfortunate blunder of the full knight in a somewhat inferior and unpleasant position:

Therefore, after the third round, the Tigers have increased their lead to two points (7-5) and found themselves in a very comfortable and commanding position before the final round.

Round 4

Yilmaz – Wei

Alas, in round 4, the Tigers clinched the job without any problems. In the clash of boards 1, Wei Yi scored yet another victory by executing a perfect attack on Yilmaz’s king in a queenless middlegame:

GM Wei Yi! #ProChess pic.twitter.com/sOqvcBGgLc

— ProChessLeague (@ProChessLeague) March 8, 2023

Lou – Sukandar

Just as the game between Yilmaz and Wei Yi was finishing, the game of boards 4 between Yiping Liu and Irene Sukandar reached a position that was clearly better, virtually winning for the Chinese IM. Realizing that the team only needs half-a-point to clinch the match, he offered a draw which was duly accepted and the outcome of the match was basically decided:

Durarbayli – Ju

Alas, it turned out that Lou’s “precautionary” measure was not at all necessary, as in the clash of boards 2, Vasif Durarbayli suffered the third loss of the day at the hands of the Women’s World Champion:

Xu – Šarić

Last but not least, the crazy game between Xu and Šarić on board 3 also ended in a draw:

Thus, with the very convincing final score of 10-6, the Tigers achieved a remarkable comeback and reached a fully deserved place in the playoffs. As for the Bulldogs, we will have one more chance to do the same in week 5, where we will face another team with the 2-2 score – so stay tuned!

Lichess Study With All The Games:

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Coming Soon

The post Croatia Bulldogs – Shangai Tigers, Pro Chess League 2023: Report appeared first on Chessentials.

After defeating the Berlin Bears, in the third week of Pro Chess League Croatia Bulldogs faced another difficult challenge – a match against the french-based team Blitz, featuring two 2700+ players and managed by the popular streamer Kevin Bordi a.k.a. Blitzstream.

With both teams having an even score (1-1), both teams were hoping to make a significant leap toward the play-off stage (for which three victories are required) and brought their A-game to the table. This resulted in one of the closest, tightest, and most entertaining/nerve-wracking (Pro Chess League) matches yours truly has ever witnessed.

Full report and highlights follow!

Team Lineups

After signing the Serbian nr.1 player GM Aleksandar Inđić and including him in our lineup for the season, we immediately included him in the lineup and fielded a very respectable team with a very similar rating average compared to the previous week:

• Deac Bogdan-Daniel
• Aleksandar Inđić
• Bardiya Daneshvar
• Polina Shuvalova

Our opponents fielded the very same lineup as in the previous weeks, consisting of two 2700+ grandmasters and two lower-rated, but young and ambitious players:

• Alexander Grischuk
• Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
• Mahel Boyer
• Deimante Daultye-Cornette

Even though the (adjusted) rating averages were almost identical (2545 vs 2544), perhaps our opponents could have been considered as slight pre-match favourites, since having two players of MVL and Grischuk’s caliber definitely looks quite threatening on paper. However, if everything ended up as it looked like on paper, we wouldn’t even have to play events of any sort – especially not ones played with rapid control when expected results don’t mean anything once you sit at the board and start playing.

Let’s review the action that unfolded on the evening of 2nd March 2023.

Round 1

Shuvalova – Grischuk

Already the first round demonstrated that it is not so easy to score points in this competition, even if you are a 2700+ player and a former World Blitz Champion. In the first game of the day, our board 4 Polina Shuvalova played very solidly with the White pieces and gave Grischuk very little chance to play for anything.

Daneshvar – Vachier-Lagrave

Bardiya Daneshvar, who has been enjoying a tremendous season so far, continued with a very good performance in the first round and demonstrated further that life won’t be easy for the opponent’s elite players. In a very sharp and double-edged battle, he managed to completely outplay another former World Blitz Champion and obtain a winning position with the help of the pseudo-bishop-sacrifice. However, at the critical moment, he failed to capitalize on the opportunity and let the opponent off the hook:

Even after this mistake, the game remained equal, but alas, Bardiya decided to push the issue a bit too far and was punished, in the end:

Boyer – Inđić

On our board 2 (their board 3), Aleksandar Inđić followed in Mustafa Yilmaz’s footsteps and scored a very nice victory in his opening match for the Croatia Bulldogs, showcasing some very good form and announcing that this is going to be his day:

Daulyte-Cornette – Bogdan-Daniel

Last but not least, our board 1 Deac Bogdan-Daniel also managed to win his game against their board 4 Deimante Daultye-Cornette after yet again employing a somewhat second-rate opening – this time the Owen Defense with 1…b6. It was by no means a smooth game, but ultimately, he managed to prevail in the mutual time trouble and score a very important win:

Thus, even though the game between Daneshvar and MVL left a sour aftertaste due to a missed enormous opportunity, we still managed to win the round with 2.5-1.5 and start the match in a very good fashion.

Round 2

Grischuk – Daneshvar

After losing to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a dramatic fashion, Bardiya Daneshvar had another tough pairing in front of him – Alexander Grischuk with the Black pieces. Despite employing the Caro-Kann instead of his favorite Accelerated Dragon, Bardiya never really got into the game and the former World Blitz Champion scored a very convincing victory:

Vachier-Lagrave – Shuvalova

After scoring a miracle win against Bardiya Daneshvar, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave continued racking points for the Blitz with yet another crazy and sacrificial encounter against Polina Shuvalova. Even though Polina played very well, she fell significantly behind on the clock and then blundered in a very difficult position:

Bogdan-Daniel – Boyer

The game between Deac Bogdan-Daniel and Mahel Boyer was definitely the most shocking game of the round. After outplaying his opponent in a very nice fashion, Deac obtained a completely winning endgame in which seemingly there was no way to spoil things whatsoever. However, whenever there are knights on the board in blitz, there can be tricks – and in severe time trouble Deac overlooked the following tricky tactic:

It was a pure miracle that Deac was not totally lost after being forced to give up the piece and the game ended up in a draw in the end, saving a very important half-a-point for the French team:

Inđić – Daulyte-Cornette

The only win of the round was scored by Aleksandar Inđić, who managed to beat their board 4 Daultye-Cornette, although not without some trouble. At first glance, the opponent’s position looked defensible, but then she blundered the following simple tactic:

and her position collapsed quickly afterward:

Thus, after 2 rounds, we were back to square one. With the match score tied at 4-4, the true drama was just beginning.

Round 3

Bogdan-Daniel – Vachier-Lagrave

Round 3 saw the very first of the two 2700 clashes, the one between Deac Bogdan-Daniel and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Against Deac’s 1.d4, Maxime refrained from playing his favorite Grünfeld and decided to go for the very solid Queen’s Gambit Accepted instead. The equilibrium in this game was never disrupted, so the draw was a very fair (and likely) result:

Inđić – Grischuk

The game between Inđić and Grischuk was almost similarly uneventful. A well-played opening led to a completely equal position, and a draw was very soon agreed:

Boyer – Shuvalova

The encounter between Mahel Boyer and Polina Shuvalova was definitely the most dramatic and topsy-turvy in the entire match. To be fair, Polina did play an excellent game and managed to obtain a completely winning position. However, rook endgames can be very tricky, and in a severe time trouble, she missed several wins and managed to end up in a lost queen endgame:

Fortunately for us, after obtaining such an unexpected chance, Boyer quickly returned the favour and gave up the only pawn on the board, and the game ended in a draw.

Even though we could have been happy with a draw given the final position, given the entire game there was this feeling that Boyer managed to achieve another miracle and save another very important half-a-point that almost ended up costing us dearly!

