You said WHAT? | Tari vs Firouzja | Tata Steel Chess 2021

Grandmaster Daniel King presents Tari vs Firouzja from the Tata Steel Chess tournament 2021. Support on Patreon: 🔥 / powerplaychess ►Support via PayPal (💲): www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
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[@PowerPlayChess]

Power Play merch available here! teespring.com/stores/power-play-chess-shop

[@crazymulgogi]

Somebody: "The Caro Kann is slow, solid and boring." Alireza: "Sit down and watch."

[@skakdosmer]

Caro-Kann is winning for White! (Not in this variation, though).

[@crazymulgogi]

@@skakdosmer Now I'm curious. :) Which variation is unplayable for black?

[@skakdosmer]

@@crazymulgogi Most variations. At least in the sense that I always had excellent positions and very easy play whenever an opponent played the C-K against me. I mostly just exchanged on d5 and made sure that black never got control over e4 and never was allowed to place a knight on c5. From there it’s pretty easy. Black can’t do anything and just gets more and more cramped and frustrated. Now, honestly I stopped playing chess over ten years ago, because my job doesn’t allow it (I work evenings), and my rating was never much above 1800, so at the top level things may well be different. But in blitz and rapid chess I’d beat players up to about 2300 if they made the mistake of playing the C-K.

[@crazymulgogi]

@@skakdosmer not bad, I will have to do my homework when I play the CK again :-) (normally I play the French). Here's a nice Firouzja win with black in the exchange Caro-Kann against the same opponent: www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2010705

[@skakdosmer]

@@crazymulgogi I don’t understand Tari’s play at all. c2-c3-c4? Qd1-b3-d1? Bf1-d3-f1? In this game he seems to have no clue at all how to play chess. White must be far more active!

[@Uerdue]

The youngsters have grown up. Finally, they draw their games like true grandmasters.

[@gregtechno506]

Giri is proud

[@rlsuth]

As bonkers as Kh1 is, it just shows the beauty of this game that it exists at all. That there are moves, that completely turn a game around between two strong grandmasters, just shows that one should keep fighting in really difficult positions (even if only a computer can find them).

[@_madr]

Really a fantastic, exciting and a very complicated game. I was watching it live and Firouzja had only a few seconds on move 30 when they agreed to a draw. I feel if he had only a few minutes he would had gone for the win. Such a talented exciting player he is trying to make the game very complicated for his opponent. Tari also played very well. Fantastic upload and great analysis as always. Thanks 👍

[@oldman9924]

Damning faint praise!

[@mauropetrolo1236]

Queen in siberia Cup is actually quite cute

[@PowerPlayChess]

If you ❤️ my videos do *subscribe* bit.ly/powerplaysubscription and do checkout the *supporting* *options* through Patreon: bit.ly/patreondanielking or through *PayPal* (links in the description)

[@YesPlease1]

Beautiful mug!

[@zaksmith1035]

Great analysis as always, and I understand why you didn't have any time for this, but while watching the commentary I saw Peter Leko mention that after h5 Nc2 makes blacks' light square bishop look uncomfortable, and gets a nice advantage. Also, that after the exchange sacrifice he would prefer a move like Ne7 or even Nh8, playing for the pure dynamics of the position, and that the knight on h3 made him feel uncomfortable. There was also an interesting move after Nb6, Nd4 with some fun tactics going after the knight on h3 of all pieces. Again, I understand why you simply lack the time to go into all these ideas because the game was so complicated. I too was somewhat disappointed that the game ended so suddenly, when there is still so much fight in the position. Loved your analysis and the way you clearly enjoyed the game, as I did.

[@Robster543210]

That mug looks great.

[@AroundWayOther]

Loving this tourney so far with the wonderful complex games, ty for covering!

[@Agastya26]

I really hope imaginative players like Dubov and Firouzja make it to the top & last there, keeping their dynamic style (unlike players like Shirov and Morozevich, who burned out, or Anand & Nakamura, who had to tame themselves down.)

