Imminent disaster

Mistakes in chess come in pairs. Last month, and not for the first time, that nugget of wisdom thumped me on the nose. Representing England at the Olympiad in Budapest, my game against Luca Moroni was proceeding rather pleasantly. It was clear the Italian grandmaster had underestimated my sacrifice of rook for bishop in the middlegame, and I was about to recover my material investment with interest. Alas, my return was diminished by an elementary tactical oversight, missing the move 25 Na4xb6 (see first diagram). No matter – I was still a pawn to the good. I moved my rook which was under attack, and he responded in the obvious way. One minor hiccup need not derail an otherwise agreeable game. Oblivious to any danger, my crude blunder on the very next move allowed 27 Nb3xa5. Another pawn gone, and what was worse, the frenzied cavalry were about to sack the remains of my position.

Sensing imminent disaster, I abandoned any ideas about winning the game smoothly. After long thought, I ditched my remaining rook to tame the horses and regain the initiative. My opponent, perhaps perplexed by the juddering tempo of the game, misplayed his advantage and went down in the time scramble.

Luca Moroni–Luke McShane

Fide Olympiad, Budapest 2024

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6 5 e3 Bb7 6 Bd3 O-O 7 O-O c5 8 Na4 cxd4 9 exd4 Re8 10 a3 Bf8 11 b4 a5 12 b5 d6 13 Be3 Nbd7 14 Nd2 e5 15 dxe5 Rxe5 16 Nb3 g6 17 Rc1 Rxe3! A strong exchange sacrifice. The black minor pieces are perfectly poised to exploit the weaknesses in White’s kingside. 18 fxe3 Bh6 19 Kh1 The e3 pawn is not worth defending, e.g. 19 Qe2 Ne5 20 Nd4 Nfg4 21 Nc2 Qh4 22 h3 Qg3 is crushing Ne5 20 Be2 Ne4 21 Bf3 21 Qd4 Qg5! prepares Ne4-d2, with a discovered attack against g2.