Giri and Duda FIGHT For Their Piece of $1M Chess.com Global Championship Prize! | RO16!

Featuring the world’s greatest players, former world champions and online chess legends, the $1,000,000 Chess.com Global Championship is our biggest EVER tournament! After months of qualifiers, the top 32 players have advanced and are joined by 32 invited chess stars to compete for their share of the prize fund and the Chess.com Global Champion title.

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[Music] Thank you [Music] Foreign [Music] Thank you Open to anyone All around the world the chess.com Global Championship offers the dream of Playing against the best we are in for a Wild ride and hey have we mentioned There’s also a million dollars at stake The total pot is a million dollars no That it’s not a typo the prizes our Unbelievably generous The cgc Knockout Phase has hit crunch time We began with thousands of players now Only a handful remains 131 moves is what It took for Wesley so to make it Toronto On the Unpensive effort among no matter who you Are things are about to get very very Real A huge collapse from carwana it all went Downhill and Dimitri and draken punches His ticket to the round of eight in Unreal fashion at stake a trip to the Finals in Toronto and a clean shot at The largest first place prize of the Year Oh my friends it’s the cgc round of 16. Who’s headed to Toronto It’s time to find out Welcome back everybody to the 2022

Chess.com Global Championship presented By Brave I’m Grand Master Robert Hess Alongside me my good friend Grandmaster Amman Hamilton Amman great to see you Buddy and it’s going to be another Exciting set of matches Hey Robert what’s up to everyone Watching around the world yeah this is Going to be such an exciting day of Chess the matches I mean there’s so much At stake Robert as we Whittle down Towards that final eight that go to Toronto you just know that the pressure Is mounting for everybody involved For sure and you know as we try to find Out who our eight contestants will be in Toronto we want to give a quick shout Out to Brave who will be our presenting Sponsor all the way through the live Finals in Toronto so thank you very much But we do want to remind everybody of Two players who already have made their Way through thanks to Sunday’s box score They uh were the the All-American Derby This looked like the US Championship Over there Amon I know exactly that These uh matches were ones that I also Had the pleasure of calling as well so Pretty exciting Lavon kind of dispatched Of Sam Sevin but I feel like that’s Where it didn’t really represent what Went on in that match and then of course What a thriller in Wesley and Jeffrey it Was just punches back and forth and it

Was Wesley who landed the final blow Yeah you had a fun day on Sunday because That Armageddon match it felt like Jeffrey was just about to make his way Through but the Superstar the world top 10 player he escaped and makes his way To Toronto at the start of next month But I’m on Monday’s action I had the Call with Levy for that Hikaru Nakamura No real surprise there I guess you could Say but how about in the other match in Group d Yeah Fabiano caruana Dimitri on draken I I think a lot of people did not expect This result but I have to say Robert I’m Not surprised at the final result now The way that we got there that’s a Different story is those games could Easily have gone Fabiano’s way but Dimitri and draken is such a top player And such a contender in this rapid Format that I really think he could go All the way yeah he showed what Resilience and started defense will do For you and he is well people in this Side of the bracket they would like to Join Dimitri on draken Hikaru Nakamura The number one overall seed again no Surprise he’s made his way through but Amman we still have four spots in the Round of eight available as we look at The bracket from top to bottom yeah They’re trying to face Hikaru Nakamura And Anish giri and papa the winner of

This match they won’t know who they will Face until next week Yeah exactly I mean Nakamura solidified His spot with a nice win over Dominguez Fairly uh you know very solid match from Him as well I think he’s actually picked Up his level as the tournament has gone On uh that’s the way I feel so of course Uh you know Duda and Serana fighting for A spot to play him but you know imagine You’ve got this match in front of you Such a tough one and then it’s like hey Congratulations here’s the car Nakamura Yeah for sure well they would get Minimum extra ten thousand dollars from Winning this match as it separates the Top eight uh Finish versus the round of 16 conclusion but we have two exciting Matchups today really good stuff and it Comes with players who are a bit of a Surprise we have some Cinderella stories Mom Yeah the I think today is going to be so Exciting for a number of reasons Robert Uh first of all we have a couple players That are what I like to call the bracket Busters you know these guys are still in The tournament everyone loves that Underdog Story and punk kratov and Serana they are exactly that two Extremely strong players that I just Love the format of this entire event is Giving them the platform a shine Oh for sure and Alexi Serrano is a known

Player to most of the chess Community These days thanks to success in the many Online events and we’ll see him take on Yanchustav Duda today so these two they Don’t have a huge history as we could See on the graphic here Duda has won Their only a meet up at the world rapid Championship so unfamiliar foes Yeah and it’s actually a little bit odd Considering like these are two extremely Strong players and extremely young Players and just somehow the way it’s Played out in the Chess World they just Haven’t encountered each other in Tournaments over the board even that Much online so people are kind of Gathered here to watch uh in a little Bit of History not much between these Guys before so a lot of question marks Uh on top of this match Robert so really Excited to see how these players match Up because I think we’ve seen Duda in The spotlight a little bit more but in Terms of the online success Serana has Just been killing it lately yeah he Really has I mean the guy just feels Like he’s always a contender for title Tuesdays obviously in this tournament Itself he just eliminated chakra Mamajarov with an immortal that game was A sight to behold and so I think that He’ll hold nothing back and I don’t even Know how big of a favorite JKD is but Before we dive into the numbers on that

Match let’s go to the other one today The one that will start our day off Between Anish giri and Pablo pankratov These two also have not played but That’s a little bit less surprising Indeed yeah anishikiri you know needs no Introduction uh one of the top players In the world for a very long time as Well and Pavel pancratoff like he’s just That guy that won’t go away in in this Tournament and for such a good reason He’s so strong and he’s demonstrated That over the course of this uh knockout Event I think you have to have really Good nerves and you just have to have That tenacity in these events the the Strong mentality because he’s been in Positions where you know he could have Been knocked out he’s been in positions Where he’s up against the strongest Players in the world but he’s always Found a way to come back and he’s Progressed in this bracket talk about a Top player in the world well he’s got Another one in Anish giri so he is going To have his work cut out for him today And for the rest of the tournament if His run continues I think it’s the best Thing about the cgc it gives the Spotlight to a player like punkaratov Who may not be known around the world But he did beat vishwanathan Anand and Nordic Abdus atarov in back to back Matches so we’ll see if he can make his

Way through to Toronto but Amman the Predictions going into this event people Who filled out their brackets these are Unexpected matchups They are and I’m just gonna go ahead and Uh give a shout out to anybody who Predicted these matchups because there’s Not that many of you and I I think a Small pat on the back is in order first Of all to even predict that these Matchups would happen and then the other Interesting thing Robert for me is I’m Looking at the matchups and first of all Pavel pankratov Alexi Serrano of course They’re underdogs but I’m actually uh You know kind of impressed and Interested in the fact that of the People who predicted these matchups to Happen it feels like we do have some you Know staunch Believers in The Underdogs Overall yeah 24 people have paba punk Ratov in their top eight that is very Surprising giving the gauntlet he’s gone Through he beat Vichy he beat Nordic Abdusitar of the reigning world rapid Champion and then he has to beat Anish Giri along the way It’s just shocking to see that and I’m Less surprised by the serrana stands out There because Saran has made a name for Himself but still 152 people saw Alexi Beating vidit beating mama jarov and Then taking down Duda yeah that’s that’s Pretty incredible to see that all the

Way the belief in that player so that’s Why these matches are so exciting and Obviously I’m interested to see is the Community gonna continue to be right you Know the 24 faithful for for Papa here We’ll we’ll wait and see Well pankaja will have to defeat Anish Giri and it’s good he’s got to do so in A Four game match just a reminder to all The folks out there who are watching That this is a best of four two and a Half points wins in regulation but if The 2-2 tie in the 15 minute plus two Second increment time Patrol we get to Armageddon with bidding so Amman we’ve Seen many great matchups thus far but Pavo pancrata he’s kind of the king of Armageddon yeah and and I I think that Sort of speaks to the tenacity and just The the you know mentality you need to Have for these knockout matches it Always seems so calm so you know he’s Nerveless I I just get that feeling when I watch him play he’s not concerned He’ll play White he’ll play Black it Doesn’t matter in the Armageddon there’s A job to do and I think he evaluates his Chances pretty high if he can take the Match to an Armageddon game and as the Underdog I think that’s a very viable Strategy Yes no it certainly is and we see him in His vintage pose with the sun shining Down on him he needs all the help he can

Get and look at him he’s he’s rocking His head a little bit there he’s vibing And Anish on the other hand he’s just Getting the chess player mentality Concentrating trying to figure out what Openings he’s going to employ so I’m Really looking forward to this match Indeed and you know everybody probably Does know and might need a reminder that Anish giri you know one of the best Theoreticians and opening specialists in The entire world Um in chess right now so it’ll be very Interesting from my perspective to see The openings to these games I’m Wondering is you know is Anish gonna Come up flying with a lot of a lot of Theory a lot of preparation maybe a lot Of speed early on because that’s what we Kind of know I need to do is that you Know he puts you under pressure in areas Where he excels and because he’s such an Opening specialist I feel like he’ll be Looking to get quick moves out in the Opening uh test pancradov see if he can Keep up uh Theory wise and maybe get an Edge on the clock Yeah and Denise Geary played the best Match of anybody and that’s a big Accolade considering how many good Matches there have been but he destroyed Ronald saidwani that was not even close To a true match I think he made Roundup Look hundreds of rating points worse

Than he truly is so Amana Anish is Showing that he cares that he’s ready to Play anybody and he’s not taking his Status for granted that’s right and you Know Pavel I think he’s just got that Fearless mentality he doesn’t care What’s going to be thrown at him you Know he’s he’s been up against some Titans in this tournament already what’s Another one to him you know so I think He’s been in this situation before uh he Knows how to handle it and it’s just Going to come down to you know the Nerves and the preparation on game day Here as it looks like we’ve got the Players here and uh we’ll probably be Set to start any second now Yeah the games are going to get underway Very shortly the players are here on Screen and there we are off we see a French defense I didn’t have time to Complain and say how I can’t believe it Uh but the players are off here and Amman how about punkrata he showed that He would be happy to play the French Against Vichy so why change against Nishikiri and I I’d like that approach I Think especially when you are the Underdog you probably don’t want to Change too much you know if it ain’t Broke don’t fix it and you know if You’re going up against anishagiri I Think you’re better off playing what you Know what you’ve studied and what’s

Worked for you rather than trying to say Oh he’ll prepare for me let me try to Mix it up no I think I think you stick With what you know and you test it out What an interesting move Rook to B8 There so this position already is Extraordinarily rare but I don’t quite Understand Rook B8 as you don’t have B5 Defended there are two of White’s pieces Covering the square so it feels a little Bit slow and that’s why the evaluation Bar has gone up to plus one that move Was not appreciated Yeah and I think that move Um I feel like I’ve seen it before it’s Almost like a uh you know a catcher like A pre-moved catcher if you play Bishop D3 then I think Black Goes Pawn to C4 Pawn to B5 it kind of gets a really Quick momentum on the queen side going But it almost looks like Anish so Familiar with this idea that he quickly Took on C5 did not let that happen and Then you’re right the Rook B8 move just Kind of looks a little funny now yeah It’s like white got a very useful move A3 to play B4 next and blacksman was Rook B8 which doesn’t look like where The Rook wants to be and in fact if you Play A5 Rook would prefer to be on A8 so I think an opening win in terms of the Early stage battle for nishikiri and now It’s about this bishop and that’s why I Don’t like the French this bishop is

Blocked in by its own pieces this Knight You go to B5 at any moment not just to Go to D6 but also sometimes you go to D4 And oh my gosh Amanda looks like they’re About to be problems on the light Squares for black Exactly I mean yeah this isn’t exactly a Uh an advertisement for the French right Now uh the bishop on C8 looks about as Bad as a bishop could look in the French And the move F6 while it is absolutely a Thematic move when you couple it with The move Rook B8 and the fact that black Isn’t castled you just get this feeling That Black’s trying to do too much too Early and oftentimes you need to be Castled or you need that extra Tempo Before you break the center open and I’m Shocked that pancreat is playing this Quickly he’s only spent 30 seconds and Of course a little bit more with the Increment but he to make him look like F6 it is thematic among you’ve been a French player you know that of course This is standard fare but this early With the king in the center as you’re Mentioning I think Anish can simply Castle because there’s no way black has Taken E5 thus yet you’re gonna have to Castle yourself and I just feel like White’s attack will be quite strong Yeah and if black ever needs to admit That White’s attack is too strong and Play the move F5 that’s a bad sign for

For black so now that he’s played F6 I Feel like he is kind of committed to This F takes E5 move at some point so Things probably will open up and I think You’re right about that pressure on the King side as soon as White Castles you Know there’s gonna be takes on H7 stuff The night swinging to G5 and hang on Don’t forget about the queen side Robert Knight to B5 wants to go to either D4 or The D6 Square Yeah this E6 Pawn will be tender in many Positions so black lack space I think The good news for pancroftov is he has Clear pressure in the center and Nish He’s playing E4 today or it’s a lot of Times he plays D4 so he chose his Opening he wanted to get in the French But now that he’s here familiarity often Is the way that you secure results Versus just good positions And interestingly I thought that Geary would be the one You know coming in flying in the opening Looking for that time Advantage but it’s Kind of the opposite at the moment not Necessarily in a good way oftentimes When you see like a fairy top player Diving into an opening think well either He’s never seen it before and he’s in Trouble and it’s you know you’re coming Up with some prep or you know the Dreaded uh something doesn’t feel right Here and I feel like Anish is in that

One right now where something feels off And he has castled that pawn on E5 Robert is not for the taking no that’s Why I will quickly castles himself and The other game is getting underway so We’ll leave this French for now and go Over to the Polish versus Russian battle And we have a sicilian and are we gonna Get a night or because that would make Us both very happy Yeah that would that would be a really Fun one and wow G3 you know Robert I Have this thing with G3 and the Sicilian And it’s just one of those moves that You can play in every single Sicilian There’s not a sicilian where you can’t Play it and it’s always going to be you Know reasonable it’s never going to be a Mistake this is one of those ways to get An opening system that’s not too Theoretical and just play chess I shook my head a little bit though Because we do prefer our pawns going to G4 and up the board from the tech but The way Jan shisto is handling this is Positionally the D5 square is almost Always a problem with the night ORF Because of where Black’s pawns are you’d Like to get a pawn to C6 but I’m never Going to capture a piece there and with Bishop G2 the Knight Pawn the Queen the Bishop all covering D5 you’re gonna be Saddled with this backward Pawn D6 for Pretty much the remainder of the game

That’s right yeah it’s like it’s a Ongoing battle for that D5 square like Who can control it who has more control Of the position and such an interesting Move Bishop to G5 that we saw earlier uh From Duda because it seems to me like The move H6 Robert isn’t that kind of Useful for black to have in It’s useful but it also is a hook so if Serana had any ideas of castling then I’m gonna play G4 and when I play G5 I Can break open the king side whereas if That pawn can go back to H7 upon a G5 Doesn’t really threaten all that much so It’s one of those pros and cons Situation where judically has studied The position and he’s enjoying the fact That pawns on H6 but that’s why Serrano Plays on the other side of the board With B6 Yeah the the bishop you know it’s far Different from that French Bishop we saw In the other game Robert Bishop on C8 Actually has some prospects here we’ll Be heading to the B7 Square where Obviously white is looking to match that With Bishop to G2 probably King side Castling and you know due to the pawn on A4 the pawn on e4 and White’s position He’s really trying to clamp the moves B5 And D5 so I think if we see B5 or D5 Successfully from black then it’s Probably going to be a good position for Him absolutely usually if you get those

