Eaten by a bear

I don’t like losing at chess. It feels bad in the moment, whether my position subsides like a failed pudding, or crashes like a severed tree. It feels bad right afterwards too, staring at a big fat zero on the scorecard.

But worst of all is the lingering knot of disgust, because usually one’s mistakes are echoes of shortcomings one knew about already, and there is no hiding from them. The chorus from Radiohead’s ‘Just’ (from The Bends) could as well be an anthem for sulking chess players.

You do it to yourself, you do And that’s what really hurts Is you do it to yourself Just you, you and no one else You do it to yourself…

But last week I lost a game and felt, well, pretty much fine. Of course, the big fat zero was a disappointment — to myself and my team. But as for the game itself, my opponent had played a blinder, and I had to admit that I hardly stood a chance. It is not pleasant to be eaten by a bear, but it hardly counts as a moral failing.

On move 19, Rasmus Svane, a dangerous young German player, sacrificed a piece. In itself, this didn’t come as a shock, but his punchy follow-up certainly did.

Rasmus Svane–Luke McShane

Bundesliga, October 2021

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 O-O Nxe4 5 Re1 Nd6 6 Nxe5 Be7 7 Bf1 Nxe5 8 Rxe5 O-O 9 d4 Bf6 10 Re2 b6 11 Re1 Re8 12 Bf4 Rxe1 13 Qxe1 Ne8 14 Nc3 Bb7 15 Qd2 d5 16 Re1 Nd6 17 Bd3 c5 18 dxc5 bxc5 19 Nxd5! A strong idea, but I thought I had it covered. Bxd5 20 Bxh7+ Kxh7 21 Qxd5 White has two pawns for the piece, and the knight is under attack.