Daultye-Cornette – Daneshvar

Last but not least, Bardiya Daneshvar managed to bounce back from his back-to-back defeats in the first round and score a very important victory against the opponent’s board 4:

Thus, after 3 rounds, we managed to get back a 1-point lead again (6.5-5.5), although, with such a narrow margin, it was clear that everything would be decided in the very final round of the day!

Round 4

Shuvalova – Daultye-Cornette

Before the match, the general idea was to try and survive against their first two boards and to try and score as many points as possible against their lower two boards. This was especially true in the final round, which would witness the clashes of boards 3 and boards 4 – since we were the ones with the higher rating in both cases.

Alas, all these theoretical plans turned out to be wishful thinking. Because first, Polina Shuvalova quickly found herself a piece down after her opponent employed a very risky and daring opening variation of the Nimzo-Indian. Even though there were quite a few adventures along the way, Polina didn’t manage to sustain her compensation and ended up losing the game:

Daneshvar – Boyer

Next, in the clashes of boards 3, Bardiya Daneshvar ended up playing probably his worst game of the entire season and losing quite brutally to their board 3 Bohel Mayer:

Vachier-Lagrave – Inđić

Since both of the previous two games looked very bad from the early opening stage, things didn’t look too rosy for the Bulldogs given that our boards 1 and 2 faced their two strongest players with the Black pieces. However, our debutant Aleksandar Inđić came to the rescue by beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave using the latter’s weapon – the Sicilian Najdorf – against him. To be fair, his position was also quite suspect out of the opening, but once MVL missed a direct punishment, Inđić managed to grab the initiative and score a remarkable, and hugely important victory:

Grischuk – Bogdan-Daniel

Thus, it transpired that everything would depend on the clash of boards 1 (as they were the last game that remained after the other three finished). Initially, it seemed as if this encounter would also end in a very solid grandmaster draw. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, Grischuk managed to obtain a winning attack, forcing Deac to give up the piece. It seemed as if defeat in the match is imminent. But this time, luck smiled on us, as Grischuk somehow managed to botch it under the time pressure and let Deac escape into a drawn knight+rook vs rook endgame:

Therefore, the match ended up with a tied result of 8-8. This meant that more chess was about to follow as, for the first time this season, the Bulldogs were forced to go into the tiebreak stage.

Tiebreak

The tiebreak stage of the Pro Chess League features an additional round of play with the same pairings as in round 4, but with colours reversed. The time control is reduced from 10+2 to 3+2. If the match is still tied after two additional rounds of play, then play switches to 1+1 until a team wins a round.

 Inđić – Vachier-Lagrave

Given that they just won the last round quite convincingly – and the fact that they have two former World Blitz Champions in their lineup – Blitz could have definitely been regarded as a favourite. However, very quickly it transpired that past titles and theories don’t mean nothing, as Inđić scored yet another victory by dispatching MVL’s Grünfeld in a beautiful miniature:

A tremendous performance in his debut by Alexander, who not only scored 4.5/5 (!!) but also scored two back-to-back victories against MVL (!!!). How many players can say that they have accomplished such a feat?

Bogdan-Daniel – Grischuk

On the first board, Deac Bogdan-Daniel allowed no surprises this time. By employing a very solid Catalan and taking minimum risks, he ensured a safe draw without giving the opponent too many chances:

Daultye-Cornette – Shuvalova

The match fate came down to the clash of the boards 4.  Even though Polina was better in the early middlegame, the game wasn’t without its affairs as she allowed a lot of counterplay which ensured White at least a perpetual. However, Daultye-Cornette decided to avoid the perpetual check in a very unfortunate manner, blundering the game in a single move:

Boyer – Daneshvar

After Polina’s victory, the fate of the tiebreak – and the entire match – was decided, even though Bardiya Daneshvar was still playing his game – which, btw, ended in a draw!

Thus, after a long, stressful, and grueling battle, we managed to win the overall match 11-9. This was a hugely important victory that moves us onto 2-1 score for the season and brought us one step closer to the desired place in the playoff stage!

