A missed chance to school a 2.700 GM – got schooled instead

GM Igor Kovalenko, rated with an Elo of 2.684 when this game was played, is the strongest OTB player in correspondence. He uses correspondence chess to test and sharpen his opening repertoire. Since results are secondary to him, he often doesn't squeeze the last bit out of slightly superior positions (as long as he maintains …

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Screwing with the structure: how to max out an initiative

A novelty deep down the road in a doubleedged, somewhat shady line of the Queen's Indian, improving on a 2.700 GM's game. An instructive middlegame with a bunch of positional concepts and tactical motifs in play, pushing an initiative two pawns down. And finally breaking the stiff resistance in an endgame, in which White sacrifices …

Channeling the inner AlphaZero

Positional dominance being a piece down. AlphaZero would approve of this game. Stockfish on its own couldn't have done it, but with a little help from its human friend and carefully guided to the (almost) winning position at move 17 it then channeled its inner AlphaZero in the most flashy way possible. Even a little piece …