Pawn breaks in you’re a very happy Camper and one other thing to note is This Knight could venture out to C5 at Some moment black has put pawns on Squares that protected and that could Give black a little bit more space Because for now white has more control Over this board but Serana playing Quickly is one of the best opening Theoreticians in the world and he is not Going to be afraid of yanches of dude Just because he played in the Candace Tournament and has won events like the Super bet Holland rapid and Blitz Yeah it’s like he’s he’s not going to be Scared of him because of well here’s 10 Reasons to be scared of them Yeah no I yeah I’m just saying that uh JKD has had some great successes to his Name but serrana fears nobody and look At this setup of mine all of White’s Pieces close together compact structure Give me the D5 control and freeze that Rook on Aid because if you play a very Natural move like Rook C8 you simply Blunder a pawn Yeah in in this idea of playing Pawn to G3 and then not putting the bishop there Is something you know the the teacher Would have the ruler out ready to scold Every chess student here because you Know that’s not advised not only does it Look like a waste of a move G3 but also It weakens the light squares and the

Bishop on B7 is now aimed right at that Rook on H1 and avoid castles I mean it’s Just gonna be pointed on the best Diagonal but you’re right this is all About that D5 square and if white could You know just play Knight into D5 and we Trade every piece on that square get rid Of the Bishops as well I think that’s Kind of a dream scenario for um in this Position yeah for all the people who Want to know how to take down a knight Or if you leave black with this bishop On E7 and you’re left with a knight That’s on D5 so if all these trades can Happen you’re thrilled but that’s why Surrounded early age six he wants to Keep his Knight he is not going to allow This bishop to take it which was Available but I think Judah is taking an Approach where he later will start Pushing this Jeep on and that’s why his Bishop is outside the finchetta yeah and It’s so weird now that we’ve seen Bishop C4 I start to look at the position and I I really do think about long castling Whereas previously I would never have Considered it we’ve already played A4 But in this particular case you Mentioned it bishop and queen line up on The A6 Pawn black doesn’t really have a Way to get the Rook on the C file Doesn’t have a way to break with B5 so Getting a rook to D1 in one single move While whisking the king to safety I

Think that could be his next idea Robert And white has so many pieces defending The king the Knight on B3 covers the A1 Square that seems unimportant but just To show you what that could look like Let’s say I’m just gonna castle and have White Castle if B5 it’s really important To note there’s no Rook A1 check at the End of line now B5 is still a worthy Sacrifice as we see the eval bar say Actually this is quite a fascinating Battle but the point is that the Knight On B3 does cover A1 so in the event of Castles Queen side you’re not going to Get checkmated very quickly or anything Like that so that’s important to note Even if I don’t think you want to see oh Castle will he no come on come on The fans you know we’re all clamoring For long Castle but I’m only clamoring Because I’m right here in the commentary Booth I would have probably castled Kingside as well yeah that B5 idea it’s A systematic Pawn sack so we get it but Let’s let’s get adventurous but no he Says I have a positional edge here with All the control we get it let’s go to The other game because that one looks Like it’s getting spicier and he’s here With the white piece against Bravo Punk Ratov we will head on over there right Now and things have in fact changed We’ll just show you after castles Castles B5 was thrown in by a niche to

Kick this Knight away and make sure E5 Is more protected he trades and simply Brings his Knight to D4 so among when I Look at this position I’m like that King On G8 it’s going to be hunted but the Eval bar doesn’t seem to agree with Anisha’s choices Yeah and when you look at what a niche Has done you you know just optically Kind of makes sense right there’s an Easy Rook a to E1 move to play there’s An easy Rook lift Rook F3 to either G3 Or H3 quite frankly and both of those Ideas look really simple to execute Really solid Black’s got this Rook on B8 Rook on F7 Bishop on C8 it’s still not Developed and you know put all that Together and although the eval bar is Around even here I just think it’s so Much more intuitive and easy to play With white so I’m not sure how you feel Robert but even though the eval bar is Saying you know hey you kind of lost Some of your Edge I don’t feel that That’s necessarily the case although Pancreat also seems like the type of Player who’s been here before look at His clock management he’s made many of His early moves quickly and to Niche for Spending time and he just says I’m gonna Snuggle on the king side Queen f8 Rook F7 the king is over here so isn’t that King really unsafe or is pankara just Gonna play Bishop D7 Rook to E8 and

Break through all of those pieces Towards his King yeah that’s a good Point and you know don’t forget that Night on C5 is now on a tremendous Square like pretty much Untouchable Guarding the weakness as you’re Indicating hitting whites like most Dangerous attacking piece as well um so I I think that part of Black’s game has Improved so much Um so this is going to be two sides Executing what seemed to be pretty Obvious plans here right we see Rook F3 Wow the move F5 I did not expect but It’s actually very strong whoa so Pavel Is taking over E4 but giving up E5 so Rook G3 clears this F3 score for the Knight but the evaluation bar hovering Around equality and this is dynamic Equality no one’s looking at this Position if you’re a player saying yeah It’s equal we’re gonna make a joke it’s Just both sides have chances and Amman I Mean this Knight E4 idea that looks very Annoying or white to do it it does Because also with the move Rook G7 I Spy The queen on f8 ending up on G7 and you Got to be careful about the knights in Your position D4 and C3 you know they’re Gonna have to start jumping around so Probably both of White’s Knights will Need to displace themselves like Knight C to E2 Knight D to F3 and then try to Work away you know into this E5 Square

So it’s all about the squares right now Robert you you take some but you give Some uh while you do that so F5 gets the E4 Square for black gives away the E5 Squared this game is going to revolve Around who can control those squares Better yeah if you could bring the Knight on C3 to E5 right now you might Just immediately be winning uh one other Thing to note is to move F5 while it Covers E4 it also welcomes G4 in some Positions to open up the king so I’m Wondering how a niche is going to handle This right now he doesn’t look that Thrilled and on corruptive looks bored Yeah he’s also got these like three Wolverine claw light strikes going down His can as well so yeah he’s he doesn’t Look Bothered by the position I will say that Like he kind of is comfortable with his F5 plan Um and the thing is like in these rapid Matches I I always feel that it’s really Good when you sort of have a Um you know what what I like to call A Five-Year Plan like you’re not just Playing one move one move one move uh And thinking ahead just one ply like That but F5 he knows he’s got Knight E4 In the bag he also knows that he’s got Moves like Bishop E8 um to improve his Bishop Rook C8 to improve his Rook so I See that White’s position is kind of you

Know almost at its Max whereas Black’s Position still has room to to get better Right and I mean look at Juan Carlos Quickly playing King h8 getting off of The line of this Rook on G3 so it does Seem that pancrata despite having the Lower rating he’s the better feel of This position and that’s the thing about Chess right concrete was a strong Grandmaster he’s not a 2750 player sure But he’s proven himself match after Match so Anisha is looking at his Position like where’s my Checkmate that Was the whole point my Queen’s on H5 no Checkmate for you and in fact the Underlying structure Now is better for White Anish would love to play B5 back To B2 to protect his A3 Pawn to protect His Knight that pawn has gone too far it Could be a Target later Rook see it as You mentioned is going to be an issue Down in open file so I’m starting to Really like on Crux of chances yeah I Agree I think it’s starting to Trend That way and we can’t forget that the Clock is part of the game here and it Basically has double the time of Anish Giri right now 10 minutes to five Minutes here as a play continues he does Go for this reroute Knight C to E2 but Yeah I’ve seen the time here Robert I’m Seeing how black can still improve the Position maybe with you know moves like I mean F6 Bishop E8 even uh you know

Just yeah that move Rook C8 that we Mentioned earlier you know every single Thing in Black’s position is clearly Improving uh move by move and I like how You framed it before that it feels like White has achieved his Max and the one Thing that is a clear Improvement is Getting a knight to E5 but with this Rook on C8 you have to be very very Careful as if Knight takes D3 ever Happens not only is B5 going to be a Target but there could be a back rank Checkmate if this Knight on E2 is Dislodged so a really tough moment for a Niche I think we should uh ah the other Game actually hasn’t changed all that Much let’s stay here for now just Because I feel like with the niche Dropping under five minutes He could find himself blundering in the Near future Yeah no seriously Um one thing that you mentioned as like An aggressive plan for white was the Move G4 but of course now that he stuck His rook in front of that pawn it Doesn’t really seem as likely I can Imagine the move Queen to F6 will be Played here but you mentioned it a Couple uh moves ago but that Knight on D4 is actually Tethered to the square Because if you move it you basically Drop the B5 Pawn immediately now he Takes bishop and Bishop takes Pawn so

You can’t actually reroute your knight To the square it wants to get to because It needs to stay on D4 Yeah that’s unfortunate there’s also a Tactic if Knight takes I’m going to show This very quickly in Knight takes if you Take the pawn which you’ve been talking About this queen takes D4 and a back Range Checkmate down here so do not Blunder back rank checkmates this Knight On E2 is essential so after a capture on D3 for sure white would capture with the Queen so Knight E4 instead played Concrete is just taking over right now On yeah he’s just playing Um playing fluidly every every move Seems part of in an overall plan and Pretty much everything about Black’s Position right now is better than it was 10 moves ago which is just a great sign Uh you know as your position starts to Improve that’s exactly what you want Yeah he’s just feeling it and Anish he Is locked in right now concentrated on This E6 pawn it looks like simple move Queen F6 takes care of that I wonder What White’s actual plan is I see that There’s a pawn under attack maybe you Can go after some Queen side pawns but What is the plan do we think of Rook Trade helps white because now that I Mention him I’m kind of liking the idea Of Rook to C3 at some point yeah I think At this point especially if you pay

Attention last couple moves by White Queen H5 to F3 to B3 there’s a clear Shift in White’s game plan he says uh Okay I admit there is no Checkmate on The spot it’s not gonna happen so then Get that Rook off uh G3 I don’t think Rooks operate very well in front of Pawns unless there’s a raging attack on The board so trade it off and you know Maybe get the move G3 in yourself for White and Escape Square for the king Kind of supports F4 stops Knight H4 and I think that if this gets to an end game There’s still room for Anish giri to Seriously outplay his opponent just Because of that French Bishop Robert That we talked about so long ago yes and If this Pawn were on C5 we’d be having a Different conversation and that’s what Anish wants in an end game it’s why he’s Trading pieces and for Punk rocks of Double pawns and end games not usually The best thing so maybe at some point You’ll try to play the move E5 and it Helps the bishop out it also helped the Knight out and I can recapture it so It’s a critical moment for pankara and Oh my gosh look at him he does look like Wolverine and I am scared yeah the the Three light strikes are so perfect Are we gonna start calling him Logan Like I am worried right now And I think Anish uh should be as well Because he’s investing some time into

This move you know what I think I think He’s considering the move E5 seriously Here Yeah for sure like E5 is breaking open The position a little bit more I wonder If there’s some tactics on the back rank Because we’ve been talking about how the Black king is safe you take your eyes Off your king for one second there could Be a diagonal problem or this queen Infiltrating but E5 is the first idea Even it’s not the first move it’s Definitely the first idea that comes to Mind Yeah E5 is always there I mean even just Bringing the king closer works as well But for example Um if we want to bring up an analysis Board like King G7 just to bring the King in you know white has ideas like Rook takes rook and queen C3 and we Might see something like that on the Board more or less Queen C3 and all of a Sudden the queen gets into C7 there’s Tactics against the queen and king here So I could really see this turning Around and I believe that’s why on the Board we see a trade and quickly E5 Because I think Pavel was concerned About the end game he could find himself In and I’m still concerned about that Very end game because E5 it helps fix Black’s Pawn structure we were just Mentioning we don’t like double pawns

And endings but maybe this Knight Will Land on F4 so this bishop on D7 doesn’t Have great prospects and that’s not a Good sign for uh Pavel as we enter what Looks like we can get into an end game And F takes E5 is one move Queen C7 is Another hitting this bishop on D7 so you Take my knight I take your Bishop right It’s hard to evaluate this position Right now Yeah it really really is Um Queen C7 definitely comes to mind but At the same uh at the same time after Pawn takes on D4 there’s there’s a few Tactics that uh I’m kind of reminded of What you mentioned earlier is that that Knight on E2 is like the only reason There’s no back rank made so you have to Be very careful that you don’t allow a Pawn to D3 for example Knight takes F4 These kind of tactics all spell Checkmate for the white king which does Not have an escape Square yet there is a Very fortunate save for white after D3 Pontics Knight takes F4 you’re trying to Distract this Knight away and we’ll show That this is a back rank check made in One that a niche wouldn’t miss but he Has checks against this King first check Here and then check here and he has to Pick up this Knight with his Queen and Win the game because his Knight can Always Retreat to G1 to block a back Rank check that’s a very critical save

Or Anish use calculator doing just that Before playing queen of C7 and now that It gets the green light it’s a go he is Attacking this bishop and I’m starting To like his position Yep I think uh we are now probably at The most critical moment because Anish Is down on time but it does seem like Anish is approaching a position where it Seems like it might be very drawish or His opponent could make a mistake and You know how quickly can that Queen just Vacuum up those Queen side pawns as well E7 A7 are all just hanging so I think we Might get a very forcing sequence and Each loves a good game of Pac-man so He’ll be running away from the ghosts Stealing these pawns and he better not Be seeing any ghosts because there is no Back rank Checkmate D3 in fact played I guess is Queen A1 check but this Knight always not there always says G1 To drop back to so what is the What So Queen takes on D3 and he wants Knight Does he want Knight F4 He does And then yeah interesting energy man Just show quickly everybody that there’s A back ranked Checkmate so the Knight Still can’t take because Queen A1 but Are you thinking like what I’m thinking With Queen D4 what’s happening here yeah Exactly and it just becomes what I would

Say could be simply a very forcing line Like we might get a situation here where Both sides are trying to liquidate and Look if we ever get to a position where The only pawns left are blacks one H Pawn and White’s coupons on the king Side I think we are headed to draw Territory so I think Robert as we might Be heading for a position where Havel’s Down a pawn but can make the draw But this is great news for a niche Because earlier he was down the clock Things were looking a bit shaky now he Can play for two results he is never Losing this game he is likely going to Be up a pawn in the ensuing end game and Now the onus is squarely on pancroft’s Shoulders to hold this draw and that’s Easier said than done Yeah he has an option he can play Knight H5 Or if you can take the queen both seem To get to similar territory the thing That about Knight H5 which is nice is That you don’t immediately lose your F Pawn but you lose your a pawn That’s right that’s a good point yeah Probably using way more valuable yeah And oh Knight D6 protecting and Attacking I guess the good news for Pavel is because you have a Jeep on his King could like quickly run into the Center here and kick this Knight out of Its place so I do believe this game

