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Nihal Sarin vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
"Total Nihalation" (game of the day Jan-29-2021)
chess.com Speed Chess (2020) (blitz), chess.com INT, rd 1, Nov-01
Queen Pawn Game: Sarratt Attack (D00)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-16-20  Cheapo by the Dozen: Things got suddenly interesting halfway through.

"Nailed shut" is NOT what happened, so one good pun idea doesn't really fit.

Jan-17-21  tonsillolith: Total Nihalation.

Nihal-Asian? Idk. Did someone already use this pun?

Jan-17-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: Total Nihalation would be a great pun. Submit it.
Jan-17-21  tonsillolith: <OhioChessFan: Total Nihalation would be a great pun. Submit it.>

Done it! The slightest encouragement is more than enough for me to revel in my own puns

Jan-29-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Giving up a lovely Knight at d6 could not have proven easy, but what an attack. Critical moment 1: if 35...Kxf6; 36.Rf4+ wins. Critical moment 2: 42.Rxa4 does more than snatch a pawn; by threatening Qxd8+ and Ra8+, it enables White to use the entire 4th rank for the rampaging Rook.
Jan-29-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: Great pun. :p
Jan-29-21  goodevans: For me the 'critical moments' were the offering of the N-sac and its acceptance. What does white have if black declines with 30...gxf6?
Jan-29-21  morfishine: 'Total Nihalation' is not a great pun at all simply because it doesn't fit the game at all

What we have is poor, unsound play by White which inevitably poses no problems for Black, who answers with the simplest, elementary moves to secure the win. Doesn't sound like total annihilation at all

More accurate would be bad, low quality play

Perhaps sarin lost his nerve

Jan-29-21  goodevans: <morfishine> You are playing through the same game as the rest of us, aren't you?
Jan-29-21  V Geriakov: imao, black's MVL's plan of ...a5-a4 is somewhat mistaken. A simpler, more passive defence would, again imao, have held the game without much difficulties, although of course, Nihal is a brilliant positional player + endgame expert and MVL is not the type to play typically bland QGD endgames.
Feb-02-21  morfishine: <goodevans> I would explain my post but its barely believable

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