Two of England’s brightest prospects received a golden opportunity to play at the WR Chess Masters Cup, an elite knockout tournament held at the Langham Hotel in London last week. WR is Wadim Rosenstein, a keen chess player and CEO of the German WR logistics group, which last year partnered with Fide to organise the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships in Düsseldorf.
Shreyas Royal recently broke the record to become the UK’s youngest grandmaster at the age of 15 years and seven months. In the first round of the knockout, he faced former world champion Viswanathan Anand. With two extra pawns in the diagram below, one would expect Anand to comfortably notch up the win. But his next move 44 Rc7, aiming to capture on g7 and deliver mate, was based upon flawed reasoning.
Viswanathan Anand-Shreyas Royal
WR Chess Masters Cup, October 2024
44 Rc7! Rxh3 45 b4? This throws away the win.
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