Ultimately should be a draw and Maybe we should head to the other game Because a lot has changed there wow uh There is now an imbalance material Imbalance in Duda against Serana and It’s two Rooks versus a rook and Bishop But black does have an extra Pawn for His troubles Yeah wow this is uh this is quite the Liquidation and at this point although The engine you know definitely will Favor white there’s no question material Imbalance for sure but I’m also looking At uh at this and I’m not quite sure What happens if you just take everything In sight like if I take on C4 and take On A4 I think White’s also running out Of Pawns Robert That would be uh the issue if you take All the pawns you will have a rook Against a bishop but rook and king Against bishop and King is a draw so That gives us some a place to go to Something to Envision and Rook C4 grab The wrong piece Rook C4 Rook B6 Rook A4 I guess this Rook also gets into the Party because it’s saying it’s winning Which must mean that there’s some way That you get second Rook on the seventh Rank eventually so a rook Wills right uh Probably drop back at some point and Join the other rook in attack Yeah I actually think that you can just Go Rook B8 after bishop f8 and play Rook

Takes D6 oh it’s that simple wow as soon As you said there has to be some way to Get the Rook involved I was like ah Thank you Robert I got it yeah now the Rest becomes easy and that’s how you Have to think about Chess everybody is You have to think in Concepts and then Try to make those work don’t force the Issue but see if it’s available so C4 if Bishop d8 I was about to say that if the Bishop were on C7 we’re on C5 oh he Takes on C4 and now Judah is going to Crash through but if we can bring up an Announcement we do have one Um that if Bishop d8 I was wondering if C5 was available because you can’t take What the B Pawn as his Rook B8 hitting And winning the bishop you can’t take With the d-pawn as the bishop is hanging I have to take with the Rook I could Take on D6 or I can even just trade Rooks and that’s what I was going for You still can’t take with the beep on Repeat and this ending is definitely a Win with the Rook coming to D7 and going Exactly Yeah and it’s it’s less about the Material at this point sure it’s two Pawns and a bishop for The Rook but the Activity the fact that Rook can just Jump around and eventually create a pass Pawn this is this is basically just done And as we get back to the live position Here Robert I mean basically exactly

What we talked about happened Um you know the Rook didn’t get involved But it was at the cost of that F1 oh Gosh yeah Rook B8 check was clever just Forcing the king away and then when the F7 Pawn this is completely lost so Rhonda knows it and a youngster that’s What’s called JKD and Beyond at the same Time and I just spent John but JKD here Uh he’s going for demolition this was Serrano’s own doing he sacrificed an Exchange we can go back later and show That but this is just going to be mop-up Duty for the conscious of Duty right now Yeah here there’s also nice move which Looks very winning Um Rook B3 uh so if you trade I just you Pick up that a pawn with the rook and Then you have a pass b-pawn and anytime You just have a pass Pawn rope against Bishop you can always escort that pawn Up the board very easily Um but this move is is so classy as well As not only do you have a hanging Pawn But that that second arrow is the more Dangerous one Rook F3 is a Crusher That’s why uh it’s longer you know it’s More dangerous I’ll do it in red that’s The problem yeah that black is dealing With here is that the bishop is pin in Fact The Bishop’s just lost you probably Have to go Rook B7 to go Rook F7 but After Rook takes D6 you’re gonna get a Passive setup and White’s gonna have

Even pawns and then a rook compared to a Pin Bishop so this one’s over how is the Other one going Niche down to 30 seconds Or so uh let’s go back there because Yeah still that night ending And tell you Robert Knight endings are Just so tricky that you know even if the The you know eval is 0.00 I never trust The Knight end game shocking move King G2 was not expecting the king to go Backwards over here but he’s avoiding All checks and A5 is hanging True Um you have to be a little careful here So he’s gonna go King H3 Mm-hmm And is there just a night check then you Take A5 and that’s an outside passer That’s scary yeah that is scary You have to be very very careful amount Of time were reversed we’d say Anish Would easily win the game but because The niche is down to 18 seconds I feel Like that leads me to believe that Pavel Will hold yeah that’s a great a great Point Um because at this point yeah you’re up That pawn but it’s difficult to see how To make progress here because now if you Look at the king side nothing can move If white moves the king then King G4 if White moves either Pawn you’re going to Lose one of the pawns so I think you’ve Reached a position now where you can

Almost just like keep moving the Knight And I would say smart move by a niche to Keep the pawn on A4 if these pawns were Traded off immediately it’s an obvious Draw the Knight would come back around And sacrifice for the pawns but here in The game right now these Knights are Sort of Frozen on the queen side and the Black decides to run with the King then The pawns are free to go so it’s a Tricky moment where Pablo he goes back I Think Anisha just slide his King over And he does hmm That was a good handle on this Yeah he does like if basically if white Attacks the pawn or moves the knight at All I think black does the same and just You know if if the apons get traded that Favor is black who’s trying to liquidate Things For sure and 95 check the king probably Has a slide back to G3 stop the king Coming to G4 this looks like a draw by The way John Joseph did in fact win that Game right after we left it so that Congrats to the Polish player with his Lead and this one is a draw from kratov Great defense by him Great defense and you know right at the End there it was actually threefold Repetition but it wasn’t a threefold That I think Geary wanted like you don’t Feel bad because you know okay it was Probably draw but you do feel like oh I

Didn’t realize that was three times That’s kind of annoying I wanted to keep Trying there uh because you know these Top guys they’ll always try to squeeze Anything they can out of any position Unfortunately for a Nishi nothing left To squeeze all the juice was there in The glass so it is a draw in this one Let’s remind everybody that there are Two matches going on for a spot in the Round of eight yeah beats Alexi Serrano That was a nice game and this one I mean An even finish I think that is a fair Result It is uh a really nice conversion that We saw there from Duda against Serrano We didn’t see exactly how it happened But the point was it was all about that D5 square and when we saw The Rook on D5 I think we know Robert who won that mini Battle and eventually who won the game As a result on cradov against giri Really interesting that that French Robert held up and that’s going to be Interesting over the course of this Match well that means more people play The French and that is not a good thing But we do want to shout out a good thing And it’s the chess.com Global Championship is brought to you by brave Brave means private browsing and so much More by default Brave blocks ads and Trackers on every page and video you Visit even on YouTube no ads means up to

Three times faster page loads faster Streaming and faster playback it means 35 longer battery life while saving on Mobile data and internet bandwidth or Android iOS and desktop get the best Browser for gamers streamers and Creators which in 60 seconds and Wave.com slash chess we’re gonna take a Break it won’t be 60 seconds it’ll be a Little bit longer than that but when we Return more from the 2022 chess.com Global Championship presented by Brave Run from my life Okay What’s up man hey just solving some Puzzles Get my coffee Oh Foreign Which one is that is that our new one I can’t get this one man Oh shoot What’s wrong with you man This is hard Foreign You sure you’re feeling okay Uh one got it oh shoot [Music] 95 Come on Foreign [Music] Foreign And we are back here at the 2022

Chess.com Global Championship presented By Brave Amman we have two matches up Right now you just have due to wins his First game against Lexus Runner but pava Punker top he’s kind of been the talk of The cgc he has upset both viswanath and Anand and norvik Abdus atarov he’s here To play He is and we saw that in the first game Where he came out flying Not only was he Keeping up with Anish on the board with The French defense no less but he also Did it on the clock and I think that you Know you often see underdogs or lower Rated players struggling to keep up on The clock like yes you can find the same Quality of moves as your opponent but it Takes you a bit longer that’s kind of The difference between you but here I Think he was keeping up he’s definitely Giving Anish a run for his money he kept Up tactically and honestly just a very Well played game by both a slight Edge To Anish as he was hoping looking for Any way to make that position work but This great defense and the result was a Drop and as you said that was the key to On draken’s win over caruana strong Defense has been a theme in the cgc and Now we’ll have to go on offense he gets The white piece is he does start with D4 So on karatev he’s playing his usual Repertoire and or Nish we’re gonna get a Grunfeld our King’s India not every day

We see that from Dutch number one Exactly and well now the interesting Part is F3 Played in the opening means that if he Committed to that King’s Indian we were Going to see a samish And now he plays E6 so I guess Anish Thought oh this guy tries to play the Same-ish let me go for some kind of side Variation this is not a particularly Known what what am I looking at Well Robert this is really obvious stuff You’re looking at four openings in one This is the four in one special right Now you’ve got your G6 right you’ve got Your King’s Indian your grunfeld Vibes And you’ve got your E6 your nimso Indian Vibes and of course don’t forget you’ve Got your C5 in there for your benoni Slash benko five so all in one Robert Well that’s I guess leave it up to the Super GM to give you uh forward it’s Like the seven in one shampoo Conditioners body wash Um you know deodorants toothpaste all You know all in one so anisha’s giving Us uh a show here and after Bishop D3 Which is just logical development he’s The one who is now on the clock Indeed yeah this is uh basically the Reason that players sometimes like to Disguise their openings because you Might say okay look if you wanted to Play the benoni why don’t you just play

The benoni what’s with all the theatrics And it’s actually more than theatrics Robert the order in which you play Certain moves is going to dictate the Order in which your opponent must play Certain moves so of course once we saw F3 from Pavel with the white pieces that Told Anish that if he all of a sudden Transposes this to a benoni structure White doesn’t have options like Knight F3 anymore it doesn’t have options to Play certain setups so you can avoid Some of the stronger setups in a Specific opening by starting with a you Know disguised move order it’s a really Good point and now the Knight has G3 Rather than its typical F3 square and White has firm control over the center But how about these dark squares there’s A pawn C5 and at some points these dark Squares can become problem for white H5 Is often a tempting move just to think About kicking this Knight over here on G3 and the real question is this tension On E6 and D5 will black take on D5 right Now will he continue to keep the tension What moves can you make 95 for example Just jumping towards the center I’m not Entirely sure what anise should do and I’m not sure he’s sure either Yeah he’s having a think here you know White almost never releases the tension So I think if Anish does not take on D5 He can also be sure that white will not

Take on E6 so he decides look that’s Gonna stay there the whole game and Guess what the bishop on C8 would like Some more scope on that diagonal so e Takes D5 played and your idea Robert Looking to kick the Knight and I love That we see castles because we get to Place the Knight on what should be the Worst Square on the board with Knight H1 But there’s actually a lot of poison to This idea Right Knight H1 the Knight will Eventually go to F2 where it supports The E4 Pawn if you want to push forward You want to make sure your Pawn E4 is Well defended right now the chain is Excellent but the chain will shrink as Black can make moves like H3 at some Point so Knight H5 for black is Available look at the bishop on G7 it’s A monster E5 E4 under blacks control I’m Feeling this for a niche and he may Later throw in an F5 as well Yeah you know I have to say this is one Of those openings that everything about It feels good for black it makes sense It’s pretty logical the F5 move Knight H5 Knight E5 it all Flows at the same Time I feel like the strong players Handle this with white so well and I’m Always so impressed to see it because Intuitively I look at what I what I see On the board I see Bishop D4 I see Knight E5 I start to get a little uh

Clammy a little scared with the uh White Pieces but you know white can just Handle it like a champ Bishop E3 to take Care of that Bishop D4 check you’ve got Knight F2 coming but your ideas are are All there Robert F5 95 Bishop E5 even What do you like the most here I like 95 And F5 I’m just going full steam ahead After 95 your Bishop can’t go to C2 Because you need to cover the C4 Square As well so I’m liking this for a niche I’m sure he is as well let’s catch the Uh 95 player I think Pablo will have to Sit and think he’s been playing quite Quickly throughout the match but now’s The time for him to think let’s go to The other game it has just started we do Have a Cambridge Springs variation I Love me some Cambridge Springs you get The two nights for white over here and Black’s Bishop pair not exactly the best Yeah I mean this opening just sounds Like it was named after some like middle Of the rack water brand it’s like uh Just your average Cambridge Springs and It’s an opening that I feel like I Haven’t seen as much recently but this Used to be like all the flavor and hang On mean to C6 Robert uh I’m actually Really curious what happens after that Are you seeing like Queen A4 or Something crazy you know this Knight on B5 isn’t actually under attack it’s one Of the main points here is the bishop

Defends it tactically speaking but Queen C6 we have Queen A4 with Knight C7 to Follow looks interesting there’s 95 Ideas as well give the rook in the Corner to get the other Rook I don’t Know I don’t know the theory here but it Seems like Alexi Serrano does Yeah and this is one of those cases Where you know we just saw the the face Wash from uh from Duda there which is The look okay let me just uh have a look See here and make sure we don’t blunder The whole game away on move whatever Seven eight we’re at All right it could and I think it’s a Novelty I’m clicking the game Explorer I Don’t see games with Knight to B5 so Serana he’s showing that he’s put in the Work and he needs to get this game right Here because due to one game one uh Serrano doesn’t want to keep trailing Heading into game three where dude Against the white piece once more and if We bring up an analysis board I want to Show amman’s line because I think it’s Beautiful that Queen C6 it looks like a Double Attack Of The Rook on H1 and the Knight on B5 a queen A4 is a very Creative way of not just defending the Knight but threatening Knight C7 with The queen pinned on C6 and you put Bishop D7 trying to get out of the pin And attack this Knight here I think Knight E5 looks very promising in the

The position there’s also times you like Push this Pawn to D5 just to shut the Queen off because you take here I Believe there’s some kind of Knight C7 Check although the Evo bar is not really Saying much so it’s always like Everybody loses their Queen and it just Gets into a total mess but you know what If it gets to a total mess like this You’d rather have the total mass as Serana who’s clearly prepared this mess In advance and I mean that was the Natural move take a queen it’s the wrong Move it’s Queen A5 first uh then after B6 then you take and Black’s Pawn Structure is shattered so if eggs takes Just do this and you grab this one see Five is a weak I get why this is better For white but I didn’t prepare this this Is just happening on the Fly Exactly and the reason I think that Duda Is so puzzled at the moment is because I Think he understands the seriousness of His decision Queen C6 Appears just visually to make a threat Against White’s Rook that can’t be dealt With like E4 D5 F3 these are all subpar Moves so he knows that what he’s about To be hit with is probably more prep Like if he plays the more challenging Looking move Queen C6 he knows there’s a 95 lurking there’s a queen A4 lurking It’s gonna be something and he has to be Prepared to handle the resulting

Positions not just one move at a time You can’t go one step at a time Robert Into someone else’s prep no and 95 does Look scary as you’re mentioning because Even if you lose this Rook on H1 you Have Knight C7 check the King has been Going to Journey but what are the moves Do you have let’s say you play Queen d8 Oh let me just drop my queen back to Where it started after d takes C5 There’s Knight D6 check it may not be Winning but you certainly need to Calculate it there’s Queen he takes Queen and Castle’s Queen side so they’re All sorts of tactical problems that Black needs to figure out not that black Is really in trouble we see the Evaluation bar Duda will use his big Brain he’s a very smart and accomplished Player but it looks scary so you don’t Want to just assume you’re okay you need To calculate that you really are Yeah that’s you know we can make a few Uh assumptions here with help with the Eval bar that these guys don’t get and That’s what makes it so challenging here Is that you know Knight B5 Queen d8 Actually is the best move but it’s kind Of based on Bishop takes the pawn back On C5 and being comfortable playing a Move like King the E7 and you know it Being okay with a move like that this Early in the game is something you have To come to terms with right and that

