Top Grandmasters Blunder Too: Lessons from 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know
We see it happen from time to time: the best players in the world occasionally make mistakes that you wouldn't expect! Recently, the world witnessed how Ding Liren lost his world title in his final game of the World Championship match against Gukesh by blundering in a drawn endgame. Fatigue, tension, stress: these are some factors that can explain why even the best in the world sometimes overlook relatively simple moves. In the most recent top tournament, the 2024 Champions Chess Tour Finals, we, again, saw something surprising happen. Look at what happened to Wesley So in his game against the 18-year-old Denis Lazavik:Black has just played 12…Nf6-h5, allowing a simple combination: 13.Nxd5!The point is that if Black takes the knight, White traps the queen with 14.Bc7. This trick is also known as the Rubinstein Trap. It is common for openings or tactics to be named after famous players who have successfully employed them. However, in this instance, the opposite holds true. Akiba Rubinstein175