Naroditsky, Hess Say No To Draw, Play For Win With Black

GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Robert Hess won their semifinal match against GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman in the 2024 Team Chess Battle on Tuesday.

The commentator duo pressed with an extra pawn in game one but was met with stiff, 99%-accuracy resistance. In game two, they played for the win with the black pieces by employing the King's Indian Defense, and heroically declined several repetitions in time trouble to win the game.

Up next, all that's left is the Final against GMs Fabiano Caruana and Cristian Chirila. The date and time of that match will be added here when determined.

Pre-Match Banter: Danny Catches Self-Inflicted Strays

Four of the most familiar faces in the chess world showed nothing but respect in the pre-match banter. IM Danny Rensch and GM Anish Giri, who were eliminated two weeks ago, still manage to catch strays through—mostly thanks to questions Rensch himself asked.

Prompted by Rensch, Nakamura gave Giri some advice on being a better teammate: "You should trust your partner a little bit more... But Danny, there's one problem. The problem is that you [Danny] kind of think you're right sometimes [as well]."

Hikaru gives Anish advice on being a better teammate:

"You should trust your partner a little bit more... But Danny, there's one problem. The problem is that you kind of think you're right sometimes."#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/0C6CrGBkM6

— chess24 (@chess24com) March 5, 2024

Hess, who just saw Nakamura in Boston last week, added: "I thought that Hikaru was just going to throw you under the bus, Danny, and say that the key to being a great teammate is not having you on their team!"

... the key to being a great teammate is not having you [Danny] on their team!

—Robert Hess

After Rozman brought up chessboxing with Rensch last week, Nakamura reminded the Chief Chess Officer that he's about a decade older than the "internet's chess teacher." 

"Hikaru, you're the second-oldest one here," said Rensch, to which Nakmaura nicely responded: "This is true. I'm also the best player here, and you're the worst one here."

With the Danny-dunking mostly out of the way (more to come), let's move on to the games.

Naroditsky & Hess 1.5-0.5 Nakamura & Rozman 

The commentator pair was on fire this Tuesday, pressing for a win in two hard-fought games—and finishing just in time for Titled Tuesday.

To say that game one was "well played" would be the understatement of the year. Both sides exhibited nearly 100% accuracy across the entire game, which ended after 120 moves by the 50-move draw rule.

Black (Nakamura and Rozman) sacrificed a pawn out of the opening but competently held the draw with opposite-color bishops. Although White pressed with the extra pawn for most of the game, Hess was responsible for a game-saving move with under five seconds on the clock.

"I'm sure that Levy was perfectly capable of holding that endgame on his own probably, but it helps to have, you know, the best defender of all time in your corner," said Naroditsky after this marathon struggle. "I'm really proud of the way that we played." 

I'm really proud of the way that we played.

—Daniel Naroditsky

Just before the next game began, Rensch, in an attempt to rile Hess up, only roasted himself after a surprising turn: 

Danny: "Robert, you are a true testament to why everyone out there is wasting time studying openings. You have had worse openings than everyone on this call for years."

Hikaru: "Someone played the Blumenfeld and the Benko Gambit if I'm not mistaken."#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/9DMztAmyOr

— chess24 (@chess24com) March 5, 2024

As for the next game, Naroditsky told his partner the following: "I don't wanna go out with an armageddon. I want to win or lose." And so they played the combative and double-edged King's Indian Defense.

I don't wanna go out with an armageddon. I want to win or lose.

—Daniel Naroditsky

A key turning point was when Nakamura decided to sacrifice the exchange with 27.Rg4, exclaiming "You've got to for content!" before Rozman put it on the board. While not mathematically correct, according to engines, it made for a complicated game that either team could have won.

"You've gotta go for content," says Hikaru as his team sacrifices the exchange! https://t.co/esrHXHeF0f#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/jdCHJfgGMm

— chess24 (@chess24com) March 5, 2024

GM Rafael Leitao writes in his analysis: "It was fantastic to watch this game full of emotions, my favorite of the entire event so far." You can read his notes for the full game below. 

 

There were several moments in the time scramble when Naroditsky and Hess had to make a hard choice: repeat safely or keep the game going and risk losing. "I thought they were gonna repeat five times, but they kept pushing," said Rozman after the match.

I thought they were gonna repeat five times, but they kept pushing.

—Levy Rozman

Nakamura and Rozman exit the tournament splitting $3,000. As great teammates, the victors credited each other after the tense match was won:

Danya: "All credit to Robert. He didn't go for the draw."
Robert: "Danya had a lot of confidence going into the endgame... he really helped lead us to victory."#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/Vn2DBVCinh

— chess24 (@chess24com) March 5, 2024

There's just one match left in this year's edition of Team Chess Battle, and that's the Final. On playing Team C-Squared, Hess had the final word:

There's a reason that I've worked with Fabiano one time and one time only. He discarded me and, you know, I feel that in my heart.... We'll be the underdogs on paper, I feel like that's how we've been since the beginning, but I think, as Alicia Keys sings, you gotta be the underdog, you gotta be fearsome, we're gonna fight.

There's a reason that I've worked with Fabiano one time and one time only.

—Robert Hess

Team Chess Battle is an event where two-player teams can freely communicate while facing other teams in a series of rapid chess games. Eight teams of two players each compete in a single-elimination bracket. Matches consist of two games (the Final is a four-game match) with a 10+10 time control. The event starts on February 21 and features a $25,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage:

• • Team C-Squared Defends Impossible Endgame, Reaches Final
  • Nakamura, GothamChess Dream Team Wins In Armageddon
  • Never Meet Your Heroes: Naroditsky & Hess Beat Their Commentary Inspirations
  • Team Wesley So & Alice Lee Kill With Kindness In Quarterfinals
  • Team C-Squared Neutralizes Novelty From Bickering Giri & Rensch
  • Team Chess Battle: The Star-Studded New 2v2 Tournament With Nakamura, Giri, GothamChess, And… Jan Gustafsson