Takes time for you to admit that oh this Is actually the best way I think to get Around this and you also have to like Stop thinking that you’re in your Opponent’s prep you know that you are Because Alexia spent almost no time but You need to stop just being like scared Because of that I know that’s happened To me before where I trust my opponent Too much and John schistuff those Calculus he’ll dig deep maybe Queen B8 Is also an option I don’t really like Putting the queen over there so Queen d8 Kind of by process of elimination is Likely what we’ll see so thank you Giraffe Hunter for the kind words but Let’s uh maybe go back to see what Anish Geary is up to against Pablo pankarato Kind of weird to say that because Pavel Had the white pieces but look at black Getting everything you could possibly Want in a benoni structure Exactly and you know I just want to Stress again this is why yiri started His game in such an unorthodox manner G6 E6 C5 what he got was he got what I Would consider to be one of the lines Against the benoni which is very Non-threatening so once you get your Opponent to commit to F3 you know what Their structure is going to look like For the in swing game and a lot of Players will never play the benoni but If they know in advance what line you’re

Going to play against it and they say oh That’s actually not a very scary line at All then they’ll take it but I’ll take a Benoni every single game if I could Guarantee that line that’s sort of what He’s done here and you know he’s liking The position as a result it’s such an Essential point because the benoni is Scary structurally you have this Pawn on D6 but there was no Knight landing on C4 In this position precisely because There’s a Pawn on F3 the Knight goes F3 To D2 to C4 in many positions but Amman You have called it out since the Beginning uh it’s true that Pavel never Was able to get at the ideal positioning Of his pieces and now for Anish you have What looks like a dream position where To from here looks are not enough you Can’t just enjoy the aesthetic you need To create threats so where do threats Come from Yeah and let’s not forget at night on D1 Might look silly going backwards but Knight E3 and Knight C4 potentially even Knight G4 threatening Queen H6 these Moves all make a lot of sense and They’re happening really really quickly So Black’s in a position where I agree I Think it’s a great spot but you almost Feel a little bit overextended Everything in White’s position is truly Solid great Pawn chain all the way up to The middle of the board and you’ve got

Knights that can always reroute to Wherever they need to be it might be a Slow process but they will get there Eventually black on the other hand you Know are we going to see the move F5 Whoa wow B3 played did not expect that One Robert oh my gosh he just gives up Control of some dark squares he is a Light Square Bishop he can cover that Color complex and C3 right back to the Night I hated that move I really did not Like it Yeah that that whole plan did not I Didn’t even think of it first of all to Be quite honest and I mean look at how Quickly the moves are coming out in Return night back to C3 now look at the Pawn on B2 it’s anchoring the Knight and Look at the Knight it’s covering A2 so You can’t even get at the pawn like I Just see the queen side as almost a an Afterthought now you can just leave it And focus on the Queen’s side or on the King side and that’s what he’s done oh But look at this if Queen takes H4 your Queen is trapped after G5 queen of Rook H8 That is sick That’s so nasty played so quickly as Well and of course it says 0.2 it’s like An even trade and it is Alaska Compensation it would be a night a pawn And a rook for Queen that’s nine versus Nine if you’re keeping count at home but

Instead Pablo trusts him and goes Queen Back to E3 and says no let me let me not Give up my queen I like my position but D6 is hard to get at so that’s the one Thing that Anish can be happy about is His weak Pawn can’t be targeted too Easily and queen T4 is not out of the Question because if we get an ugly Pawn Structure Did he just play that yeah I was Wondering how I was like I didn’t click the square yet But if we get this trade You try something like this in comes the Bishop of the B5 things of this nature And it feels like black is suddenly Getting a lot of activity 100 and once that Knight disappears Knight F4 is coming in Rook A2 is now Available and basically everything we Were talking about that was covered is Now possible Right and I think just to finish off the Variation we get something like this We’re like okay I’ll get your Rook on f8 That’s all good but first of all we can Play Crazy pieces and I can take your Pawn here but even if I just take your Uh Knight on f8 or even move the bishop Back somewhere play Rook A2 Knight F4 I Don’t really see why white should be Better despite having the extra Pawn I Love Black’s activity Definitely that’s important to remember

Because well first of all as you Mentioned how the heck did Queen D4 Appear so quickly on the board well it Was played and after Queen is C1 wow you Could consider Knight G3 there but Probably unnecessary after Rook D1 And F5 is the choice just going forward And speaking of going forward I think we Need to go back to the other game I just Opened uh it off the side of the screen Here so we’re gonna go back to Duda and Serrana because look at this Amman due To Agnes allows his King to be stuck in The center it wasn’t Queen A4 a move That I thought was very interesting it Was Knight E5 which seems to be a great Choice to run us still in his prep Checks the king up takes this Rook on A8 And now Duda is down nearly 10 minutes And according to the eval bar he’s in Huge trouble Yeah and and the the thing about this Line is that let’s say you prep the move Knight B5 you know with a hundred Percent certainty that they’ve also Prepped this position because this is The most logical continuation you think Uh serrana is gonna play Knight takes A8 And say yep Uh that’s my prep I’m gonna stop Calculating here no he’s looked so much Deeper than this he probably knows the Next three moves that are that are very Likely to happen for black and Robert

Looking at that King it’s always this Kind of Developmental faux pas to have Your king step in front of your Bishop Because you’re blocking your Bishop Which means you’re blocking your Rook You’re down like eight points of Material there You are not playing with all of your Pieces and the Knight on eight also Won’t get trapped there’s Knight C7 There’s a free Square I don’t think you Want to take on D4 and bring more pieces Into the attack and open the C file to Place G6 which is detested by the Engines but I think we can get it he Wants to get his Bishop out and bring His Rook into the game but Iman can can He just take on C5 is that another Question Yeah I was gonna say two moves that Stand out to me here are Pawn takes on C5 and a move like Queen to C2 basically I want to threaten a check somehow so Whether I’m taking on C5 or playing Queen C2 I wanna I wanna threaten that And I want a castle ASAP because then I Can make tons of threads against the Queen get my final Bishop into the Action and queen C2 facilitates both so That move jumped out to me but do you Take C5 as you said is a very strong Looking move I think I have a dc5 queen D5 is the immediate reply like let me Get these Queens off the board I’m

Offering a queen trade and this Knight’s Under attack so I don’t think white can Easily deal with both and Serana is a Queen the best move Yeah Oh my gosh just opening up in everything It is like just kind of sad that White’s Best move might be Queen A4 and queen Takes A7 I just like so caveman but it Gives white the B6 square and it also Threatens Queen takes C5 so you’re kind Of doing everything but most importantly You know long castle for white is just Gonna show the difference between the Two positions as soon as white gets Castled you realize Black’s like three Four moves out from having his King on G7 Bishop developed H6 and Rook to d8 He’s shaking his head he’s way down on The clock but the clock isn’t even the Most concerning part he’s dead on the Board Robert oh he’s busted I was gonna Say somebody called Yasser serum but I Know he doesn’t have a cell phone but we Have a pawn Grabber Alexi Serana Grabbing pawns on the queen side that Allows the Knight to get out to B6 as Well and Bishop H6 the eval bar goes up Up and away and I think it’s the simple Queen takes A7 threatening like it not Just take an opponency fight if you get A check on C5 this king is getting mated So this is done It really looks it’s such a convincing

Game Um there’s so many things because the Other thing is Robert Bishop on H6 What’s it doing it’s not even doing Anything right so it’s more just Developing to move other pieces it’s not Even developing to its preferred Square So Bishop H6 is just hey I want to get My Rook to d8 basically but it’s not Really where that Bishop wants to be no This is terrible position and I I Labeled his win over Mama jar of Serana’s immortal this is going to be Surround’s miniature this is only 15 Moves into the game and queen takes a Seven I don’t even think you can save Your Pawn Z5 so you can just go full Caveman as you said just grab two pawns Even if it results in a queen trade You’re up so much material and this is Over It’s over Rook d8 like you don’t get to Put your King on f8 and G7 in one move Queen takes C5 and you’re stuck in the Middle and just dead lost because you’re Gonna have to play Rook D6 there or King Y8 and you know there’s the Knight Coming to C7 for a pretty nasty Checkmate oh my gosh I’m just gonna show That because you don’t see checkmates Like this very often this check the Queen covers the diagonal the Knight Covers D7 and if you played Rook D6 You’d lose a bishop on C8 at the very

Least so this is gross Queen A7 Knight E4 played and what does it say plus six And a half it looks like Um night before six and a half and I’m I’m even looking at the position I’m Kind of wondering uh what’s the material And what are we up one Pawn what’s six And a half up a pawn Robert that’s Called pretty damn good compensation oh Gosh yeah this is a initial Knight B6 is Like the obvious move watch him play Some kind of queen B8 and queen C7 oh Right no the fact you’ve even said it Now it’s gonna Like it just feels that this has been uh You know I love the game but Queen V8 They Slither that Queen in right takes F2 So I think he wanted to guard B7 as a Primary like Knight takes C8 Rook C8 Queen B7 would be like actually game Over so long range defense there but Yeah again to your point what if King Takes I usually trust don’t you subduda but This feels like desperation it’s like a Bluff let me just try something King F2 Queen YouTube simple Bishop G2 and you Want to keep checking me you’re going to Keep sacrificing pieces but you’re gonna Run out of Firepower at the end of the Day it looks like Alexi serrana is going To be up a piece at the very least So

Um I mean if you want to bring up Analysis board and at least put what Might be going on in his head on the Board we could play King takes F2 Queen Takes H2 check Bishop G2 Bishop takes E3 Check King takes E3 and queen takes G2 And you know he’s kind of saying look my B7 Pawn is defended oh yeah even takes Makes a lot of sense as well it takes on G3 and then takes on D4 oh my tricks Here as well yeah no that’s actually That’s it this this King this Knight This bishop all these pieces are pretty Loose so that’s the one hope that not Justif has so let’s go to this moment Here You don’t take on E3 that’s a mistake And I guess you can play the Cold-blooded King F3 So simple Yeah Queen Knight C8 for like Queen Takes B7 is not just winning pieces is Checkmating the black king so yeah the Simple approach of let me just not allow You to check my king is the way to go But Knight takes F2 it’s the best try in A completely losing position Yeah and he’s got three minutes and also No confidence in his position he knows That he’s dead in the water he got oh Prepped he got caught Um and he ended up in a position that I Think he just misevaluated and he was Sort of he understood the evaluation as

The moves went on and at that point it Was just Out Of Reach And Alexi takes so this game will likely See Queen H2 and this line we’re looking At but I think after the king gets to F3 It’s all done but yeah it’s not even Moving he’s the one who sacrifice the Piece you have to play with momentum Here you have to just say I am At least you’re bluffing but you’re just Pretending like you’ve done something Accurate and well Bishop G2 Serrano has This in the bag I think so yeah Bishop G2 is nice and Simple here there’s Knight C8 to follow I mean White’s up a piece The other thing is Robert like where do You think is prep ended or better Question do you think this stuff ended Probably around Queen takes Queen A4 he Knows it’s completely winning for him And he’ll figure out the rest later and Yeah it’s been a success but let’s go to The other game just because I’m catching That one out of the court of my eye it’s Even material but I wouldn’t call this An even ending despite what the Evaluation Bar says there’s a past Pawn On B3 if that pawn is gobbled up then Black’s in big trouble so Which side would you rather have I was about to say like uh Robert even Material 0.00 by the engine come on this Is a draw we all know that but far from

It looks like there’s lots of Play Still Knight D3 Knight takes B3 a forcing Sequence in order to pick up that b-pawn And I think if he if he had held onto That beep on any longer Geary was Probably taking it to the house but no I I think this could still go either way I Have to say my instinct is that if it Goes wrong for someone it’s going to be White mm-hmm I agree and it’s weird to Say because White’s up a pawn but let’s Say you play very logical move Rook B1 Getting out of a pin and protecting your Knight they have to Rook A3 I just feel Like your pieces are all sorts of tied Down because if your best move is some Kind of Knight C1 Not really feeling that black can start Going after pawns and this King can be Used as a weapon in the end game so I do Agree with you that if white just Passively defends the extra Pawn won’t Be very meaningful so Hovel needs to find a good series of Moves right now Yeah he does because I think if you Turtle into that situation where like Rook B1 Knight D3 back to C1 then all of A sudden Black Goes Knight F4 King F6 King E5 and the factor down upon it’s Irrelevant when you look at the the Quality of the pieces that are on the Board right oh this uh Is a big moment here for pancreasa

Because this could make or break his Cinderella run he does play Rook B1 I Think Rook A3 is Um a bit automatic maybe there’s Something else that black can go for of Course you can always take on e4 Um and then bring the Knight back to oh That’s not F6 that’s F6 and go after the Pawn but I like tying down wise pieces Yeah and I was thinking that the better Way to maybe get go about things could Be Knight E3 to C1 and even though you Allow Bishop C2 there’s a check you can Throw in on B7 and then you know the Knights can kind of Bounce Around Knight E1 and the NATO D3 I wanted there Because F4 is covered yeah so if this King just runs away Knight E1 attack the Bishop there’s like all sorts of rookie One ideas true How how is this holding on after Rook A1 Come on King F2 and Rook C7 Robert this Oh my God and then you have to really Calculate this this is not I know it’s Like oh it’s even you get to this Position and if we’d already captured White would be in huge trouble but Because we haven’t captured yet that Gives white some chances so maybe there Is a move sequence even better for black Along the way uh but I guess just throw In the capture Robert you know we’re Geniuses we got to the end of the line And we see we wish we captured let’s do

It right at the beginning and then do The exact same thing oh yeah let’s do That here and then look at the Evaluation Okay we got this we had this the whole Time so the point that if you take on C2 Rook C1 is check and you win the Knight So that’s why we said this Sequence but this is bad news for white As black starts taking all the pawns and We’ll get a passer here we go yeah Working backwards when we had the Solution and then we just had to figure Out how to get there and he took on B3 And just went for the very Straightforward approach he wants a rook A one check a knight G4 check things Like that and even though it’s Should be a draw I still feel like There’s room to go wrong for both sides For sure Um because at this point it’s a pretty Sturdy Pawn I was about to say after Rook B4 and Rook E2 looks like a way to Try to get it because Knight F2 would be A little embarrassing it’s like a funny Way to back rank mate yourself using a Knight as a pawn basically yeah Um and yeah it doesn’t look like there’s Any way to defend that other than maybe Going E5 And they’re just oh the H4 Pawn is Hanging over here didn’t even realize That but that should give black a passer

And enough and D5 is hanging so I like Rookie too he’s going for maybe trying To win this game True I don’t know if I believe in it the bar Still says level but Um oh my goodness I think Duda by the Way is down Two full pieces now Right it’s you know it’s a it’s in the Very convincing territory for uh serrana Yeah I’ll just show that position Quickly uh so everyone can see where We’re at where Serrata has been chasing Dudas King and Judas King is out on F6 And wait What No no evil boy yeah the Evo bar is stuck Okay oh no there’s no way what Is that just the biggest what the Biggest blunder Oh my gosh you spent a minute and a half On Rook F1 and that move gives away the Advantage he could have just taken this Bishop on E3 that was available to him And you know Robert can you go back to When the move Knight takes C8 was played I’m curious when that move happened so Okay it was G4 and I was gonna say that In all these lines before white even Took the Knight on F2 I was wondering Why not throw in Knight takes C8 because It’s one of those moves that if black Takes the Knight back on C8 you always

