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How to Beat a Much Stronger Opponent. Part Two.

  • GM Gserper
  • | Jun 5, 2011
  • | 15203 views
  • | 33 comments

In the first part of this article (http://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-beat-a-much-stronger-opponent) I discussed what I think is the best strategy to beat a much stronger opponent.  I even showed my student's game where he was very close to beating one of the strongest US Grandmasters by employing this strategy.  Alas, he lost at the end and it might look like the end result of the game only reinforced the perception of many chess players that no matter what you do against a much stronger opponent, you are still doomed in the end.  Or as one of the readers put it in his comments: "To beat a stronger player, you have to attack with a purpose and wait for the inevitable defeat."

I strongly disagree with this way of thinking. In order to prove that it is quite possible to beat chess monsters I want to talk about US IM Emory Tate.  I've seen him playing Grandmasters in countless Swiss Tournaments.  Mostly Emory's rating is in the USCF 2350-2400 range, so he is a strong chessplayer of course. However, when he is playing GMs, the rating gap is usually around 250-300 points. He is doomed, right? Not exactly! According to Wikipedia, he won around 80 tournament games against GMs and I personally saw him beating many top Grandmasters. I doubt you can find many IMs who have been so successful against GMs. What's his secret? If you've seen any of his games then you know the answer. He plays an ultra agressive chess and tries to beat any opponent regardless of his rating and title! Here is one of his signature attacks: 

Even though Emory Tate has beaten many outstanding chess players, the next game is truly in a league of its own. I am really lucky since I had the privilege to watch it live as I played in the same tournament and our games were just a couple of meters apart.  Here is Emory's best masterpiece!

(Just like in the first part of the article, I give you a chance to test your attacking skills and see how you would play in the same situation against a much stronger opponent, therefore the game is given as a Quiz.  Please remember that you can always replay the whole game from the first move if you click "Solution" and then "Move list".)

The position in the next diagram is typical for extremely sharp lines of the Sicilian Defense.  How can White achieve a very promising attacking position and ruin Black's Queen's side ?

It looks like Black successfully repelled the first wave of White's attack, but Emory finds a very entertaining way to proceed.  Can you find it? 

It is quite obvious that White's attack is very strong here.  But remember that 'a strong attack' is not the same as a win in a tournament crosstable.  Remember what happened in the game we analyzed last week where White didn't finish his attack and even lost the game. So, how should White finish off his dangerous opponent in the position on the next diagram?

If you are still not convinced what you should do when facing a much stronger opponent, then get a database, find Emory Tate games there and play through them. I promise you a lot of fun!

Comments


  • 23 months ago

    GM_Yonip

    GM Gserper, I like the way you present your article.  You  train us to think and analyze while enjoying reading.  nice!

  • 24 months ago

    Lummis

    Nice. Not sure about black's 'forced' peon take move of 25... Kxg7. ... 40. QxNe4.

  • 24 months ago

    nyLsel

    yeah, its great..

  • 24 months ago

    themothman

    sram, are you talking about 22) Qg2?  because I just took a look with Rybka, which figures that's the best move, with Nd5 slightly behind.  I suppose the GM was being greedy, but he had a good advantage and would ward of the attack with 22)Qg2 in the first game.

  • 24 months ago

    madpawn

    Amazing! There is hope after all. Thanks for posting.

  • 24 months ago

    stocke

    @eruraito ditto

  • 24 months ago

    nyLsel

      Its great.. Hope you improve next time..

  • 24 months ago

    OmegaXeonGrey

    wow knight power man!!!!
    in the game after 40... Nh3+ I see checkmate next move....

  • 24 months ago

    sram1947

    coz the knight was there..

  • 24 months ago

    taots_11

    it remainds me when i beat a guy with a higher rating of 1600 and my rating is only 1300.Cool

  • 24 months ago

    Gummyboy

    Wow...

  • 24 months ago

    BruiserMac

    Tate us a fine chess player...Titles don't tell the whole story...Cool

  • 24 months ago

    The_Aggressive_Bee

    Emory Tate huh? seems like it'll be fun to look up a game or two Laughing thx for the great arctical!

  • 24 months ago

    MightyRearranger

    Good article, though I'm not entirely sure that it's always best to attack against a stronger opponent.

    I can understand that by playing sharp and aggressive lines against a stronger player you'll always give yourself a chance of a clear advantage (if they overlook a line), but you also need to consider both your own and your opponents strengths and weaknesses.

    I haven't looked at many of Emory Tate's games, but if I'd be correct in assuming that generally speaking he's a very aggressive and tactical player then someone 200-300 points stronger than him would maybe do best to play a closed positional game (particularly if that's their strength) and try to frustrate.

    At the end of the day though, ratings don't lie.  If you're playing someone 500-600 points better than you then you're going to get beaten 9 times out of 10.  There's nothing more for it than giving it a lash, having some fun and trying to learn from the experience.

  • 24 months ago

    sryiwannadraw

    gg

  • 24 months ago

    borna1367

    I checked his last 100 games (until 2010). He lost almost ALL of his games against stronger players and some of games against weaker opponents! I think this game was an exception, because his opponents made some blunders(due to deep fritz 12).

    I  don't believe that our goal against stronger players should be only "winning", but we should try our best to not be "a loser from the very first move". We must make the game for our opponent as hard as possible!

  • 24 months ago

    chipo1969

    its wonderful to watch but is it all due to home preparation 

  • 24 months ago

    Baljinder__Singh

    i solved that lol..

    haahhaha...last one

  • 24 months ago

    carywilburn

    You know these have been great articles and Tate is an inspiration, but at most when he's playing he won't see any one more than say 400 points above him. I have played guys 500 to 700 points above me and those games are slaughters. I can play my best chess and still get outplayed. Soooooo what about that scenerio???

  • 24 months ago

    aa2faye

    Love his attacking style

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