Lichess study with all the games

Lichess study with highlights

My Video recap with the highlights

Coming soon

Full Stream of the Match

The post Croatia Bulldogs – Blitz, Pro Chess League 2023: Report appeared first on Chessentials.

After a tight and tough loss at the hands of the California Unicorns, in the second match of the season Croatia Bulldogs were paired against German-based team Berlin Bears, who lost their first match, as well, to the mighty Gotham Knights.

With potentially only two weeks remaining, both teams were very much hoping to bounce back with a victory and improve their chances of staying in the league for a bit longer and eventually making it all the way to the playoff. A very tense and interesting match followed which ultimately did end favourably for the Croatia Bulldogs!

Full report and highlights follow!

Team Lineups

After signing the Turkish nr.1 player GM Mustafa Yilmaz and including it in our lineup for the season, we increased our rating average compared to the previous week and came very close to the rating cap barrier of 2550 with an average team rating of 2543:

• Deac Bogdan-Daniel
• Mustafa Yilmaz
• Bardiya Daneshvar
• Eline Roebers

In return, our opponents decided to include a somewhat lower-rated lineup without their highest-rated player Anton Korobov, with an average rating of 2515:

• Matthias Bluebaum
• Dmitrij Kollars
• Michael Bezold
• Josefine Heinemann

Due to the fact that the opponent’s team average rating was somewhat lower than ours AND due to the fact that their lineup featured only two players with significant experience with online chess, I was quite optimistic about our chances before the match started, although it should go without saying that ratings and things “on paper” mean very little once it comes down to actual moves on the board.

Let’s review the action that unfolded on February 24th by checking some of the key moments/games from every round on a round-by-round basis.

Round 1

Josefine Heinemann – Deac Bogdan-Daniel

As usual, the action in the match started with the clashes of boards 1 and 4. Just like in the previous week, Deac Bogdan-Daniel faced the opponent’s board 4 with the Black pieces and employed a somewhat rare and outlandish opening – this time the Scandinavian. However, despite having a clearly worse position at some point, Deac managed to claw his way back to the game, take over the initiative, and then breakthrough with the help of a very nice exchange sacrifice:

Michael Bezold – Mustafa Yilmaz

On board 2, the new member and the debutant for the Croatia Bulldogs, Turkish nr.1 Mustafa Yilmaz immediately showed his worth by absolutely crushing the experienced board 3, GM Michael Bezold, with the Black pieces in just 25 moves:

Bardiya Danesvhar – Dmitrij Kollars

On board 3, the reigning Iranian champion Bardiya Daneshvar continued his very good form from the previous match by being on the better side of a very solid draw with their board 2, a young GM Dmitrij Kollars which was labeled by Levy Rozman and Hikaru Nakamura as arguably the strongest players on the Berlin Bears team (at least in this online rapid format):

Eline Roebers – Matthias Bluebaum

Finally, on board 4, Eline Roebers faced the reigning European Champion and a strong grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum. Even though she played the opening very well and obtained a very healthy and stable position, her opponent demonstrated his class by gradually outplaying her, thus scoring the only win of the round for the Bears:

Alas, despite this loss, the round could have definitely been regarded as a success for the Bulldogs, as we took a one-point lead with 2.5-1.5.

Round 2

Deac Bogdan-Daniel – Michael Bezold

Even though round 1 ended up with our success, a 1-point lead so early in the match can hardly be called decisive. However, in round 2 the Croatia Bulldogs really started running away with the match. On board 1, Deac had the White pieces against their board 3 Michael Bezold. The King’s Indian worked perfectly for the experienced opponent, but Deac demonstrated one characteristic trait of these 2700+ players – extreme resilience, even in bad positions. After a nice tactical trick (b4 and c5), he managed to take over and end the game with a very nice and picturesque checkmate:

Mustafa Yilmaz – Josefine Heinemann

On board 2, Mustafa Yilmaz continued playing in a very convincing manner, by scoring an extremely one-sided and simple-looking victory against WGM Josefine Heinemann:

Bardiya Daneshvar – Matthias Bluebaum

While the results on the first two boards could have been considered as “expected”, board 3 featured a major upset that definitely tipped the scales in our favour. After beating the Unicorn’s board 1 Ray Robson in the previous week, Bardiya Daneshvar continued demonstrating superb class by also dispatching the Bears board 1 and the reigning European Champion Matthias Bluebaum in a complicated struggle:

Dmitrij Kollars – Eline Roebers

The Bears managed to avoid a total collapse in round 2 due to Dmitrij Kollars, who scored a very nice win after Eline Roebers’ risky opening choice went somewhat wrong:

However, despite this victory against our board 4, the Bears found themselves trailing by 3 points (5.5-2.5) and at this point their situation seemed quite desperate, although the match was not yet completely over.

Round 3

Deac Bogdan-Daniel – Dmitrij Kollars

To an extent, round 3 was by far the most shocking in the entire match. Shortly after the round started I was invited to the official chess com broadcast  of the event and at that exact moment, it seemed we are winning on all 4 boards and that the match will finish already after 3 rounds.

Alas, it was not to be. First – on board 1, Deac Bogdan-Daniel let Dmitrij Kollars escape a totally lost position, salvaging an important half-a-point:

Mustafa Yilmaz – Matthias Bluebaum

The turn of events on the second board was even more shocking. After obtaining a very one-sided position out of the opening, Mustafa Yilmaz continued his excellent play from the previous two rounds and managed to a piece. However, Bluebaum refused to go away and continued posing little problems. His resistance was rewarded when Mustafa made a big blunder under severe time pressure:

Bardiya Daneshvar – Josefine Heinemann

To his credit, Bardiya Daneshvar continued displaying impressive performance and easily beat the opponent’s board 4 with the help of a very nice and elegant tactical combination:

Michael Bezold – Eline Roebers

Equally shocking as Yilmaz-Bluebaum was the game between Eline Roebers and Michael Bezold. Eline played a fantastic game and obtained a totally dominating and won position. However, at a critical moment, under severe time pressure, she failed to follow up her (correct) exchange sacrifice with the best continuation, which allowed the opponent to exchange queens, and then lost control over the position:

Thus, instead of winning two games on boards 2 and 4 and essentially clinching the match, we did end up losing the round 2.5-1.5, which reduced the overall match score to “just” a two-point deficit for the Bears (7-5) and the final round had to be played to determine the final winner.

Round 4

Dmitrij Kollars – Mustafa Yilmaz

Even though we entered the round with a two-point margin and as big favourites, the final round turned out to be very nerve-wracking and tense (especially from the spectator’s viewpoint). Dmitrij Kollars managed to demonstrate his class and overcome the shaken Mustafa Yilmaz with the help of some very aggressive and tricky opening preparation:

Eline Roebers – Josefine Heinemann

Around the same time, in the clash of boards 4, Josefine Heinemann managed to obtain a winning position in a sharp Sicilian after Eline blundered and allowed her to open up the f-file with the decisive effect:

Bardiya Daneshvar – Michael Bezold

With these two wins, the Bears got the legitimate chance to achieve a comeback of miraculous proportions. However, just as the other two games were finishing, it was becoming more and more clear that there would be no comeback at all, as Bardiya continued his tremendous performance by obtaining a winning position against the opponent’s Dzindzi Indian and then converting the rook endgame in a very nice and precise fashion:

Matthias Bluebaum – Deac Bogdan-Daniel

Similarly, in the clash of boards 1, Deac managed to show his class by obtaining a better position with a monster knight on d3, which prompted his opponent to go for a desperate exchange sacrifice, for which he never got sufficient compensation:

Therefore, with the final result of 9-7, we managed to score the first victory of the season and ensure the prolongation of our journey in the Pro Chess League at least until week 4. Berlin Bears now face a tense match for elimination in their week 3 match of the season – and I sincerely wish them a lot of good luck and all the best in that critical encounter.

As for us, we will continue our journey and struggle for a place in the playoff stage against the mighty team Blitz led by Alexandar Grischuk and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the upcoming week.

Lichess Study With All The Games:

Liches Study With Highlights:

My Video Recap with Highlights:

Full VOD of the Stream of the Match:

The post Croatia Bulldogs – Berlin Bears, Pro Chess League 2023: Report appeared first on Chessentials.

In the opening match of the 2023 Pro Chess League season, Croatia Bulldogs faced California Unicorns, a US-based team managed by IMs Kostya Kavutskiy and David Pruess from the Chess Dojo, featuring some of the strongest players from the States, such as GM Sam Shankland and GM Ray Robson, but also the leading youth chess talent from India, GM Dommaraju Gukesh. 

It was a very tense and close encounter that kept the viewers on the edge until the very end… and that also probably ended up costing yours truly several years of his life :D.

Full report and highlights follow.

Team Lineups

In the very first match of the season, we decided to go for a very strong lineup, averaging 2533 ELO – just 17 points below the maximum allowed average of the team 2550 ELO:

• Deac Bogdan-Daniel
• Leon Livaić
• Bardiya Daneshvar
• Polina Shuvalova

In return, our opponents decided to omit their first two seeded players Gukesh and Shankland from their lineup and decided to meet us with 3 2600+ players:

• Ray Robson
• Dariusz Swiercz
• Georg Meier
• Sabina Foisor

Despite a somewhat different approach in which we decided to for a more balanced team, while our opponents decided to have one player significantly lower-rated than the others, due to the rating cap the average team ratings were approximately balanced. Therefore, a tough and close match was to be expected, so the fact that it all came to a very narrow margin is not at all that surprising.

Let’s review the action that unfolded on February 17th by checking some of the key moments/games from every round on a round-by-round basis.

Round 1

Sabina Foisor – Deac Bogdan-Daniel

In his very first game of the season, Deac Bogdan-Daniel faced California Unicorn’s lowest board (and rated player), WGM Sabina Foisor. Already from the opening stage, it was clear he was trying to play for the win, given that he opted for the Modern Defense, which definitely helped him score some points with the team’s manager CM Vjekoslav Nemec (who is the author of a Chessable course on this opening).

Fortunately, Deac also scored a point on the board. The game was quite complicated and interesting, but Deac gradually outplayed the opponent in a very complex position and obtained a winning position. Then, at the crucial moment of the game, in mutual time trouble, he decided to go for a very thematic exchange sacrifice, doubling the opponent’s c-pawns and obtaining a monster dark-squared bishop:

Deac had no problems in converting the advantage:

Georg Meier – Leon Livaić

Alas, on the second board, things didn’t go in our favor at all, as Leon quickly got into trouble against Georg Meier’s pet opening – the Catalan – and on move 17 he committed a final mistake in an extremely difficult position (where only a deep, impossible engine line would have kept him in the game):

Meier had no problems in converting the advantage – and he did so in a very attractive and stylish way:

Bardiya Daneshvar – Dariusz Swiercz

On the other hand, on the third board, the newly-crowned teenager GM from Iran, Bardiya Daneshvar, immediately showed it is going to be his day by completely outplaying the strong opponent and a renowned theoretician GM Dariusz Swiercz from a seemingly innocuous, quiet, and equal-looking position. Alas, his opponent defended very stubbornly and it was very difficult to break through Black’s position, so the game did ultimately end in a draw, but I was very impressed with the way Bardiya put a 2650 GM under pressure:

Polina Shuvalova – Ray Robson

Last but not least, on our “last” board, Polina Shuvalova faced the opponent’s nr.1 player, GM Ray Robson. She decided to employ a very brave and interesting opening which led to a fascinating and complex middlegame position where both sides had their chances. Alas, Robson kept his nerve and defended very well. Under pressure, Polina cracked and committed a decisive mistake on move 25:

Robson had no problem clinching the game from that point, employing some very nice, puzzle-rush-looking tactics at the very end:

Standings after round 1

Thus, after the first round, we found ourselves trailing by 1 point, which was not the start we were hoping for – but which was also not terrible or catastrophic by any means!