Have Queen takes B7 winning the game on The spot right and I feel like if I Played Knight takes C8 before even Capturing then I don’t have to you’d Have to take back you can’t just give me A free piece out of nowhere but because We didn’t do it earlier the way that it Was reacted to here was King F6 which is Definitely trickier than capturing but What are we missing here what is wrong With King takes E3 Yeah he totally blanked on Bishop F4 you Have three pieces if Queen takes G2 let Me just keep taking stuff my knight will Always block a check if you take on D4 I Can take with my queen and your king is Just in trouble so he went Rook F1 which Looks good missing Bishop F4 and now you See it on his face I mean he is already Distraught and he might lose this game That that would just be ridiculous to to Lose the game Queen A3 arguably one of The best moves I I think to be able to Spot one of the best moves in a position After blundering to the degree that he Just did is so so hard to do uh so to Even find a move that keeps the eval bar Even for white at this point I’m gonna Say is impressive yeah that is a big Move Rook takes C8 very natural give me That night back what’s the material Black has Six pawns and is down a piece so it’s Two pawns for a night there’s a king on

F3 and a king on F6 And there’s pieces hanging as well like Queen G3 is about to win more so you’ve Got to cover that almost like Rook Geez Rook F2 or what yeah Rook F2 looks Like the move necessary and I’m so lost with what’s going on here But can we check And think about taking this queen yeah And then taking a D4 and saying look I’m Gonna just have the most Pawns in the World Because if C takes D4 now is there King E4 You protect your knight and put pressure On me this bishop here [Laughter] Yeah the king is literally winning King Of the Hill and still trying to play a Chess game it happened it happened [Laughter] It had somebody Crown Serana here and G5 is the only move thankfully it’s due To an easy move to play it is and we Have three Pawns for a piece And it’s zeros so it’s anyone’s game oh My goodness what are we what are we Watching right now and we might see one Of the weirdest like Knight D7 check Queen E7 like How in the world did this happen I am Keeping an eye on the other game it Looks like the end game is getting Sharper uh but oh my gosh it’s nothing

Sharper than a king on e4 with tons of Pieces still on the board I’m gonna show The other game very quickly here just Because it is actually quite sharp there Are now two Pastors in the center for White black has two passers of his own There’s a pin going on and it is uh time Scramble so on crosstub does need to be Accurate because Knight G4 does look Like a pretty big threat Yeah this is one of those situations Where the engine’s like yeah even Because it just knows what’s going on But the human is thinking I don’t know Either side could win whoever mobilizes Those pawns better that’s it And we’re gonna Flash the other game Back because this looking even I think There was a mistake by Um by Duda so bring this they move King F3 here we’ll trade Knights and that Should lead Um it should be a draw yeah agree yeah We might get back and forth here at the Moment but the other game just to bring It up I saw the move King G7 played not G5 and the eval bark goes Sky High so What is the move oh is that simple I don’t know but Queen E7 is just Screaming at me right now but Bishop Takes E5 And Rook takes F7 and Rook Cafe me no You go King G8 A because King h8 that is mate as you’re

Saying by the way this is happening But is there Queen E6 and Rook F3 Queen E6 and queen G2 Rook F3 oh my gosh this Is madness this has been the wildest Game ever so yeah this is an absolutely Insane game I can’t believe it’s still Going Robert I don’t think there’s a Checkmate there Because the Rook being pinned means There’s not enough Firepower the other Game has results in a draw we left it Just the right moment in East Geary pop Up on Karate still locked up one point a Piece but what is happening here there Apparently is a win for Serrano Queen E6’s Looking really good and my other Instinct is Rook F2 just to defend my Bishop and threat yeah Queen E6 I like I Like your move better it seems way more Lethal Um because E6 is so hard to protect And a minute on the clock here for Alexi Serrano he’s already made a number of Errors after obtaining a winning Position he must be nervous but Duda Looks stressed and queen E6 played the Eval bar plummets Queen here Because I think that it just results in A position where you go Rook F3 King you Know G7 and King H6 King G7 and I just Don’t know if there’s more Than a repetition although this Rook is

Hanging here so I think after is there King H6 as you said Queen F I think you Must right otherwise otherwise maybe it Is it is trouble right because you do Lose this rook and maybe there’s a way That black girl true yeah has a bunch of Checks that allows them to survive he Does play King H6 what oh my gosh Incredible and I honestly think we’ll Get a repetition because guess what this Is not a position that white can play on And on and on with that you know like You can’t just keep playing this what The best line appears to be to me is Like King H6 Queen H4 Queen E7 and then Try G5 oh Oh that and the King will have to like Walk up somehow exactly each five King Takes G5 it’s just Madness wait that Looks really scary And surrounded thinking he might do this And look at John Joseph’s clock by the Way 19.2 seconds so if he starts Throwing pieces at the black king and he Has a minimum a draw by repetition and Of course this is the right choice yeah It could only go it can only get better And he’s thinking he’s spending time He’s down on the clock now 15 seconds he Was quinnage for step one He already has his draw so it’s whether He wants to play G5 he should play G5 I Don’t see and there’s nothing less than A repetition he has so many checks he

Goes for it yeah King you take or bring The king this way oh my goodness what a Choice I think I take Because the Rook is pinned so I don’t See how you join like any other pieces To the attack King H6 Queen H4 maybe This is the way to draw now or King H5 Queen H7 back and forth seems also good And Serrano he needs to make this draw Because he’ll lose the game if he Doesn’t he will I don’t think white can Play on with the King here down the pawn And he’s eight seconds He makes the check These guys are gonna make one of the Most insane draws I have ever seen Oh my gosh and what a disappointment for Serrano who knows he was winning out of The opening and for yanches of dude There’s a little smile there we saw that Oh yeah That’s the I got away with one smile He most certainly did so two draws in The second games of this match But this was anything but even game this Is a topsy-turvy As It Gets Robert we had two draws but I couldn’t It couldn’t be further from the same Kind of draw like one of them was I you Know more or less neck and neck uh we Thought Geary had a little bit of a push But again we’re seeing that resilience And defensive prowess of Pavel pancrata

In this match and he holds it steady and Meanwhile After the win in the first game by Duda What a way to bounce back by Serana some Expert prep this is like high level Stuff you were saying might have been The first time that it’s been brought Out as well and for that not to be Converted into win he will be kicking Himself so disappointing if you’re Serrana but you gotta hand it to Duda he Was shaking his head Robert he was ready To mentally quit but he stayed in the Game and he earned himself a half point When he should have gotten up it’s Almost worse to use Stellar preparation And not win you start feeling like you Lost the game rather than a simple draw So we’ll see if serrana can hold it Together going into game three and each Geary help from karatev locked up and we Are gonna head to a another short break And we want to tell you all to stay Where you are the action continues here At the chess.com Global Championship Presented by Brave [Applause] [Music] Thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thank you [Music]

Thank you Foreign [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] Foreign Foreign Foreign To anyone All around the world the chess.com Global Championship offers the dream of Playing against the best we are in for a Wild ride and hey have we mentioned There’s also a million dollars at stake The total pot is a million dollars no That it’s not a typo the prizes are Unbelievably generous The cgc Knockout Phase has hit crunch time We began with thousands of players now Only a handful remain 131 moves is what it took for Wesley so To make to make it Toronto on an Unbelievable defensive effort among no Matter who you are things are about to Get very very real Huge collapse from carwana it all went Downhill and Dimitri and draken punches His ticket to the round of eight in Unreal fashion at stake a trip to the Finals in Toronto and a clean shot at The largest first place prize of the Year who’s winning oh My friends it’s the cgc round of 16.

Who’s headed to Toronto It’s time to find out The chess.com Global Championship Presented by Brave has a face that you Will want to remember that is Alexi Serrano now he may not have his happy Face on Amman because he just spoiled a Completely winning set of opening Preparation Yeah and you know if you’re Alexis Serrano right now I can’t stress enough Focus on the positives from that game Like let’s not forget he took one of the The best prepared players in the world JKD and he beat him you know in a matter Of 10 to 15 moves like it was over it Was done preparation was Immaculate yes He spoiled it he didn’t get the full Point but you can’t focus on that right Now just remember that you know you out Prepared him you can do that the Openings are at that level and he needs To be in that mindset and focus on the Fact that he can’t outplay this guy and Out prepare him Um you know if he wants a chance at Winning this match full credit to to Duda but Alexi serrana you see his Achievements there I mean the guys world Class and he just you know we saw him in A bad moment where he didn’t convert What he had earned but Robert he’s right There in this match and he’s shown that He can come back yeah he’s earned his

Keep thus far with two great wins and Master revited and mamajara but he wants To keep going he didn’t enter this Tournament he qualified for it not just To oh fizzle out early he wants to make It to Toronto he will need to strike Back we see the group b matchup between Duda and Serana but girian pancrata two Draws it feels like they’ve been very Balanced thus far we haven’t seen either Player jump to like a plus two or in the Case of serrano dude like a plus seven No they’ve actually kept it very tight Very tight indeed and Um because of that it means that the Pressure is actually increasing of every Single game every single good move that Gets played Robert I just get the Feeling that the first person to make a Big blender Probably not only is the other guy going To take advantage of it but that might Be the match right there when whenever You you have these uh these matches that It start you know draw draw the first Person to win trust me they usually win The match so the the stakes I feel are So high in this match and the way it’s Going although Gary’s played a Tremendous match I think Punk kratzov is The more satisfied player thus far Robert with how it’s progressed yeah When you’re 27 50 plus you’re not Satisfied with two draws against a

Player that isn’t in your rating range And uh Gary did get an advantage in game One so we shouldn’t forget about that French defense that was nice for what The white side so we’ll see if Anish Answers it before I can finish my uh Point he’s playing the French once again And will pankarata repeat the line I wonder will um kratzov repeat the line I also wonder whether Geary will so I Have this thing where usually if the Line goes well for a player or the game Goes well and they’re actually the Player that deviates first and we kind Of see that here that pancrata he kind Of got away with it he played really Natural in that that French game it Seemed to work well for him you might Say okay why not go for it again well Guess what Geary definitely just looked At that he’d probably noticed he had an Advantage and I guarantee you he worked Out the remedy for sure and that’s why I’ll put A6 it covers the B5 Square he Can in fact play B5 but just because you Play B5 does not solve the biggest Problem the French this bishop on C8 the Light Square Bishop it doesn’t have a Good diagram to work with he instead Plays B6 so not advancing his Pawn as Much and the reason why is that had you Played B5 we can bring up an analysis Board just to show you some of the Nuances of the French is that once white

Takes on C5 the pawn on B6 you take back And control the center in a position Like this on the other hand you just Clog the D4 Square so the bishop doesn’t Get to see the light of day Great Point yeah this is uh you know It’s all really about that C8 Bishop at The end of the day whether it has scope And the move B6 more reserved after the New bishop D3 we kind of talked about a Plan involving C4 and B5 and a full Queen side expansion the only thing About this position is it it is a little Bit different than uh the last time we Saw there’s no Rook on B8 and you’ve Already played B6 so I feel like you’re Kind of two moves slower because Rook B8 Is useful and B6 is not and we have one And not the other oh it’s a really good Point and this opening is all about Nuances zero trades all nuance and one Of them is that you need this tension on The D4 Square because if black rabbit Plays C4 then white will strike with F5 White cannot play F5 now because then You take on D4 and E5 Falls as well so That’s where the fight is it’s all about The center D4 pawn and the C5 Pawn Challenging it that’s what’s telling the Tale the bishop not a good piece issue On D3 is looking at the black king side If in fact black does Castle so Pankratsov has a difficult choice right Now whether or not to Castle because it

Does feel like white can bring Firepower To the king side Indeed I’ve always such a tough decision I feel like when you play the uh the French defense you’re always faced with This moment of okay can I castle Kingside and the answer is all pretty Much usually yes but your brain and the Ghosts and the threats and just that Uncertainty always says Ah it’s pretty Scary looking so even if black can Castle and you should there’s that Moment where you just give a little more Credit to your opponent’s attack And garato he’s really taking a think in Game one the guy was moving instantly so Even though objectively his position Wasn’t good he was feeling it now he Plays C4 and you see the eval bar creep Up among what What I was not expecting this I don’t think the eval bar is creeping Anymore Robert I think it’s stomping It’s making a lot of noise and it’s way Up there for the white pieces right now C4 I talked about it earlier I think B6 Was a waste of time there’s no Rook B8 Icc4 is already a little bit off but Then they move F5 we talked about that Move the first time they played this Game we said it’s probably not gonna be The right idea when you see this Robert Are you thinking or are you thinking to Leave it there and open up the position

Afterwards I’m leaving it because I’m Gonna play G4 I’m gonna play Knight G5 Attacking I was about to say something let me Bring up an analysis board here real Quick because And he’s just like Robert go away you Don’t know what are you talking about Robert here what I liked was that black Is very cramped so when a side is Cramped I don’t want to trade pieces I Want to play Knight G5 if we’re going to Trade pieces this way we’re opening up Files I’m going to play G4 later if your Best move is Knight f8 I can play G4 and Just Advance on the king side black has No space whatsoever Yeah and I think just conventionally When you follow the principles that just Makes so much sense because The reason why giri played takes in 95 I Think that could just be because of a Preference thing like he might just want A more open position against his Opponent right now rather than a closed One because what have we seen we’ve Actually seen pankrado be such a Resilient Defender I think Anish might Be just thinking more on principle and Less with you know raw calculation that I just want an open position because I Think it’ll be tougher to defend and we Should be very clear about this white is Obviously for choice this position is

Nice for a niche but I wasn’t expecting Him to just hop in the center so quickly It does give black more breathing room This bishop for example can go to D6 There’s no Pawn in E5 that’s where the Knights on F6 to begin with so it just Seems like Pablo has a little bit more To work with even though it’s clearly Nice for a niche Yeah and let’s just look at the quality Of the pieces right Brooks exactly where They want to be I would say the last Thing I would improve at White’s Position is potentially Bishop on E3 to F2 maybe to G3 and then look to play Pawn to F5 and you’re kind of hitting That Queen and Rook uh through the X-ray And look at pankaratov he plays B4 Pavel Wants to open up that Queen side but he Hasn’t taken back so he knew he Intuitive that was the right choice but He hasn’t figured out how he should Recapture it Knight takes before looks Wrong because where’s the Knight going Bishop takes B4 looks the most natural And then I think I’m on your plan is Right like we can play Bishop F2 you can Also stop playing G4 and push it right Onto the king side I’m still enjoying anisha’s position For sure yeah this is just so so Comfortable and the bishop on C8 as well If you ever move it like Bishop B7 You’re also really concerned about your

E-pawn as soon as white plays Bishop to F2 The Rook just you know exerts all the Pressure and did we even consider Rook Takes B4 I’d be honest with you I Definitely didn’t I see why he’s doing It he’s putting pressure in the pond but There are tactics here that’s where the Evil bar show the plus four so that’s Insane it must be like some kind of F5 Yep perhapsing the position the thing is Um you know if you tell me that there’s A move here you don’t even tell me which One but some move that gives that level Of an evaluation I think Robert you’re On the same page F5 just has to be the Move right because this position is Pretty close right so there’s no tactic There’s no sacrifice but I see plus four Off the this side of the board here and There’s F5 and there’s plus four Yeah and Geary didn’t spend you know More than 30 seconds finding that so While you and I saw an eval bar it kind Of jumped up and said hey something’s Here Anish giri probably also got that You know just a feeling right it just Felt okay Rook takes B4 that’s not the Move that I was expecting night before Bishop before more natural and look at My opponent’s king king on E8 still in The center of the board we’ve got Bishop Undeveloped on C8 Rook still in the Corner White’s pieces are fully Mobilized and they teach you in chess