[@eldoreschess2428]

Yeah but chess players like Karjakin and Anish get into candidates. Magnus won’t allow such complications and they are forced to play more solid. there is big chance Firouzja will become less adventurous when he is top 10 player in the world.

[@thelazymanatee2506]

This kind of style is also just double edged. And tournaments are won not just by winning games, but also by not losing. Firouzja could have lost this game today. But for example Carlsen against Van Foreest was mostly a game for 2 results, no real losing chances for Magnus.

[@rojuslukauskas9107]

@@thelazymanatee2506 But Kasparov had an aggressive style and still managed to be the greatest in his era. Of course that was before computers but still. Either way, I feel like attacking chess is how chess should be played; it's a shame people get punished for it at top-level.

[@yzfool6639]

@@thelazymanatee2506 That need not be the case. Playing to win with black, as Tal, Fischer and Kasparov did, goes a long way to mitigating losing with any color. That takes an immense effort though, as it's hard to win with white. Maybe the next World Champion (or this one) will find a way to have Tal-like crosstables and win.

[@thelazymanatee2506]

Modern chess is not the same as it was with Tal and Fischer, not even Kasparov. Computers changed opening preparation, and the top is much more congested because so many more people have access to information and opportunities these days. I guess there is always a chance a modern Tal will rise up, but I think it only gets less and less likely as time progresses.

[@eyalsegal5003]

It's quite amazing that 28.Kh1 is so strong that it actually wins by force for White, but I don't find the idea of the move itself so "bonkers". The point is that after ...Bg5, Nh3+ (winning the white queen) is a very transparent threat and there are very few ways to defend against it that aren’t obviously losing - so as much as it’s instinctively unpleasant to put the king back in a pin, Kh1 should at least suggest itself as a candidate move for that purpose, if only by elimination. (The king has nowhere else to go; the queen hardly does as well; Qe1 loses to Nh3+ followed by Bd2, Qxd4 loses to Ne2+; Nxg5 leads to immediate mate on g2) What Tari played instead - Rxc5 followed by Nxg5, removing the bishop now that there's no longer a mating threat on g2 - is actually a considerably more "sophisticated" way of dealing with the Nh3+ threat. The fact that 19.Kg3!! gives White a significant advantage is also quite amazing - btw, the point isn’t just to get the king out of the pin; by supporting the f4 pawn it takes the sting out of the d4-Nd5 attacking idea that was played in the game (in such a case, White would be able to stabilize everything by Nc4). Also, the move creates the “slow-motion” threat of Nh4-Nxf5-Kxh3, so Black is pretty much forced to play Be7, and then after Ng5! exchanges would be good for White…

[@mycaellysoarestomaz2441]

Thank you Mr. Daniel.

[@cheryllins1105]

So much for "All pawns and no hope." (Benny Watts on the Caro Kann) I did not find the winning move. I don't know how anyone except an engine would find such a move. Too bad Firouzja didn't have 5 minutes left on his clock. He deserved to win that one.

[@geonerd]

Advance!!! "This Means War!"

[@abhijeetgore310]

Benny: Carocann is all pawns and no hopes. Firouzja: Really???🙄

[@pawn4129]

Will the queen ever return from Siberia, though? One of life's great mysteries...

[@PowerPlayChess]

In some games, like here, she stays well away from Siberia!

[@pawn4129]

@@PowerPlayChess True, indeed. What would the opposite of Siberia be? :D

[@skakdosmer]

I have to say that I don’t mind the draw at all. And what was the alternative? That the players continue this highly tactical position with too little time for calculation, which basically boils down to sheer lottery. I would have loved to see a continuation if the players had had lots of time. But under the circumstances, no.

[@huddunlap3999]

Draws are part of the game.

[@theTutenstien]

Yes they are but offering draw shouldnt be allowed at all just if 3 fold repetion or tepritical draw

[@aluminiumknight4038]

@@theTutenstien lol then they will just do the three fold repetition after a 😉

[@BeatPoet67]

Chess is truly nuts sometimes. Kh1, h4. Wtaf! It's a bit like sculpting. The better you are the more you can reveal.

