THE GRANDMASTER INCIDENT…

The speaker recounts her recent experiences at the Minorca Open chess tournament, detailing two challenging games and a surprising tournament pairing. The first game discussed was round five, played with white pieces against Juan Labiano Hernandez, a Spanish FIDE Master rated 2284. Hernandez was having a strong tournament, having drawn against several International Masters rated around 2450. The speaker anticipated a Nimzo-Indian defense but was met with a D6 opening, which transitioned into a variation of the King's Indian or Modern Defense. The game became complex, with the speaker employing a Knight to D2 move, intending to play B4 and Knight to B3. Hernandez responded with C5, leading to an exchange on D4. The speaker believed she had a tactical advantage with a potential E5 push that would win a pawn, but Hernandez found a strong defense with Rook to D8, forcing the speaker to reconsider. After a series of moves, including Queen to G5, the game reached a critical juncture where the speaker missed the opportunity to play B5, opting instead for a pawn capture. Hernandez responded with F5, and after some exchanges, the speaker felt her position was slightly better, with a time advantage. A key moment arose when the speaker, aiming to develop her Knight, moved her Queen to A5 to gain a tempo. This proved to be a misstep, as Hernandez could defend with Rook to B6, negating the tempo gain. The speaker's position began to falter as her Rook was not ideally placed, and she couldn't execute her planned F4 push due to a tactical sequence involving Knight to C6. A further complication arose with Rook to F5, which created a fork if the speaker captured. After moving her Queen and facing H5, the speaker felt her opponent's pawn was weakening, but a mistake with Bishop to D1, instead of Bishop to E2, allowed Hernandez to gain an advantage. Despite this, the speaker felt she was still in the game, with her Knight to D2 move aiming to activate her pieces. The game continued with a Queen check and a missed opportunity for the speaker to play Queen to A5, which would have defended her Knight and pressured A7. Instead, she opted for a Queen exchange and pushed F4, which led to the loss of the A2 pawn. While the speaker's opponent's pieces were somewhat awkwardly placed, she was a pawn down. After a series of defensive moves and a desire to activate her Bishop with Bishop to F3, the speaker allowed Hernandez to develop his Knight to B4. The game reached a critical point where the speaker should have played Rook to A1 to force a defensive move from her opponent and create drawing chances, especially with opposite-colored bishops. However, by playing Knight to D3 first, she missed a crucial move from Hernandez. Hesitant to play Rook to A1 directly, fearing a losing position after a pawn promotion, she played F5, which allowed Hernandez to gain activity. A tactical sequence with Knight to E4 check offered a potential draw, but Hernandez's King to G7 led to a pawn-grabbing opportunity for the speaker. Ultimately, despite winning back a pawn, Hernandez's superior pawn structure allowed him to stop the speaker's pawn, and she resigned. The speaker expressed satisfaction with her play in this game, feeling she had good chances for a long time, and accepted the loss against a strong player. Following this game, the speaker proceeded to a Blitz tournament. To her surprise, she was paired against a 2520-rated Grandmaster, a pairing she considered incredibly unlucky given her previous losses. She had expected to face a weaker opponent. The Grandmaster, Artm Uskov, was rated 2552. The speaker spent several hours preparing for E4, his usual opening, but he immediately played C4, an English opening, rendering her preparation obsolete. She perceived his strategy as playing a positional game to defeat a lower-rated opponent. The game evolved into a symmetrical English opening with G6. The speaker aimed for B5 and tried to make D5 work, but it proved difficult. After a period of contemplation, she opted for F5. Hernandez's Bishop to G5 move was a key maneuver, leading to a trade that the speaker hadn't anticipated as being so strong. After exchanges, Hernandez developed a strong Knight to D5. The speaker's decision to capture on D3 was deemed a significant mistake by her mother and herself in retrospect, as it was suggested she should have aimed for Bishop to D4 and F4 to counter the strong bishop. The game continued with complicated exchanges, and the speaker's Knight developed to C4. She felt her main issue was a weak pawn, and after a series of moves, including Queen to D7 and a trade of Rooks, she found herself in a difficult position with a weak D6 pawn. She attempted to find activity but acknowledged that her opponent's precise play, particularly his Bishop to C4 move, effectively neutralized her threats. After further exchanges and a check, the speaker resigned, acknowledging the Grandmaster's superior positional play and accuracy. She described the feeling of playing against a significantly higher-rated opponent as being slowly outplayed. Despite the loss, she found value in the learning experience, particularly regarding the specific opening and the Bishop to G5 maneuver. The speaker concluded by expressing her disbelief at the "crazy pairing" of facing a Grandmaster after a series of losses. She noted that she is performing at her rating level and still has a chance to make the tournament fantastic in the remaining three rounds. She asked viewers for good luck in the final games.