Robert when you’ve got all your pieces On their optimal squares that’s often When you start to look for the Breakthrough and that pawn on B2 was Useless I understand that pankaj was up A pawn now but isn’t he just going to Get crushed down the e-file I mean if You take on E6 the D5 Pawn is loose you Can wait Bishop G5 after a move this Knight it feels like a niche is just Thrilled to be in this position He still has the light shining on him But it’s not shining on his position and He is in big trouble yeah there’s some Storm clouds overhead uh you know I was Gonna say I expected maybe bishop to F4 Um but the way crowd is playing it says If he senses no danger like there’s no Uh danger radar at all he’s going for Queen Side Pawn after Queen Side Pawn Meanwhile the whole King side seems to Be falling apart yeah he’s attacking his Pawn and defending D5 so it’s a Multi-purpose move but there’s a king on E8 and Bishop D1 a simple move let’s Open up why is punk roster playing so Quickly yeah you know it’s an Interesting strategy I feel like he’s Already intuited that this position is Like it lost for lack of a better word Like I think he might feel that it’s Lost and so what are you gonna do Spending five minutes in a pretty dead Position you know are you really gonna

Find the the antidote all of a sudden or Should you just keep up the speed and You know at least then you’re good on The clock should your opponent mess Things up along the way Truly shocking stuff right now the other Game has started it’s following a Similar trajectory as the first game Between Duda and Serana but this game Right now this could be a match decider There still will be a fourth game Regardless but with this Kingdom E8 and A niche Geary ready to just Claw at this King I Bishop G5 trying to take and play Bishop H5 check I feel like there’s so Many options for white and it’s not a Single threat that black has yeah that’s The thing great Point uh lacks not doing Anything and black is so not doing Anything here that I’m even considering Moves like Queen to C1 Like just hit the rook and say yeah You’re you’ve absolutely got nothing to Do by the way And White’s not even down any material Right no no oh my no material Um I mean you’ve just got everything you Should ask for so Knight F7 is black in A castle always funny when it happens I Know and I feel like there’s so many Players that just haven’t quite gotten The full understanding of the rules of Chess you know your Rook is attacked you

Can Castle But you probably will get checkmated Afterwards That’s not part of the rules of Chess That’s different Just bring all the pieces to the party And we’ll get a rook lift this is wanted In game one exactly exactly that’s a Great way to put it he’s got his game With the white pieces we know Anish you Know 2800 level player and he’s got a Position where he’s on the attack not Down material look at how much time he’s Got 10 minutes he’s basically probably Got five six good options here he’s got So many good options that he doesn’t Know which one to pick and he knows he’s Winning right you said Pavel likely Feels it as well but a niche doing the Correct thing he has so much time Remaining even if he spends five minutes On this Choice as long as he finds the Path forward that is what’s most Important he has plenty of time after That to uh Kind of fill out the rest of the game so While we do have a moment here while Anish thinks let’s go to the game Between Duda and Serana this could be The final game of that match if Duda Were to win and you see the eval bar Plummet because we went from a winning Position to one that’s a little bit more Normal

Exactly but I tell you if you came and Watched last game between these two Players that eval bar was all the way to The top of the screen not 10 15 moves in So uh I think Duda for for one will be Happier to have a more normal position Here where you know he’s not running Into prep in the opening in fact it’s Him that has sort of you know he doesn’t Have that dangerous prep where you’re Gonna blow your uh opponent off the Board and win all of a sudden but it Does have prep as in he has a specific Structure in a specific type of opening And plan that he’s going for he executed It once and that’s where he got his win In this match you know if he can do that Again right here let’s not forget Robert This match can end on the spot yes and I Didn’t do it wants that to happen Because he sees from experience how Dangerous serrana is he doesn’t want to Go to a next game and have to deal with Some kind of crazy wild opening Theory And here with the white pieces his Pawn On e4 is under attack by two blocks Pieces the bishop on H3 why is it there The last move was Bishop H3 by Duda and After Queen D6 he goes Bishop back to G2 So on one hand you’re like what you just Wasted a turn on the other you’re like Hey you’re a strong player because You’re willing to admit that your Bishop Belongs on G2 cover that D5 Square

Protect E4 and sorry what is Black’s Plan exactly the upon A5 stops the B5 Push you take on passant and D5 give me That Square thank you very much Yeah and that’s it I mean obviously a Really Advanced concept here I mean when You think about it I’ve seen 1200s Play Bishop H3 and Bishop back to G2 that’s Called wasting time but at a really high Level sometimes you can do that when Your opponent displaces their pieces and Does so in an unfavorable way so here The queen on C6 it doesn’t want to be on That square after something jumps into D5 the Queen’s gonna be attacked maybe By the pawn so the queen is is found Herself on a square that’s not ideal for The current position and guess what if Black now plays Queen back to C7 white Says okay Castle you know I’ve got my Bishop on G2 which is where I wanted it In the first place and you were still a Tempo in the process so I like it I Think Duda is playing cleverly and There’s no clear plan for Serana the Only plan that you typically have in Such a position is to push your Pawn on The B file but as soon as that pawn Pushes we take onpassan and this is not A winning situation but Knight A5 comes The tempo another benefit of having the Queen out on C6 from White’s perspective Is now the queen has to move and then You can just Castle they play Queen D3

Like he did in the first game and white Has good control mm-hmm Yep no this is uh I think this is also The game that Duda wants um I don’t Remember exactly what happened to Serana In the previous game but he’s no doubt Looked at that trying to learn from how That game went and he’s definitely got a Much more interesting position for Himself here the bishop can get out to The E6 Square C4 is a target for black Species and there’s also very clear open Files for the Rooks Rook B8 Rook F to C8 And the B2 and C2 pawns come under a lot Of pressure Yeah it’s something very clear to play For I agree with you here and it still Says white should have a slight plus the A6 Pawn is a long-term weakness the D6 Pawn is backward the D5 Square cylinder White’s control so from that perspective I think that uh Duda can be quite happy I would probably start with Queen D3 Just like we’re talking about with the Queen on C6 if we drag the bishop to E6 Now after Knight D5 I don’t know if you want to take with The bishop you can I take back if you Take with a knight then when I take I Gain the tempo gets your bishop and I’m Ready to Castle so this is a game of cat And mouse Yeah very double-edged Um certainly as I guess that Bishop yeah

I I might have been thinking similarly That Bishop B6 also exposes the bishop To a move that white probably wants to Get in anyway like how natural is the Move Knight D5 so he says look I don’t Want to be on a square where I’m just Going to get attacked next move but I do Need to develop this bishop in order to Play Rook b a rook C8 as you highlighted But now he doesn’t have Knight C4 and You can play your Rook over to C8 and That’s great but after Knight C4 we Start trading pieces He goes all the way because look truly You do need a rook on the a file the A6 Pawn is it is weak and you don’t want to Give it up for nothing but I did expect Rook to C8 to try to gain control of the C4 Square now after Rook B8 there’s no Knight C4 uh honestly for black here the Main idea or move that I’m looking at is Is actually Knight G4 way on the other Side of the board because I don’t know What else to do with Black’s position And Rook fc1 I think we understand what John’s going for is Knight D5 was Stopped because the B2 Pawn was hanging With the Rook here once the Knight moves Uh thank you very much let’s just push These pawns at the board so I feel like Joseph has a very good handle of the Position he will probably play Bishop D2 There’s no easy way to pile up more Pressure on this Pawn you need your

Bishop to get out to C5 but Unfortunately there’s a Pawn on D6 in The way and even still the bishop can Always drop back to E1 to defend so the Game is easier to play or JKD and he’s Also up a point in the match Exactly Um actually gotta go to the other game I’m sorry imana yeah let’s do it Um spicy D with a very very firm grip on That position but I tell you one Position then I’ll tell you that Paul Kratov does not have a firm grip on is This one this reminds me of the game Between Serana and Duda in the last Round total madness here is it Gary up a Pawn like he’s knocked down any material And there’s a threat of is it Checkmate Let’s check me to Woods maze Checkmate In a single move What was that game Hasn’t even reacted now yeah I that’s Just it’s a different way I think of Handling the dead lost position You know I I I think there’s there’s a Couple ways to do it we saw Duda he was In a position that was probably just as Dead Lost Robert and he tanked he was Upset visibly and punk Prado is just Kind of like whatever if I die I die you Know this is Checkmate the king is Caught in the middle of the board can’t Go anywhere what just happened we left For like a few minutes just to show the

Other game and crazy Bit 97 whoa what a move by the way yeah Opening up lines against this King and Pakrata went Knight D3 And he doesn’t even play Bishop takes it Was the pawn so Bishop takes on F6 There’s still Bishop H5 check and yeah Maybe E7 as well Actually if the King goes up here I Think the problem now is like us go Rook A1 and Oh D5 is loose yeah yeah D5 is hanging This is just miserable so this happens And rookie won anyway and he gets to Check me in the center of the board wow This is as one side of a game as you Could possibly see at this level you you Don’t see Meats just up on the board and It almost looked like a Checkmate that Neither player really noticed until it Was there and I was like wait that’s him Is that made in one yeah when the bar Goes from plus a million to 1-0 you know The game is is over I I can’t even look At this game anymore so Anish giri wins It he goes up two to one and punk rockef Will get the white pieces I don’t know how he comes back from this One this is a brutal game yeah that that Was a really really good game by Geary Uh you know take the white pieces and he Really just stuck it to pancrata of that Entire game so I thought he played Tremendously and now the pressure is

Back on pankradov but before we get to That the pressure is actually on Alexis Serrana to stay in this tournament he Can’t lose this game And he’s in a bad position the Knight Went back to D1 Knight Retreats are Often the hardest moves to play in chess It covers F2 it allows C4 B4 and those Pawns are just marching up the board Kicking Black’s pieces back and what are Your Rooks doing exactly on a and B8 That’s right yeah Knight G4 was sort of A one tempo move to try to take the Bishop but actually I think the bishop Is almost on greener pastures right now Supporting B4 is so important once white Gets the moves that you’ve highlighted Here B4 and C4 next move is H3 I think The advantage is overwhelming this is Really bad for black and Serana and look At him he doesn’t look very happy he’s Calculating he will work hard because if He holds this game he does get another Chance at the white pieces but the way Match has been going after a first round Loss he almost gets the second round win With great preparation but as it’s kind Of indicating before Amman I feel like As a chess player psychologically you’re Even more harshly impacted when you Should be winning after 15 moves it’s Like I did everything I worked on at home and Then after that I played badly so you

Start second guessing yourself Yeah that’s a great way to put it Um because he he can’t do that right now You have to trust yourself with black Also Knight G4 I mentioned that was kind Of the only aggressive idea that I Noticed for black he’s played it and now That he’s played it Yeah Robert I’m kind of out of ideas so Like what do you do as black I see Myself getting pushed back with B4 C4 Like F5 is an idea but the Rook on A8 You never can play F5 in these positions So I’m really Unsure how to get things To work other than just to let white Gain the space they’re gonna gain and And just play a slightly worse position So what’s even the defensive setup where Did Black’s pieces belong do you just Shuffle your king I I don’t really know What to suggest Yeah um first of all the night on G4 It has to retreat like it has to end up Back on F6 Um I’m looking at the dark Square Bishops and just because I need Something to do I’m looking at Bishop G5 Just as a at least an idea something to Play for I like that move actually Bishop G5 the Downside is D6 becomes tender but on the Plus side this is a really bad Bishop Only defending that pawn so Um

Hmm it ain’t much you know it’s just Yeah before still happens the queen is Gonna have to retreat to C7 and I guess I guess as black like I I want to play Bishop E6 and and I mean C7 and probably My knight on B6 needs needs to reroute But look I don’t have a lot of space as Black Um I’m probably saying Bishop G5 is my Only I’m with you actually one one thing That’s coming to mind now is Bishop G5 Oh he plays Bishop E6 but we can get an Analysis board and just show you a Sample line that Bishop G5 B4 maybe There’s Queen D4 we saw a niche do Something like this and the point is This B4 Pawn will lose this Defender if The dark Square Bishops are traded so The pawn structure doesn’t look ideal And you may say all right I’ll take I’ll Put E5 yes I get a tactic against this Rook down here it looks like uh you sure You want to do that because to this Point I will just take you on A8 and now I have these light squares to work with The Knight F3 this Pawn is a target with A knight coming to D5 this is exactly What black wants a chance to breathe and Have some play of his own Yeah that’s a really cool line and Um Bishop E6 was played so I’m not sure If Bishop G5 was the best move in the Position but Bishop E6 it it just looks Like the play is too easy because now F

Or sorry now H3 can happen Force the Knight back to F6 there’s no more Bishop G5 stuff and then C4 and once those two Moves happen I don’t see anything Yeah all I can do is shake my head Because the night then this Knight which Retreated from C3 will go to E3 and into D5 so jkd’s plan so simple and once this Knight gets to D5 please take me because When I take the C Pawn imagine a pawn Here then my knight gets into C6 so Every single decision for John schistoff Gains him something important and every Move that we see it looks like Alexi has Not moved in like 10 turns Yeah exactly his position looks Identical his position on camera looks Identical he just doesn’t know what to Do because White’s covering everything It’s just I feel like white took some Steps back you know covered everything And as soon as things were covered all Of a sudden it’s like full offense this Feels like a classic counter-attack you Know in a football match where you know Everybody’s just running up the field And all of a sudden B4 C4 H3 and the Pieces are just getting kicked back for Black here Yeah this is just really nice stuff from Beyond just off and he’s one of the best Rapid players in the world whether it’s Over the board or online he’s won some Very prestigious events he uh won the

Um was called the Oslo Esports cup if I’m saying the name correct in the Champions chest tour he won the super Bet over the board event in Poland uh He’s a force and right now he’s plus Three in this position Black’s not even Down material but white is just making The most obvious moves Yeah and he’s the dude is not thinking Too much about his moves here E4 C4 King H2 Knight E3 he knows what’s necessary In the position on how to improve it and Honestly he’s doing nothing wrong right Now it would be a real shame for Duda Not to convert this but we have seen Crazier in this match that’s all I’m Gonna say if if Serana strong players he Is can somehow mess up that position up A couple pieces and deepen his you know Very very good prep then don’t count Serana out of the event just yet but Serana is playing Fisher random while Duda’s playing chess It’s just really unfortunate for him I’ve been in this position with the Black pieces before you’re just getting Squeezed from every direction it’s not An A5 there’s a knight on D5 you don’t Have a single idea I often say the side That controls the pawn breaks is the Side with the advantage black has zero Pawn breaks to work with white can play F4 you want to throw that one in you can Play C5 you can choose your own

Adventure here and black is just Shuffling pieces around Yeah speaking of your F4 move I I really Like it Um sometimes in positions like this I Feel like personally I I have this Instinct to take too much time and sort Of Build It Up really slowly but Oftentimes you miss your chances and F4 Could be one of those chances here it Looks really powerful yeah you can even Throw an F5 to force Black’s hand to Take on D5 and that will give white Control of the C6 Square so black Serrano he wants to play a knight C6 Type of idea that’s what he’s going for And yeah Joseph Duda he had one iffy Game that I can remember in this event He beat guha 3-0 in The Opening match Then it gets Wong hao in game one I Think he was just like dead it seemed And he somehow survived that and then he Won game two when Wang Hao handed him a Piece I just completely blundered so Judith has not been in too much trouble In terms of an overall match in game two Of this match of course he was lost Objectively speaking but in one game one One so he just has this match good style For matches I would say Yeah exactly and even though that might Not paint the full picture look if Someone’s getting in a tough game In every match but also winning every