Round 2

Deac Bogdan-Daniel – Georg Meier

In the second round, Deac faced the solid Georg Meier with the White pieces. After employing a very unconventional and creative opening, he did get a very promising position – and his advantage slowly grew as the game progressed – and at some point grew to a decisive proportion. Alas, at a few critical moments, Deac failed to finish the opponent – for example on move 22 when arguably the biggest opportunity of the game appeared:

Thus, the resilient Georg Meier managed to diffuse the advantage and score a very important half-a-point for the Unicorns:

Leon Livaić – Sabina Foisor

In his second game, Leon faced board 4 of the opponent’s team, Sabina Foisor. Given the rating difference between the players of almost 400 points, we were very much hoping that this would lead to another full point for our team. Alas, not only did not happen – but ultimately we can be very happy that Leon managed to salvage a draw and not lose the game – which was clearly winning for Sabina at multiple points:

Ray Robson – Bardiya Daneshvar

On board 3, Bardiya Daneshvar faced the opponent’s board 1 Ray Robson with the Black pieces. And initially, the game went as you would expect, with Robson obtaining a marked advantage on the White side of the Maroczy bind. However, as usual with these Maroczy positions, Bardiya slowly managed to diffuse the opponent’s advantage, completely equalize and then even take over in the opponent’s time trouble. The culminating moment happened on move 45:

After his tactical sequence, Bardiya didn’t have much trouble in converting, despite the very severe and mutual time trouble:

Dariusz Swiercz – Polina Shuvalova

Alas, in the last game of the round, Dariusz Swiercz demonstrated why he is considered a very serious opening theoretician, by demonstrating some very nice preparation against Polina’s Nimzo Indian, obtaining a very pleasant position and converting to a full point:

Standings after round 2

Therefore, after the second round, the distance of one point was maintained – although the main battles of the day were yet to come!

Round 3

Dariusz Swiercz – Deac Bogdan-Daniel

In round 3, the most shocking game of the entire event, which probably decided the entire fate of this match, happened between Dariusz Swiercz and Deac Bogdan-Daniel. After obtaining a very solid position out of the opening and equalizing relatively comfortably, Deac started slowly grinding and outplaying the opponent – and his advantage slowly grew until it became decisive. However, at the crucial moment, with only 9 seconds on the clock, he made an inexplicable mistake and gave up his passed pawn instead of queening it in a single move:

This not only threw away the full point but also half a point, as Dariusz suddenly obtained a totally won position out of nowhere and Deac resigned just a few moves later:

Alas, this missed opportunity would cost us dearly and would have a decisive impact on the match, especially when we also consider what happened in the game between Robson and Livaić.

Ray Robson – Leon Livaić

Alas, the 17th of February was simply not Leon’s day. In his 3rd round game against Robson, he obtained a fighting and complicated position and managed to outplay the opponent. At some point he was clearly better – arguably even winning – but he let the advantage slip and transposed into a dead-drawn endgame. However, he suddenly found himself on the worse side of equality due to the opponent’s annoying h-pawn. Robson kept posing some practical problems and ultimately, in a tricky position and with the seconds ticking, Leon blundered and even went on to lose:

Bardiya Daneshvar – Sabina Foisor

Alas, after the drama in the first two games, the fate of the match was practically decided. Some glimmer of hope was provided by Bardiya Daneshvar who managed to beat the opponent’s board 4, Sabina Foisor. It is actually a very interesting game in itself – Bardiya was pretty much winning almost straight out of the opening, but at some point he lost the plot and even allowed the opponent back in the game, but ultimately he managed to prevail and keep the glimmer of hope for our team alive:

