The Best Game Of Millionaire Chess Contest Winner
The Millionaire Chess Open concluded last week in Las Vegas with a dramatic win in the open section by world-number-two Hikaru Nakamura, who took home $100,000 as the top prize in the world's richest open chess tournament.
Chess.com was on site for every round of the tournament, and you can read FM Mike Klein's comprehensive news reports here (scroll down to the end of the article for the full list).
Aside from the household names atop the open leaderboard, Millionaire Chess also hosted hundreds of chess players and fans who were drawn to this top-notch event. Chess.com was on the scene every day with a table to show off the new features of our website and the value of membership.
Chess.com also ran a contest asking Millionaire players to submit their best-played game of the tournament to be judged for aesthetic value and excitement, with the winner receiving a paid entry to next year's Millionaire Chess tournament. Participants had to drop off a written copy of their games at the Chess.com table, and dozens of games were submitted.
FM Mike Klein writes the news at the Chess.com table at Millionaire Chess. Photo by David Llada.
Chess.com's content editor narrowed the game candidates down to five finalists, which were anonymized, randomized, and then voted on by a Chess.com executive panel for subjective enjoyment.
After much consideration, here are the top five games submitted to Chess.com at its tournament table, from fifth place to the single winner of the contest and entry to next year's event. The four runners up will win a consolation prize of one year Chess.com diamond membership.
Comments are by IM Daniel Rensch, a member of the executive voting panel.
Let us know what you think of these games in the comments or on Facebook.
Fifth Place:
IM Rensch: Nothing about this game stood out to me. Sorry, but it seems like one of those games Pete picked because he loves that the computer said "Black made no mistakes." Come on fans! We all know the author of this article has a HUGE man (or engine) crush on anything calculating at 50 plies a second ;) -- we love you Pete, but this game doesn't get our fancy going. Am I wrong fans? What did I miss?
Third Place (tie):
IM Rensch: [Editor's note: Rensch voted this game as his top selection.] I can't be sure how much of this was "Najdorf prep" or not, but for White to sac a queen (though temporary) for a long term intuitive rook sacrifice is always something special, whether it had the assistance of engine or not. It took continued accurate play from White to justify the sacrifice, and that's what got my vote!
Third Place (tie):
IM Rensch: A nice game, really. This is exactly the kind of game that "gambit players" MUST be willing to win if they are going to keep playing gambits. I mean, everyone starts playing the Scotch Gambit (like this game), the King's Gambit, etc. because of the thrill of the king hunt, but in order to evolve and grow as a player, you must be willing to take small positional advantages as the game evolves. White grabbed the c-file and never looked back! Yes, the compensation on the seventh rank was made better by Black's inaccurate moves, but I appreciated White's perseverance!
Second Place:
IM Rensch: Another nice Open Sicilian? Fastest way to this judge's heart ;) is to win-a-clean-straightforward-English-Attack-against-the-Taimanov-where-White-executes-efficiently-not-missing-any-chances-to-punish-Black-for-his-insolence! (Yes, that really gets me going...that and pizza!). Loved Rxe5 of course!
First Place:
IM Rensch: Full of errors? Yes! Both sides played terribly to allow the other the huge advantage that each maintained at one point in the game? Of course! But isn't that what beauty is all about? :P OK, maybe not! But the fact that I went through this game at first thinking "well, this isn't so special...White blundered with 7.Nd2 and Black found an obvious, typical idea" only to realize that White fought like an angry pit bull for 40+ moves to work his/her way BACK into the game and eventually win! Wow! That's awesome. And a sexy finish to go with it! :D
Congratulations to Chess.com member John Tesorero for winning the contest's best submitted game and entry to the 2016 Millionaire Chess tournament.
Let us know your favorite game in the comments below.
