Chapter 131: The Reappearance of the Dutch Defense!
Yeah, what Sheva chose this time was the Dutch Defense, the only item he had from the system that had already reached the platinum level. Even though he hadn’t explored this opening for too much with Sergei, Sheva still had the confidence that he could pull this up. After all, there was no way the ultimate product that he earned from the system would let him down.
Praggnanandhaa himself frowned a little. It was clear that the thought of his opponent pulling the Dutch Defense had never crossed his mind. Still, to Pragg’s credit, he managed to stay calm and composed before thinking of a variation that was pretty safe for his side, not even getting flustered by the surprise here. He even thought of the countermeasure in a heartbeat, not giving Sheva any time advantage due to it.
However, Sheva had also been prepared for this. There was no way a 2600-rated player would get flustered with a mere opening. No, that would be too naïve for him to think so. What he wanted to do was to drag Praggnanandhaa into a dark territory where he was not familiar with, so that he could strike later from the dark.
They both played the opening stage rather instantly, as if they were playing a blitz game. If anyone saw this, they would all think that those two were playing out of their preparation. Hell, with the 30 seconds of additional time for every move, they both started the game with 90 minutes, yet in the 10 moves, they were having around 93 minutes here, showing how quickly they moved.
The evaluation bar itself spiked up a little bit for Praggnanandhaa’s favor, showing +0.8 for white’s advantage. However, Sheva was not worried at all. After all, this was the consequence of playing the Dutch Defense. He basically gave up his protection on the kingside while he castled that way, luring his opponent to attack there while he also tried to strike for the same side. This was the uniqueness of the Dutch Defense, where both players were trying to kill each other, with the winner being the one quicker here.
True enough, within the next few moves, things started to turn in Sheva’s favor. Praggnanandhaa seemed not to like the fact that Sheva’s E and F pawns were on the fifth rank and so close to the fourth rank, too close to his territory. He wanted to break it by challenging the F pawn directly, pushing his E pawn two squares forward.
However, this only gave Sheva a reason to push his F pawn forward, ignoring the challenge completely, while in return, he also tried to challenge Pragg’s G pawn and tried to break the black’s pawn structure that protected the king. The evaluation bar seemed to like this decision, as it slid down to the black area and gave –0.6 for Sheva’s favor.
*Author note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.
Of course, Sheva himself didn’t think that it was a real advantage. In his opinion, as long as the evaluation bar didn’t spike up to one or greater than that, the game itself was basically still equal. He leaned forward, putting all of his concentration into the game.
’Now, let’s see what he is going to do...’ He glanced sideways at his opponent for a second. ’The best option for him is to move his pawn to H3, preventing my bishop from threatening his knight. However, I could still push my G pawn, putting more pressure on his kingside. He could also move his rook to the center, but it would only give me a tempo advantage. No, he wouldn’t move it. He could sac his rook for my bishop, but in doing so, he would also open the door to my vulnerable king. No, I couldn’t do that.’
Sheva calculated so many possibilities inside his head, trying to predict what Praggnanandhaa would do next. However, for all the calculations he made, his opponent sure went out of his mind, and honestly, he didn’t know whether it was good for him or not.
Yeah, he was caught off guard by Praggnanandhaa’s obvious mistake. He put his rook on D4 square while also getting anchored by his pawns, and at first, Sheva thought he was about to sacrifice his rook to bait him and open up the window to his king. However, instead of doing that, Praggnanandhaa seemed not willing to let go of his rook, so he let that piece run.
It would be okay if the rook ran away to the first rank. However, it wasn’t the case in this situation. Somehow, after thinking for a while, Praggnanandhaa made a blunder here, sliding his rook to the B5 square. It was a bad move since he himself blocked his rook’s route to escape, and now, sacrificing his rook in such a position was definitely not a good idea for his side.
*Author note: If you want to visualize the position better, check the comment below.
Sheva himself paused for a moment, not rushing things when he saw his opponent’s mistake. No, he pondered for a moment, somehow recalling one thing that Sergei said during their coaching session in the past.
’Remember, if an ordinary player makes a mistake, there is an 80 percent possibility that it is a blunder, and a 20 percent possibility that it is a deliberate one to bait you. However, the same couldn’t be said for the top players. The probability changes to 70 percent for a bait and 30 percent that it would be a genuine mistake.’
’Now, the problem is... Is this the 30 percent mistake or the 70 percent bait?’ Sheva shifted his body a little, trying to make himself comfortable. ’He could’ve just baited my queenside to commit an attack there, but doing so wouldn’t have benefited him. He could also just slide his rook back to D5 square, yet in the end, it would only end up in my favor. I could take with my bishop, then he takes, I take his bishop, exchange, hmm... It seems that I am still in the lead here. Then, what the hell does this mistake come from?!’
He glanced once again at his opponent, but this time, with a hint of disbelief. However, looking at Praggnanandhaa, whose face was as flat as ever, Sheva finally gritted his teeth, inwardly scowling. ’Screw this shit! It is rare to see a top player like him do something like this! If it is a blunder, then good! But if it is a sacrifice that I couldn’t even see, then I really deserve losing it all! I have to go all out for this!’