Polina Shuvalova – Georg Meier

In the last game of the round, Polina faced another pet opening by her opponent – the French Rubinstein. She came very well-prepared and obtained a very pleasant position in which only White can be better, although Black remained very solid. Very soon after the opening stage was over, she decided to repeat and take the draw, which was a good result from the competitive viewpoint, as there was no way she could have envisioned the drama that happened in the other games of the round:

Standings after round 3

Thus, after round 3, the match was very close to being over, as we suddenly found ourselves trailing by two points (5-7). If Deac had won his game, the score would have been tied going into the final round, but alas, Caissa decreed otherwise (although one could make a whole debate about whether Caissa has anything to do with flagging and time trouble in online chess :D).

Round 4

Deac Bogdan- Daniel – Ray Robson

Of course, some glimmer of hope still remained as the fourth round had to be played. In the clash of the highest-rated players, Deac had the White pieces and Robson took a very smart decision to employ the sturdy Berlin Defence. Alas, when Deac never really got anywhere and settled for a draw, it was clear that our chances of winning the matches are slowly dwindling:

Leon Livaić – Dariusz Swiercz

Leon’s game against Swiercz saw another Berlin defence. Leon employed a very interesting way of avoiding the notorious Berlin draw and did obtain a slightly more pleasant position. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to make most of his position and even found himself worse at some point, until his opponent quite sensibly settled for a draw in the final position (with only 12 seconds on the clock!) as he realized this result is going to secure the team victory for Unicorns, given that Meier was simultaneously beating Daneshvar on board 3.

Georg Meier – Bardiya Daneshvar

As mentioned above, Georg Meier managed to defeat Bardiya Daneshvar and secure the victory for the Unicorns. However, it was not at all a smooth or one-sided performance. Bardiya actually managed to equalize out of the opening with relative ease and Meier had no advantage. However, at the critical moment, Bardiya – due to the overall match standings – had to try and fight for the win in a position where no win was possible:

Alas, Meier had no problems in converting in this rook endgame once he was given the chance:

Sabina Foisor – Polina Shuvalova

In the last game of the round, Polina did manage to show her class and beat Sabina Foisor in a very smooth and convincing fashion, but alas, it was not enough for us to reduce the deficit accumulated over the previous three rounds:

Standings after round 4

Therefore, the final result of the match was 9-7 and California Unicorns managed to score their first victory. It is a bit of a pity that the match was decided by an “online-only” blunder in the game between Deac and Swiercz, but such is the nature of these competitions. We will be looking to bounce back in our next match against Berlin Bears, scheduled for 24th of February, 2023.

Lichess Study With All The Games

Liches Study With Highlights

My Video Recap with Highlights

Full VOD of the Stream of the Match:

The post Croatia Bulldogs – California Unicorns, Pro Chess League 2023, Week 1 Report appeared first on Chessentials.

Best of Deac Bogdan-Daniel

(Note: The full study with Deac’s annotated games can be found on the following link and is publicly available for free)

1) Sozin, Stepan – Bogdan Daniel, Deac, World School U15, Iasi, 2012.

One from Deac’s youth, when he was only 11 years old.

2) Berry, Neil – Bogdan Daniel, Deac, European Team Championship, 2017.

A very nice combination from 2017, when Deac was already a strong 2550+ GM.

3) Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Bogdan-Daniel, Deac, GCT Bucharest Classic, 2021

An encounter from Deac’s first real super-tournament and the first victory (?) against one of the best players in the world and a 2750+ rated GM.

4) Adams, Michael – Bogdan-Daniel, Deac, European Team Championship, 2021.

Another impressive victory against a member of the 2700+ club!

5) Rapport, Richard – Bogdan-Daniel, Deac, Superbet Romania, 2022

Another victory against the member of the world top 10 from the most recent super-tournament of Deac’s career!

Best of Deac Bogdan-Daniel – Video

References and Links:

Croatia Bulldogs Official Website

Deac Bogdan-Daniel Player Profile

The post Best of Deac Bogdan-Daniel appeared first on Chessentials.