Training Log
Lesson - 75 minutes
Classical Game - 3 hours, 20 minutes
Post-mortem - 20 minutes
Faced GM Viktor Mikhalevski today, a very strong Grandmaster originally from Belarus. My score against Viktor is 0/2, one loss with each color. Granted, the games from when I was a less experienced player.
For me Viktor is a rather uncomfortable opponent — he is incredibly dynamic and likes to pose problems for the opponent, but is also quite strong in the endgame. I prepared for his usual Grunfeld Defense as White, but was instead met with the King’s Indian.
Out of book early on, I decided to castle queenside, taking the position into chaotic waters. I had one chance to get a nice edge but missed it, instead allowing a shot which greatly sharpened the situation. After spending almost 30 minutes on one move, I was well behind on the clock, until my opponent returned the favor, thinking for 45 (!) minutes on his next turn.
His time ended up being well spent, as he unleashed a deep rook sacrifice which left my king in long-term trouble. I tried to defend, but ended up blundering before the time control, allowing my king to get caught in a mating net. A phenomenal game by my opponent, perhaps the best of the tournament. In fact it was so good, my Dojo colleague GM Jesse Kraai made a video on it! His first time doing a video on one of my games 😝.
1.Nd2!+\- would give White a very pleasant game after a future Ndxe4. Instead I rushed with 1.Nxe4?, allowing 1…Nxh3!
The game continued 1.Nxe4 Nxh3 2.Re1 Bg4!? - the move Mikhalevski spent 45 minutes on, which at first glance allows Nh2 (D), winning a piece. But Viktor had seen much deeper…
Here came the all-in: 1…Nxf2! 2.Nxf2 Rxf2!! 3.Qxf2 Bf5+, a full rook sacrifice in order to open up the dark-squared bishop against White’s king. Both e5-e4 and Qf6 are coming, with a very dangerous attack.
After this sacrifice, I wasn’t able to find the best defense, and eventually got mated. An absolute brilliancy!
Kavutskiy - Mikhalevski, Maia 2024
4/5. Still everything left to play for.