The Joy and Pain of High-Level Chess

From the Lichess community to every corner of the world, we invite you to India, the birthplace of modern chess. It is here that the 2025 FIDE World Cup is taking place. From your living room, this blog post will transport you to the seat of your country's heroes, all battling it out to claim one of chess's ultimate crowns.

The Premise

An illustration of Romeo and Juliet, which depicts some of the future events in the annotated game. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In his notes on a game against Michael Bezold, Josh Waitzkin wrote, "It is rare for a high-level chess game to be a perfect story. There is no editing, no filters, and it is made up of two authors who want to tear each other apart.” While much is made about the people who aren't here, it's the people who are that should be the focus of attention. The ongoing 2025 World Cup in India is no exception to this rule. While comprising many strong players, this edition would lack considerable firepower, with legends of the game, including GMs Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja, all declining invitations to the dance party. So what does that mean? Surely without these world-class players, this tournament must be "6 7." I'm joking, btw.

In any case, the answer, thus far, has been a defiant “No!" After all, with so many top players missing in action, it is time for new heroes, new legends, and new stories, most of which have yet to be written at one of the most prestigious tournaments in chess history. So with that, we enter the ring, with two budding powerhouses, Jordan Van Foreest and Alexey Sarana, ready to take the stage as the world watches in anticipation, as two potential heirs to the throne battle it out in this epic game from the 3rd round of the World Cup! It's time to pull down the curtains, the action is about to start:

Wasn’t that fun? Well, probably Sarana wouldn’t look at it that way. This game perfectly fit the billing for an elimination game, with both sides carefully treading forward as they made their way through shark-infested waters. I’m sure you’re head is spinning like the Ferris wheel from all of that analysis, so let’s take a moment to break it down into some important lessons:

Why Nc3?

This fragment shows exactly why Van Foreest played Nc3 instead of Nbd2. The key idea to remember is that by covering the d5-square, white greatly slows down black's central pawn breaks, making advances on the kingside, such as g2-g4, easier to execute. We will see this idea resurface repeatedly throughout the analysis.

Doubled Pawns- Strength or Liability?

Here, Sarana had the opportunity to double White's pawns, and, as a result, greatly slowed down the attack. This felt quite unusual to do during the course of analysis. Many times in this structure, White's doubled pawns are a strength, one that allows him to control key central squares, such as d5. But this position was different. As you will notice, space becomes an increasingly problematic issue for Black to deal with, and the bishop on e6 proves to be a more significant impediment to Black's defensive efforts.

Never Rely on Prejudice

"The knight on the rim is dim," they say. Well, not here. Yes, white has the idea of playing Nf5 next, which is standard, but doesn't this move run into tactics associated with discoveries using the e7-bishop? It turns out that it, in fact, does not! I'm sure Van Foreest did consider this move, but he was perhaps thrown off more due to the patterns associated with the position rather than the actual calculation itself. Bringing the knight a step closer to the f5-square would have made white a step closer to a large advantage, but he wasn't able to spot it.

Lesson:
Patterns guide us — but never fully replace calculation.

25. dxe4?: An Almost Fatal Error

There's a reason all young novices are taught the ins and outs of technique- so they don't screw up a better position. You could not ask for a better example than this one. In this position, Van Foreest, rather inexplicably, allows black to double his pawns and gives his opponent the lifeline he was begging for. It's a rather old saying, but sometimes "It's the simple things that get to ya."

Sometimes the mistake isn't spectacular —it's simple and silent. But it's just as deadly.

"You blew it!"

After a brilliantly fought game, Sarana pulls a Romeo. What a travesty. But don't worry, folks. This happens to the best of players, including me at the 2023 US Open. You can play fantastically for 40 moves and then blunder on move 41.

Precision is required until the very last move — or the curtain falls early.

Final Thoughts

What did you love about this game? We watched with bated breath right up to the moment Sarana cracked under pressure, and we enjoyed every moment of this thrilling encounter.

Though ultimately Sarana fell on his own sword, the buildup to that moment was nothing short of gripping. The commentators were practically salivating over the slugfest taking place between two great fighters. If you enjoyed the analysis, feel free to leave a like and drop a comment down below! If you want more high-level chess annotations and stories, feel free to follow me on Lichess at @UncleRogerJr.

It's always a privilege to share these games with the chess community — and I'm honored to have you along for the ride.