[@AnlamK]

I was watching the game with Tania Sachdev's and Peter Leko's commentary. Leko really didn't like the move 9.Be3. He said that after Nc2-e3, white would be able to exchange the N for black's light-squared B after which Black would be strategically lost.

[@xthebumpx]

I was a little disappointed the video skipped over that part, but I guess something has to get left out in a < 30 minute analysis. I think they said on stream that someone told them the computers agreed with Peter.

[@AnlamK]

@@xthebumpx It wasn't early in the video/game. It was later when they were reviewing the early moves in the position. As far as I could tell, it was his honest assessment and computer evaluation confirmed him.

[@laskerscentury6507]

7. c3 is a very tricky move order. 7. ...Knd7 may already be inaccurate because of 8.Kne1 h5 9.Knc2 with the idea to harass the f5-bishop from e3. There is a slightly older game Giri-Motylev where Black instead went for 7. ...f6 and managed to equalize.

[@nichonifroa1]

"What's that got to do with anything?" -> the proper reaction

[@eyalsegal5003]

Re draw offers on Tata Steel: I remember an interview with Jeroen Van Den Berg, the director of the tournament, where he mentioned that they don’t have any official anti-drawing rules, because since it’s such a long tournament they understand if players occasionally feel the need to take an “unofficial rest day” with a short draw - however, they do make it clear to the players that anyone who would make a habit of it would not be invited again, and that as a rule they’re expected to fight. More generally, whereas a ban on draw offers is not necessarily effective in preventing the non-fighting kind of draws - since if both players are determined not to fight, they can always bypass the Sophia rule with threefold repetitions - it’s very effective in preventing “draws out of mutual fear” in interesting positions by disallowing tactical draw offers, such as the one Tari made in this game.

[@PowerPlayChess]

Quite.

[@WorldOfDeepThought]

People are complaining modern chess is becoming more drawish. Meanwhile GMs are playing wild games like this one.

[@xthebumpx]

And then drawing them 😂

[@yzfool6639]

@@xthebumpx he should have thought more deeply about his comment!

[@oliverangermuller9827]

What an exiting game. Whoever said Caro Kann is a boring opening.

[@northshores7319]

In positions like the one at the end, no players should be allowed to ever offer a draw. To do so violates the spirit of the game. It is better for the players to struggle on, risk defeat but while doing so strengthens their fighting spirit. If you fail to do that you will never be the worlds best. Never give in to fear as it always has dire consequences.

[@mf1110]

Lol. I thought I’d found a winning move: Rd2 threatening Rg2 mate and threatening the pinned Q with QxQ. Sadly Rg2 is not mate.

[@sleepychipmonk]

You cannot blame Firo for taking the draw with those tactics on the board and no time

[@PowerPlayChess]

Indeed.

[@gaborkoranyi3723]

Firouzja accepted the draw because he only had 35-40 sec left and was still thinking. Tari had almost 2 min. Tari could have been waiting for the flag, but he was very pleased with the 1/2 point.

[@brendan3143]

Thanks as always for the excellent analysis. I have a question to run past you - have tournaments ever considered making a win worth 1 1/2 points rather than one? Sort of like the switch from 2 points to 3 in the premiership so many years ago. It feels like positions like this could reach a more satisfactory conclusion if both sides were that much more incentivized to “go for it”.

[@PowerPlayChess]

Having a system of 3 points for a win in these tournaments has been shown to have no appreciable effect on play. What does make a difference is having a 'no draw offers' rule (Sofia Rules) - or at least no offers before the time control at move 40.

[@michaeloberly6129]

Seriously, who downvotes these videos?

[@virammehta1161]

Will you stream this tournament with some live commentary in the future?

[@PowerPlayChess]

I don't think so.

[@virammehta1161]

@@PowerPlayChess Ok Thank You

[@thomaskember4628]

The Caro Kann is usually considered a drawing opening, but not like this.

[@PowerPlayChess]

I have said it before, and I'll say it again: the intent and desire of the players is the most important thing when sitting down at the board. Such stereotypical views of openings are purely subjective.