Match two and a half three nothing like You can’t just chalk it up to luck every Single time I mean it’s far from it uh The resilience to stay in those games And you know top players are not just Going to be blundering those like hang On a sec how come they don’t do that Against me well it’s because I don’t Have the tenacious defense that Duda Does It’s a good point and we’ve seen that From undraken we see that from Hikaru Nakamura perhaps better than anybody in The planet when he has a tough position He knows how to set little traps play Quickly his opponent of time trouble and The worst part for Serranos he’s the one Down on the clock he has no space Whatsoever Knight C6 I I guess but even that Doesn’t look very appealing Um yeah Knight C6 I in that position I I Think I even want to consider F5 as an idea or Knight takes C6 and Then F5 and for sure and I I just love The resulting position just give me more And more space I I thought you could Just you know start pushing pawns on it The advantage yeah exactly somehow Slipped but it still looks great for White so F4 no response just yet I mean Knight C6 what is the best reply here oh My gosh it’s that simple just take first And then F5 The Bishop’s trapped

Huh Oops wait did this just happen yeah That’s that’s an oops that I could say I’m guilty of and unfortunately we have Another perpetrator Robert Well you never want to take on F6 right That’s not something weird exactly but Now it works because The Bishop’s trap Yeah oh it’s around yeah look at him he Recognizes he’s like wait oh no And that’s it that’s that’s gonna be the Match I mean I can’t imagine like the Funny thing is Serena probably feels Same way Duda felt last game right now You know he’s got that oh it’s just dead Lost and to do this credit somehow he Stuck in there I would just be impressed Though if we could see the same out of Serana here he’s gonna lose that bishop And it’s Gotta Be the game you feel you Prob it’s just not gonna work out Obviously but I think you take and then Once this Pawn takes an E6 you take back With the pawn he said six to nine on D4 But he’s gonna be down a bishop for just One pawn and everybody at home he didn’t Take this bishop right away because the Bishop was still trapped he knew it was The best choice but maybe there was some Other move that was slightly better Ultimately he’s like give me that free Piece I like the fact that he didn’t Essentially pre-move yeah exactly like You you do want to cash in of course but

Uh there are other moves available and If a piece is trapped it’s a really good Principle to understand that you don’t Have to be in a rush to take it No and for serrana you see the Disappointment on his face even getting Here huge accomplishment he beat vidit Gujarati and Shakira mamajaro those are Two powerhouses in the Chess World his Time the cgc is about to come to an end He is not going to make it to Toronto But he will leave with fifteen thousand Dollars and honestly some great match Victories Yeah that’s a lot to be proud of for Sure but Um let me just tell you that he’s Thinking about none of that right now as He’s wallowing in the fact that this Position is hopeless and he will very Likely be knocked out as another Pawn Gets picked up by Duda so much to be Proud of for serrana but I think you Know we are our own worst critic and Right now he’s only thinking about that Blunder a couple moves ago I just feel for him that’s uh what I’m Thinking about here is just you look at You see it on his face how well he’s Played throughout the global Championship thus far and his time in The event is coming to an end as Duda Just played a great day of Chess and you Will say well Gabe two wasn’t so great

No it actually showed something great Greatness doesn’t come from just winning Games and crushing people it also is Shown in moments like that where your Backs against the wall and you still Have the fortitude to survive and he’s Earned his spot into Toronto I don’t Think he is going to let this game slip I know their commentators curses but Come on Iman you can’t possibly jinx This position we’re not that much of bad Luck are we Robert surely not Um no I I can’t see it happening Especially just you know how much time Is on the clock and the the imbalance Right now it isn’t even the case that They’re both down to 30 seconds or that One side is ahead of the other no it’s Actually JKD who’s up a piece and up Time so he seems to have all the Trump Cards right now He’s doing great and you know he’s still Locked in even though he knows that this Match should be over he’s not rushing He’s not just moving pieces that he Thinks uh will just be good he’s Calculating and that’s a really Important look at that move E5 a pawn Sacrifice to bring the queen in here Attacking this Pawn opening up the Bishop he’s going for checkmating Attacks he’s trying to push his B Pawn And that was the best decision Yeah that’s that’s incredible like I’m

Even sitting here just you know admiring What just happened because I probably Would have played Rook B1 and tried to Push my beep on whereas this conversion Is is just so much more pure this is Exactly what the engine wants you know This is this is the most lethal way to Convert things And I’d like to move Rook F1 offering a Trade trying to bring the Rook into the Game if the Rook avoids that trade and He is up a piece for zero Pawn a full Piece at this point and going after the Black king should be very Swift Yeah and I’m sure he’s considering moves Like Bishop takes H6 here Um they are actually playable but I Agree keep it simple Rook F1 trade Things like you know that if you get the Rooks off the board Queen E8 and Bishop D3 is game Rook B8 just keeping the Rooks on Because you need some hope and your Bishop H6 idea Iman looks very powerful Rook F7 first how can you complain about That Bishop H6 to follow yeah I think Bishop H6 will be most likely the next Move Um very difficult to see like anything Wrong with that There’s only one check in the position And it’s a sacrifice that doesn’t give You a next check so Bishop takes H6 is Certainly a great move and for Duda he

Doesn’t need to get fancy he could make Other moves as well obviously yeah Bishop D5 looks pretty good just trying To go after the king yep Queen F5 just To trade Rooks but Bishop H6 agreed due To style Agreed so many ways here were you know There’s no point in Speculating about yeah which one or this One’s better than that no it’s very much Just stylistic and wow on the board Rookie seven and GG a win for Duda Robert Huge win for him and a great Accomplishment in his young but already Very successful career John Books a ticket for Toronto Canada coming This November in just another month he Is the winner of his group so Congratulations are in order for him He’s actually struggled a bit Amman and Over the board chest his Olympiad was Not successful after a poor showing in His Maiden candidates but yeah will be There in the top eight in Toronto He Wills we see him qualifying out of Group b what a group to qualify out of As you see the caliber of names that you Have in group b there but on to Toronto Is Duda what an amazing match as you Said it’s I really like what you said Earlier about how it’s not just about Wins you know you have players that can Get wins and when they’re having a bad

Game you might say oh well that match Wasn’t clean it was back and forth but It showed great qualities as well not Only can they win but they can defend The tough positions a position where you Should get zero points they get half a Point and that’s what makes these Champions in tournaments like this and Speaking of Half Point dude only drop Two separate half points he beats Wang Hao two and a half ibiloxi sarona two And a half so his overall score is Through the roof is chess.com rapid Rating is Sky High maybe number one the Site I’ll have to check on that but Yanchist of Duda is not going to back Down from any fight and he’s gonna have To get a flight to Toronto and we’ll be Excited to see him there and well this Event would not be possible without Braves we want to give a shout out to a Presenting sponsor With brave means private browsing and so Much more by default Brave blocks ads And trackers on every page and video you Visit even on YouTube no ads means that The three times faster page loads faster Streaming and faster playback it means 35 longer battery life while saving on Mobile data and internet bandwidth for Android iOS and desktop get the best Browser for gamers streamers and Creators switch in 60 seconds at Brave.com

Chess Yan chest of Duda is through to The round of eight in Toronto will Anish Geary join him they’re made to be seen Here at the chess.com Global Championship presented by Brave be right Back I was 15 years old when copper and Gaspro played their first world Championship match And I was 21 years old and they had Still not finished playing each other They had one of these remarkable Rivalries And by matches which dwarf the lengths Of modern matches growing up and Watching kasporov dominate The Chess World is is something I I still remember Vividly because of course for every Young chess player I don’t think there Was a single one on the planet who Didn’t idolize everything that he was Carrie’s two years older than me Honestly speaking there is a difference In class and [Music] [Applause] Um You know I’m a I’m a good player at my Best I was a very good player but he was On on a level higher than that [Music] Foreign Foreign To anyone

All around the world the chess.com Global Championship offers the dream of Playing against the best we are in for a Wild ride and hey have we mentioned There’s also a million dollars at stake The total pot is a million dollars know That it’s not a typo the prizes are Unbelievably generous The cgc Knockout Phase has hit crunch time We began with thousands of players now Only a handful remain 131 moves is what it took for Wesley so To make to make it Toronto on the Onions of effort among no matter who you Are things are about to get very very Real A huge collapse from carwana it all went Downhill and Dimitri on draken punches His ticket to the round of eight in Unreal fashion at stake a trip to the Finals in Toronto and a clean shot at The largest first place prize of the Year is winning oh my friends it’s the Cgc round of 16. who’s headed to Toronto It’s time to find out The last man in that video just clinched His spot in the top eight will Anish Giri join him that is the question that We have I’m Grandmaster Robert Hess Alongside my friend Grandmaster Iman Hamilton Amman Duda very impressive and He’s Geary very impressive in game three Do we think Pablo pankratov had bounced Back in game four

Well you know what in this competition Robert I don’t think that Pavel has gone Out without a fight ever you know he’s He’s been down he’s been up against These top players so I’m gonna say yes Absolutely don’t count him out of this Match Havel now gets the white pieces in Game four yes he’s down a point but you Know look at that bracket it’s all about Making it to the next stage and funkraut Has made it this far don’t think he’s Gonna roll over just because he’s down One point to Geary here Yuri has to be Very mindful of the fact that pancrata Is going all out he’s got nothing to Lose and he’s got the white pieces so I Think we’re gonna see a big push from Pavel here in game number four and Pavel Beat nuribek Abdus atarov in a must-win Game with the black pieces just to make It to that Armageddon so you’re right That Pavel has trailed and he has still Made his way through to this stage but Anish giri is one of the best prepared Players one of the most solid players on The planet I don’t really see him losing Yeah what I do Wonder though is what We’re gonna get out of the opening like Are we gonna see more weird Shenanigans With G6 E6 C5 because it looked like Geary couldn’t decide on an opening so He picked four last time like what was He gonna do this time when it’s clear

That the match situation is different Wow an E4 by on crosstalk not D4 this Time and we get a sicilian not a real Surprise because Anish giri has made Courses on the night orph what you know Game where it draws sufficient playing a Night or if maybe some risk to that Definitely yeah at this point Um obviously shades of the other match Coming in here as wow the players are Blitzing out and I was going to say if You’re going into an open Sicilian Against anishkiri you better know your Openings Yeah because you know normally you study A super GM’s course unfortunately you’re Studying a Nigeria’s course so you’re Using anisha’s prep against him and Maybe just maybe he didn’t give every Less detail there but no matter Rook A4 just gritty chess Interesting because yeah he’s fully Committed to winning this pawn it looks Like I see one game in the Explorer with B3 Played and maybe Punk rato no I was Gonna say maybe he knows the opening Better and then anisha’s Rook B5 which Is not a move you played as quickly Unless you’ve studied the position Right because Rook B5 immediately Targets the E5 pawn and a bishop B4 here Robert stands out because look this this Move is a way to guard the pawn on D5

With the queen right so Bishop B4 Immediately sticks out but black has Some immediate reactions first of all Knight C5 attacks the rook and would Then probably Force the bishop to take And losing that dark Square Bishop this Early is often enough compensation and That’s not to mention that Bishop D7 Comes with Tempo attacking the d-pawn it Feels like white has played about seven Moves and black has played 15. because Black is castled has more pieces Developed Bishop takes B4 was the choice And now Anish has to figure King h8 okay this is a niche gear Preparation Works sure and I was also going to point Out like just to extend your thought White’s pieces have all moved like three Times to get with it you know what I Mean like Knight F3 Knight D2 Knight C4 Bishop E3 Bishop D2 Bishop B4 and you Think about how the moves have been made From uh Anish it’s very deliberate you Know every piece moved once that’s why It feels like he’s way ahead and guess What you called it King h8 s move in the Position yeah I’m I’m sniffing out Anishikiri preparation at the moment On the clock so he prepared up to this Point and now he’s like all right now I’m on my own I’m playing one of the Best night or players on the planet Bishop takes D6 is played now Anish has

A few choices he can take on D6 because That distracts the Knight the B uh two Pawn and the A5 pawns are loose you Could probably play a move like Bishop To B7 going straight after this D5 Pawn To my eyes that looks great and why this King is on h8 is there will never be a Pin along the A2 G8 diagonal And allowing that pawn to just hang That’s the reason why I think you were Immediately like yeah this is Preparation because how do you drop a Pawn and then just calmly make a king Move seemingly dropping another Pawn I’m Not sure if Punk kratov is doing this Because of the match situation but I Think it’s probably the right strategy I Know that it it sucks that feeling when You’re going into your opponent’s prep But hey there’s no immediate reason why You you can just look at this position And say yeah this is bad for white at The moment if you’re Punk rats off You’re in a must-win game you’re Currently up two pawns it’s like hey Prove it yeah and I like the feature Chat we had before that said this is Essentially an Armageddon game for Punk Crossover without Time mods so he’s been Great in Armageddon with the white Pieces he has the white pieces here but Anish Curie has all 15 minutes to start The game so Knight C4 back I think Rook B5 back makes perfect sense just keep an

Eye on these pawns but white is up a Pawn for the time being That’s right and I think that might That might change so if you play Bishop E2 right and just want to get developed Um I mean I’m looking at Bishop to B7 And Honda D6 I mean I think you take on G2 why not One Rook on G1 is not going to lead to Checkmate there will be a past pawn and That’s frustrating but look at the Rook On A4 pieces are all over the place for White it’s like you kind of throw pieces Up in the air and some land on various Squares yeah yeah and uh I guess black Species landed on nicer squares than Whites Um because it looks a little Disorganized right now Bishop B7 Definitely the move I’m considering but Also I mean don’t count on moves like Knight C5 Knight F6 even puts pressure On the d-pawn and we just want Rook to D5 whether it captures a pawn or not And you see the players similar hoses Right now hands on head and I know that Anish has been taking this event very Seriously and you may think you want his First two matches he beat roundek him That was a wonderful match I still think The best of the entire event so far uh But you may think oh sorry the seventh Seed he’s playing something lower rated Like he should Breeze through he’s been

Taking this whole event Super seriously and with the position he Has now I’m on he’s looking like he’s in Great shape to join Yan chest of Duda Hikaru Nakamura and Drake and Lavon Aronian and Wesley so in Toronto A hundred percent like you called it This this is such an important match for Honestly both of these players but I Love what you said and I echoed it in Previous commentary as well but Anish Clearly taking this event seriously We’ve seen players bring out preparation That they might have been saving for Years and they’re bringing it out on the Biggest stage here the chess.com Global Championship that just shows how Seriously the players are taking the Event and what’s at stake here For sure and Niche was nervous heading Into that first match against Jew one June a very strong player he did win That match he continues to keep pressing On in them but yeah he is not taking a Single move lightly and right now he Shouldn’t you know he look at the Position it’s even material black Actually has the better Pawn structure In the center of the board but this Pawn On A6 that could be a problematic piece Once this Knight moves out the way from C4 A6 could drop and you certainly don’t Want to allow white to have an outside Pass Pawn

