31 January 2017

Missed Chance

Baskaran Adhiban won the challengers group in the 2016 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, earning a position in the top section this year. He stood one place above last after four rounds, having lost two games and drawn two. The commentators were beginning to discuss how the winner of the challengers group often gets clobbered when they move up to the top group.

In round five, Adhiban put an end to this conversation. He beat Sergey Karjakin! He did not lose another game through the rest of the tournament and finished tied for third place with Wei Yi and Levon Aronian.

He might have finished even stronger. In round eleven, he reached this position against Magnus Carlsen, who finished the tournament in second place.

Black to move

The game ended in a draw. Can you find the combination that Adhiban missed?

Hat tip to Daniel King's PowerPlayChess video on this game.

2 comments: