My Chess Idol FM Anna Cramling

My list of chess dreams:

To play the Cow Opening against FM Anna Cramling 😁
To sacrifice the queen without any compensation against FM Alexandra Botez 😂
To participate in Titled Tuesday (Ohhh my, if I managed to score 3/11, I would be extremely happy)

My greatest victories:

with white against 2410 CM player: https://www.chess.com/game/live/147702008060

with black against 2502 player: https://www.chess.com/game/live/167860423484

The best checkmate combination I’ve come up with so far (5 excellent moves in a row): https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164312842890/review?move=44

The last time I played in a rapid chess tournament, I faced a woman in the final round. It was a decisive game, a draw wouldn’t help either of us, so we both fought hard. The top three spots were already secured by GMs, but a win would have given either of us a chance to break into the top 30, a group filled with titled players. I had the advantage of playing with the white pieces, but unfortunately, I lost.

Before the round, I quickly checked my phone to see who my next opponent was. It turned out to be a woman with the title of CM. I found some comfort in the fact that she was much younger than me. I assumed experience would be on my side. My plan was simple: avoid opening up the position, keep the pieces on the board, and push the pawns forward to try to crush her.

My opponent chose quite an unusual opening: 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5. After the opening, I had a clear advantage and full control of the game. Unfortunately, in the middlegame, I overlooked a tactical idea that allowed her to win a pawn and take the initiative. After spending the first 25 moves on defense, she finally went on the offensive and with great force. I could feel she was angry that she had to wait so long for her moment to break free and strike.

I barely managed to escape checkmate and was forced to trade queens. Otherwise, I would have been mated. My king was cornered, with no pawns left to protect him. It was the last game still being played in the tournament, and a small crowd of players gathered around to watch. I felt genuinely uncomfortable, the position was completely lost for me. To make matters worse, the tournament photographer decided to capture that exact moment.

Then came the final dagger. My opponent, in a cinematic gesture, played Ke7-f6, holding her king on the square for a brief moment. It felt like a knife to the heart, the game was over, and I realized I had no hope left. My king stood helplessly on the edge of the board, while hers confidently occupied f6, blocking my pawn. I wanted to resign right there, but I didn’t want to ruin the photo. After the picture was taken, I made a few more moves and then quietly resigned.

After the game, I was actually glad to see her smile. She was happy with her victory, and that made me feel better. If the game had ended in a draw, we both would have been disappointed. It hadn’t been an easy win for her, she had to defend carefully for half the game. As for me, what remained was a single photo, a beautiful, cinematic shot capturing the very moment my pretty opponent defeated me.

Below is the position from that memorable moment:

The first documented game of human chess was played on February 15, 1454, in Marostica, Italy. It was a staged duel for the hand of the local ruler’s daughter. Instead of an actual combat between two knights, a symbolic chess match was held, with the pieces represented by people in costume. Since then, Marostica has become famous for this tradition, which is still reenacted every two years in september. A beautiful example of modern human chess:

TLC Trio - Skyfall

If You know of any films featuring human chess, please share the link.

A photo taken at the 2025 conference in Kraków

My photo

KrakowChess