And I mean I just don’t see enough in this position The more I look at it it’s like Geary Has achieved everything out of the Opening he’s even time he hasn’t spent You know excessive amounts of time Trying to figure things out no he Clearly had this in his pocket he’s just Double checking things so now his prep Has clearly ended but this is how you End preparation right with a great Position where you know the plans got a Better structure there’s nothing to Complain about if you’re a nice Geary Fan Beautiful position and I’m trying to Figure out what the plan of action is For a niche because you want to ask Yourself do I want to trade pieces Bishop B5 type of move do I want to go Forward I have an extra Pawn if we cut The board in half let’s cut at the D File white has a pass C pod black has an Extra e-pawn and so do I want to start Pushing these pawns and go for an attack Of my own I see the Merit in that Yeah I could see it going either way one Thing is that I would say based on the Match situation I don’t think you’d go that crazy e4f or F3 although it looks scary I think that You just want to you just want to maybe Trade pieces and neutralize uh the Position here so curiously see what he

Does because I think the strongest Players have an ability to make Aggressive attacking moves that don’t Fully commit to an attack right you Won’t see moves like G5 just appear on The board here because it’s such a Committal move I see that move I’m Saying okay I know you’re going all out On the attack now and there’s also Weaknesses that are developing As the move F4 gets played Robert this Is a more conventional attacking move But it’s definitely gonna make the Position double-edged as punk kratzov I Gotta be honest I’d be happy to see this Yeah you need to play for a win even if It costs you the full point because a Draw and a loss are the same but I do Love what you just said among that uh For these top level players when they go Forward they don’t also compromise their Underlying structure of their position F4 is a very nice move and Rook D1 was Maybe not the best reply it would appear And is there a queen G5 is there going To be a Checkmate threat here F4 takes Away the G3 Square from this Rook so it Looks like there could be a big attack Brewing Yeah something as simple as Queen G5 Right away now you might think about Rook takes D1 first and then Queen uh Over to G5 so that’s another option um There is Bishop F3 there but I still

Think that’s really really dangerous Yeah options for black queen G5 by Niche And you you could tell he’s feeling it He’s spending his time he’s doing so Wisely but he just has a great sense of The position he feels the pulse of it And The Rook can join the party in a Second but there’s already a Checkmate Threat so if white plays G3 That looks very Troublesome with the Opening of the diagonal but what else Are you going to do Bishop F1 you’re Just backtracking and black can keep Going forward Exactly Bishop F1 does take care of Things at home but it doesn’t do Anything to stop the onslaught of Pawns Here Um The Pawn on F4 for me hero Pawn it’s Stopping 93 it’s stopping Rook G3 both Of those are extremely good defensive Moves so that pawn rate now is kind of Dictating the entire pace of the game What a position for Anishikiri and he continues to spend Some time trying to figure it out I like The look of E4 I don’t see the drawback F4 is defended by the rook and the queen Over here it also opens up the fifth Rank maybe an eventual Queen C5 could be Annoying so what exactly does white have Going on for him Yeah that’s a great question I think the Main idea for white has to revolve

Around that A6 Pawn it’s so tough to get A hold of because you need your Bishop To defend Checkmate of all things on G2 But white has a dangerous a pawn if that A6 Pawn can ever be taken so Anis just Has to make sure while he’s launching an Attack that he’s not forgetting about His Queen side altogether And Anish just sank in his chair a Little bit he’s getting closer and Closer to his computer screen he cannot Afford to lose that pawn that’s for sure It doesn’t mean he needs to bring his Night out just yet but he is trying to Figure a way how do I not just Neutralize my opponent’s plan because That’s the mistake a lot of players make When they’re like I need a draw let me Just play for a draw right oftentimes The best way to secure a draw is just by Playing good moves you don’t take any Risks thus far so E4 looks like it just Continues in the style that anisha’s Shown And how many matches have you seen and Maybe the chat will remember some where In that fourth and final game when one Player needs a win it’s actually the Other player that gets a winning Position and then what happens maybe a Draw offer or maybe a repetition because That’s how you secure wins get it from a Position of strength that’d make your Life way easier

Um so I totally agree you don’t want to Just sit here try to trade trade trade Everything because you know in fact if You do that you could be letting your Opponent off the hook and not being Objective and I think when you lose your Objectivity in chess that’s when you Know you start to miscalculate and Eventually make a mistake that you Regret For sure and pancreato I mean look at Him he’s uh leaning back just trying to Find any ounce of energy so he can take The chance that he needs to win this Game but there’s not enough pieces Remaining I feel like the position isn’t Particularly complex the A6 Pawn we’ve Acknowledged is a problem but besides That you typically need multiple Weaknesses to secure any sort of winning Chances Right and look I I also was thinking Honestly about even like H6 or H5 just Taking a moment to make space for the King yeah it also might function as an Aggressive move too Rook C5 played by Ani she’s like well he obviously wants The bishop to you know shine on the G2 Pawn from C6 and yes there’s you know E4 F3 ideas but take into account the other Benefits for white Now The Rook on D1 And exert all the pressure on the open File Rook takes C4 is a threat here but It’s white to move so I think you can

Just get out of uh get out of danger With either Knight D6 or Knight B6 yeah Bring that Knight up and don’t blunder Rook takes C4 so mod mentioned it the G2 Pawn needs The Bishop’s defense the Bishop had to take back you would get Made down here and there is no Bishop Takes G2 threat that looks like a threat I’m just gonna put the moves on the Board Bishop G2 Bishop G2 F3 yes I win The game there’s a pin here I’m gonna Check with you then you realize that Palm was pinned and your queen is Hanging so you can’t lose sight of the Position Rook H3 was the choice of on Crop top and he lose sight of the Position excuse me Rook takes C4 resigns On kratov has played this match in a Really strange way I felt like in the Last game when he got that worst Position that he just kind of he was Just chucking moves out and yeah I mean Sadly I think we’re gonna see perhaps Robert his exit from the tournament in a Bit of an underwhelming way Yeah this isn’t the same Pablo that Played the first two games of this match As well as the first two matches overall I mean he was a force to be reckoned With he beat fishy Anand Nordic Abdus Atarov noribbeck was a popular pick out Of this group beating Anish giri but a Niche He Still Remains concentrated even Though his opponent blundered a piece

And that is why he is going to be Traveling from the Netherlands to Canada Yeah he’s he knows that the game’s not Over until it’s over and honestly Whatever the evaluation is here I Promise you it was probably higher in The serrana Duda game that we did not See converted so anything can happen and I mean you can see Hands on his head He’s still calculating here because Guess what until that ticket is punched Robert he’s he’s not celebrating Right his name is not on that Light seat just yet but Look at this feature chat here Anish is One guy you cannot win against a Must-win game and that’s a draw joke but I think in all seriousness he is Incredibly solid has great preparation We saw it in this very game but he was a Little bit better prepared than Pankrative was Pavel could not get an Advantage and now he simply blundered a Piece so Pavel he knows this one’s over You’re speaking truth Iman that serrana Spoiled a bigger Advantage at least on The eval bar but this position is much Clearer yeah Yeah I definitely agree there and Rook G3 is a Cute move right in fact it’s using the The exact trick that you mentioned Earlier was that you’ve got that pin but Robert I think you’ll agree at this

Point yes The Rook on C4 is hanging but The problem is when the queen moves your Rook will be hanging as well on G3 Exactly so Queen moves thank you for Your Rook well thank you as well it’s Nice to do business with you and that Should scoop up enough material for and You should just move on here and punk Rocks of yeah I feel for him I mean he He earned so much respect from fans who Had no idea who he was and now they’ll Remember wait on kratzov that’s that guy Who made it to the round of 16 and he Beat Vichy he beat Noni back it just Wasn’t his day and you cannot have an Off move let alone an off day against a Super GM no you can and that’s is so Punishing so unforgiving especially The Knockout format and and he just brings The queen back to relative safety just Somewhere where it protects everything And with a pair of hanging Rooks on the Board it will be uh an extra piece for Anish and with everything that’s on the Line here I don’t think any ish is going to have Any problem converting this one Anish Spent over one minute on that move so This for everybody watching is what you Should do in your own games don’t just Play quickly when you’re ahead Do like Anish Geary win your games and That is a ticket booked final score 3-1 In East Gary’s favor the Dutch number

One the top 10 player in the world Everybody’s favorite troll on Twitter Has made his way through to Toronto Amazing you know he’s a lot more than a Twitter troll although I think he’s a Grand master there as well uh really Impressive uh I think match overall yes I think the first couple games went the Way the punk ratoff was looking for but Geary also didn’t do anything wrong Either right good games played well I Mean you just can’t find those wins that Easily so he he suss things out I think He had some interesting openings and Preparation he had a few chances Couldn’t put them away but in game three Robert he came through with just a Brilliant brilliant game uh to gain the Advantage and ultimately put the Pressure on Pavel in game number four Where he was up to one and his opponent Needed to play a little bit more loose Yeah and Pablo You could argue you did Some of the work for a niche by taking Down Vichy and nordi back but that’s Right got through Drew on June it was a Bit of a shaky match he wasn’t as Convincing as he became but beating Roundix had wanted the way he did I’ve Already said this so many times like a Broken record you beat Raonic in that Manner Nobody Does that but Geary did And he continued that into today’s Action

Yeah absolutely you can see the group F Bracket there Annie shkiri the top seed In that bracket comes out as the Qualifier to the top eight will be going To Toronto that’s November 2nd the 7th So that’ll be really really exciting but Again just because on kratzov is maybe Not as highly seated or highly rated as Some of the other players you might Think oh Geary’s path is so easy well News flash if he can beat Anan and beat Abdusatorov like not only does he Deserve to be there but he’s a very very Worthy competitor and I’m sure Annie’s Went into this match feeling a little Bit nervous about how unpredictable and Just how strong his opponent was yeah he Was nervous because he cared but not Because he was scared no fear for Anish Giri and well with that we head on into Our brave move of the day because Anish Giri he fears nobody in the chessboard And in this position Amman it looked Like probably didn’t have the best grasp At the opening he played Rook takes Before and that gave Anish the time he Needed to pounce Yeah the I think the light bulb was all Of a sudden going off in anish’s uh head It’s in this position I think Rook B4 Was not the anticipated capture Knight Takes pawn bishop takes Pawn on B4 those Were the moves he was considering and Probably the better option for Pavel

Pankradov but Rook takes B4 played and Geary sniffs something out and he went Forward here Robert with a very Impressive move and I think this was the Difference in the match the move F5 it’s Basically a knockout blow the Rooks on E1 and F1 they’re fiending for some open Lines once you give them open lines Robert the attack just plays itself it Certainly does D5 is loosed upon E6 is Essential a pawn chain is only as strong As his base Pawn you would love to have Another Pawn on F7 sorry no can do so After Brook takes B2 we had a greedy Novel but fe6 and not even Bishop takes E6 here that could have been played but The attack rages on after the move Bishop G5 you just get your pieces out Of the way maybe Knight C6 first and Then Bishop G5 but there’s problem down The E file there’s a problem on D5 if You Castle I think you see exactly where The problems are because they’re Bishop F6 uh oh there goes you’re beautiful you Get a pin and win or you get a discovery And win either way the queen is lost so I’m on after fe6 not even taking back on E6 uh it just felt like Probably made anisha’s life as easy as Possible Indeed yeah he continued he didn’t take It back and I think the the next the Move to highlight is just how Anish Continued with Knight D7 here right that

Move it forces black to capture it Because guess what while you can Castle After Knight F7 you can’t Castle after Knight D7 now the f8 square is covered There’s no castling and if you take on D7 with any piece look at the open lines That result and guess what there’s no Surviving this position here Robert the Bishop pair is Raging the Rooks are on Open lines and black has so many pieces On the queen side committed nowhere and Not defending the king so a truly Amazing continuation and what a way to Rip open the position by Anish and what A Checkmate he earned himself because Rook A1 bring the Rook away from the Center it’s done his job attacking the Queen the queen is need to protect D5 And so there there goes that pawn and There goes the game with Bishop eight Five check and mate wow what a bishop Pair on the fifth rank on both Rook file That’s me Yeah that’s gorgeous that is a really Rare Checkmate as well you’ve got the Knight in the middle a few Bishops on Either side that’s just everybody Working and just such Harmony in the Pieces uh here and the coordination by Anish so tremendous way to open up the Game F5 uh it’s just a gorgeous gorgeous Move and Robert we had to highlight that We certainly did and that was our brave Move of the day by Anish giri we want to

Thank our presenting sponsors brave for Making the cgc happen here and they will Be with us through the live finals in Toronto and today’s final scores were Anish giri with that great move and win Three to one over Pavel pankratov and Janjos of Duda I mean he just outpaced Alexis Serana but the score is a bit Misleading Totally totally the people who watched Today’s action will be fully aware that That match was a lot closer than it was However uh Robert when you look at this Bracket here in the chess.com Global Championship you’ll see the name Duda Moving on and ultimately that’s all that Matters Judah has punched his ticket for The live finals in Toronto November 2nd It gets underway the matchups are also Confirmed as we see he moves on to face Hikaru Nakamura which I mean obviously An insanely tough matchup but Duda has Absolutely been dispatching of his Previous opponents right and this will Be a great matchup of two well-prepared Players and two players who claw back They steal a draw or Victory from the Jaws of defeat because Hikaru beating Him I mean not many people know how to Do that and for Duda we just saw it Right here today that even when it’s Plus eight his King is on F6 all sorts Of problems he still finds a way and so He is going to face off against Hikaru

In Toronto the other side of things and Nishikiri doesn’t know who he’s going to Face levonne Roy in the same because Next Wednesday a week from today a month We have two absolutely brilliant Matchups Yeah this is going to be so exciting for So many reasons Robert obviously I think Everyone wants to know what are the Final match-ups going to be who are Going to be the eight players that play In Toronto and of course this is how we Get to know the answer to that so you’ve Got that storyline but also you’ve got Players that are so competitive here Dangly random nihal sarin is such an Interesting matchup I’m so excited for That one and then meanwhile you’ve got Janapomnishi and Timor of ajabov Tamor Was you know so candid in his interview As well I think he’s really surging in Chess lately and Jan pretty much needs No introduction it’s been his year it’s Been his couple of years as he’s been Putting up good result after good result Yeah we have the World Chess Championship contestants in dingley Wren And Jana palmchi and then we have one of The young guard in nihal Sarang one of Those upstarts obviously a superstar on His own right made these semi-finals of The speed Chess Championship a year ago And the team over job of who was cast Aside written enough and then he said

What was that I’m gonna crush the second Half of the candidates then I’m going to Beat your other hopeful from India the Teenager argentera geisi now why not can He beat you on the palm she remains to Be seen But Amman he’s been playing some Great chess in recent months He has and put that date on your Calendar next Wednesday October 12th Don’t forget it and another day to put In your calendar Robert is obviously the Live finals in Toronto right November 2nd will be so exciting once we know who The eight players are that will be Competing for that first place two Hundred thousand dollar prize Big money at stake and so you will not Want to miss next week’s action and You’ll also not want to miss what is Coming out just today so if you’ve been Loving our cgc coverage and you don’t Want the chest to end after today’s Broadcast head right over to Go.chess.com Street to check out our brand new Street Chess episode New Orleans we’re used to Seeing professional chess played at the Highest level on our screens for the Street chest series explores the beauty Of the game and the communities it Creates on a personal level New Orleans Episodes drops today on our YouTube Channel so be sure to subscribe and Follow the series as we continue to

Explore Street chess communities in some Of the world’s biggest cities if you’re On YouTube right now we’ll be rating the Premiere of the episode don’t go Anywhere go watch enjoy the rest of your Day and more from the chess.com Global Championship presented by Brave next Week when the round of 16 concludes Thank you [Music] Foreign [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] Thank you [Music] [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] Foreign [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] Foreign Foreign [Music] [Music] [Music]