[@pauchalo]

I saw the bonkers move hahaha I must be bonkers too

[@rohmann000]

saw the h4 move 😎

[@rohmann000]

and the Be2 move 😎

[@kimtaewoo3274]

I live in Siberia

[@PowerPlayChess]

Feeling chilly?

[@kimtaewoo3274]

@@PowerPlayChess Yes, it's freezing cold!

[@HKallioGoblin]

Maybe he spent too much time on some earlier moments, and did not have time to find Be2. Clock gives some interesting decisions in chess.

[@ioannisbeis7960]

If you gave this attack from the moment of the exchange to be carried out by a neural network, I don't think the chess engines would look so "cool" defending it anymore.

[@NidusFormicarum]

I actually found Kh1. There aren't many reasonable moves in the position.

[@The_Angry_BeEconomist]

I should stop watching the live casts because I knew the winning move already @ 17:00

[@colins1358]

little off topic. but is Anad still playing elite chess?

[@PowerPlayChess]

Yes. But in this last year there haven't been many opportunities to play!

[@colins1358]

@@PowerPlayChess thx for responding powerplay. I keep thinking these are regular times but it just isn't. so a lot of people still can't travel.

[@ChromaticTempest]

This is an understandable draw. I've had positions where nothing was obvious and when down on the clock, I realized I was in a worse position (game-wise) even if I had some edge on the board. Gotta practice bullet chess if a player wants to capitalize in such a position!

[@BrennenChua]

Even a bullet god such as Firo didn't tempt the fates in this game.

[@PowerPlayChess]

The offer was understandable and so was the acceptance. This is not my point. The organisers should include a 'no draw offers' rule - it is a very simple measure to implement and it would end this kind of scenario.

[@davidblack2970]

@@PowerPlayChess Tournament organizers have other weapons at their disposal short of forbidding draw offers outright. Such as your suggestion to simply not invite the more peacefully inclined players back next year. Here's an idea of mine. Set aside a large portion of the prize pool for wins. Assume that there are 10 wins in a tournament for simplicity's sake. The player with three wins is awarded 30% of the wins pool. Etc. I don't like changing the rules of chess (no draw offers) to achieve the desired result of fewer draws. But if you hit the players in the pocketbook they might be more inclined to play more aggressively and take more risks. In this way you'll be making a win 'worth' more than two draws without altering the rules of the game. Anyway, it seems like a 'no draw offers' rule would have the effect of players taking fewer risks, especially if a loss would knock them out of contention. Are the 'no draw offers' tournaments having the desired effect of leading to more exciting chess? Of course, you could keep the 'no draw offers' rule in effect and simply add the 'wins pool' idea as an extra added incentive. And in the WCC final, if there are no decisive classical games don't award the wins pool at all. Add it to the 'wins pool' of the next final. As there were no classical wins in the last final, a single classical game of the next one could be worth a million bucks. I'm not a big fan of the WCC speed chess tiebreakers anyway.

[@ChromaticTempest]

@@davidblack2970 This comes across to me as having the downside of penalizing good chess. If a game should be drawn (both players played equally) but because of this rule, the players press, and the result is subpar chess who wins really? I'm not discounting your idea, David. I'm suggesting that it is a bit murky. I do like the idea of rewarding wins, however. I think I'd prefer prizes added on than straight divvying of the winnings pool. I'm entertained by sound chess, not erratic, blitzkrieg swindles... lol.

[@superknight-chessplatform4890]

Firouza was better when they agreed a draw

[@ChomskyHonkable]

An anti-climax for the ages

[@strong8705]

Real queen footprint is snowflake-like, so not perfectly used yet.

[@user-gi4re7hh5u]

Alireza firouzja world champion👑👑

[@chessboy00]

If they were closer to move 40 Firo would have played on

[@eljanrimsa5843]

I think Tari won't get invited next year.

[@satarkhan3692]

Tari is the good body of Magnus, that combine with his popularity because of his looks are the main reason he gets all those invitation

[@michaelblankenau3129]

Was the “ strong center “ emphasis politically motivated ?