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Wesley So vs Hrant Melkumyan
"Hrant and Rave" (game of the day Aug-09-2022)
Chennai Olympiad (2022), Chennai IND, rd 7, Aug-05
Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack. Mindeno Variation Exchange Line (B11)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-06-22  Natasha Romannoff: If a world class player like Wesley So 'sacrifices' a piece think twice
Aug-06-22  Little Caezarz: A sacrifice is often the moment of truth -- who will win, and who will lose. If 19...dxe4, the black king gets pulled out of his hole by a 20.Qxf7+ sacrifice with checkmate to follow!
Aug-06-22  newzild: Rook both ways...

Incredible series of rook moves by Wesley, starting with 19. Rxe4, which would make a nice Friday or Saturday puzzle.

The point is 19...de? 20. Qxf7+! Kxf7 21. Bc4+ Kf6 22. Nxe4+ Kf5 23. g4+ Kxe4 24. Re1+ Kf3 25. Bd5#

Aug-06-22  Brit Griner: Black was well until fork 18....e4? blew up in his face.
Aug-07-22  thegoodanarchist: Hrant and Rave

Submitted for GOTD

Aug-07-22  thegoodanarchist: <newzild: Rook both ways... Incredible series of rook moves by Wesley, starting with 19. Rxe4, which would make a nice Friday or Saturday puzzle. The point is 19...de? 20. Qxf7+! Kxf7 21. Bc4+ Kf6 22. Nxe4+ Kf5 23. g4+ Kxe4 24. Re1+ Kf3 25. Bd5#>

The Black king is led, in chains, into prison in the White camp. Where he will be executed.

I think 19...de deserves two or three "?"

And the Black army is helpless to do anything but stand by and watch.

Aug-07-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: I blogged about this amazing game here: https://lichess.org/@/Kingscrusher-...
Aug-09-22  ndg2: Amazing potential mate combo starting with 19.♖xe4 (19..dxe4?? was wisely avoided, but that didn't help either).

It should be noted though that both 17.♖e3?! (17.♖e2 or 17.♖ad1 are better) and especially 18.♗h6? (white had to take on e5 with 18.dxe5) are less than stellar or outright bad, respectively.

Black had 18..♗f8! with good play or even just 18..exd4 instead of the blunder 18..e4??.

Aug-09-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Quite the reminder of how brutal this game of ours can get. To go from "outplaying the Super-GM" to busted in a single (albeit spectacular) move? Brutal.
Aug-09-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: <kingscrusher: I blogged about this amazing game>

Amazingly, someone mentioned that an amazing identical sacrifice was played in Lobron vs P Sjodahl, 1994.

Aug-09-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Teyss: That's a quick turnaround for GOTD but worth it, three sacs in six moves.

As noted by <ndg2> 18.Bh6 was inaccurate: if Black had played 18...Bf8 19.Bxf8 (nothing better) e4! 20.Qd1 (or other) Rxf8 21.Bb5 (best) f5, he would have had a good position (SF -1.5 at 49 ply).


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"A weak move that is not parried can become very dangerous" (forgot who said that).

Black was probably expecting 18.dxe5 Bc5 19.e6 fxe6 with an equal position (SF 0.0 at 49 ply). After 18.Bh6 he forgot he was playing So and thought he could win a piece. Of course after 19.Rxe4, White is much better: extra P, weak d5 P, White pieces converging towards the BK, uncoordinated Black pieces.

Aug-09-22  Brenin: The K-hunt after 19 ... dxe4 20 Qf7+ is a joy to behold: White's pieces combine like clockwork, allowing even a beginner to deliver mate.
Aug-09-22  thegoodanarchist: <Teyss: That's a quick turnaround for GOTD>

Yes, but I've seen faster turns:

Carlsen vs Karjakin, 2016

Aug-09-22  Cheapo by the Dozen: Quite the poisonous rook!
Aug-09-22  Transfinite Cardinal: Astonishing Rook sacrifice followed by queen sacrifice if the Rook was accepted - stunning chess from Wesley
Aug-10-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: 18...e4 was amazingly naive play by Melkumyan, which brought to my mind Frumkin's 25...Nxd1 in Waitzkin vs E Frumkin, 1987. But So is the No.5 player in the world, not a little kid. Did Melkumyan (himself no slouch) really think that So had blundered a piece?
Aug-10-22  thegoodanarchist: < FSR: 18...e4 was amazingly naive play by Melkumyan, which brought to my mind Frumkin's 25...Nxd1 in Waitzkin vs E Frumkin, 1987. >

Great recall, <FSR>!

Thanks for this blast from the past.

Aug-10-22  GlennOliver: "<Transfinite Cardinal>: Astonishing Rook sacrifice followed by queen sacrifice if the Rook was accepted - stunning chess from Wesley"

Well said.

Amazing to find this over the board in the heat of an Olympiad.

Leonard Barden includes analysis of this sequence in today's Guardian -

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...

Aug-10-22  Cassandro: I wouldn't call it an astonishing rook sac. What was astononishing was 18...e4? As <FSR> says, 18...e4 is amazingly naive. 19.Rxe4 is not at all that hard to find.
Aug-11-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: As <Natasha Romannoff> said, <If a world class player like Wesley So 'sacrifices' a piece think twice>. So would not have allowed 18...e4 if the move was any good.

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