Yesterday, July 31, 2025, was yet another Team Chess Battle for the Blockchain Chess Team, where we fought a tough fight but still finished in second place. It was enough for us to get promoted from Division 5 to 4.

I struggled with a poor Internet connection, but I was able to bring 16 points to the team

In this round, the blockchain team was led by @dalods, who finished in 3rd place in the overall tournament with 46 points. I’m not quite sure, but I think that should be one of the highest points accumulated by a single player.

What an impressive performance from the young lad, and we are glad to have him on our team. We had a total of 19 players who joined the tournament, and I am sure they all got their tournament notification from @stayoutoftherz.

Let's look at some exciting games played in the tournament, starting with the game from our most valuable player (MVP).

Gmdalods-16 2251 (1) vs bahamega 2396 (0)

Among the several high 2300-rated opponents brought down by our MVP, this one happens to be the one with the highest rating, 2396.

A Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation is what this setup is called, according to Lichess. But I will say, although the long name of the variation is not well known, the setup of the position looks very familiar, where you have your pawns on c3, e3, and d4, a simple pawn chain, but very strong when it gets to the endgame. On the other hand, Black is busy creating pressure on the center pawns with his pawn on c5 and knight on c6. One thing is certain, black is not going to sit back with his hands folded while white plays positional. There will be some upset in the center, creating counterplay for black.

This is where white gains the positional advantage. The game has advanced into a not-too-far endgame, but this time, there are still pieces on the board that leave room for a couple of blows. White's rook is on the 7th rank, which is a good trait for a rook during the middlegame, and the black pawn on a7 with be dropping next. Although black is hoping for a counterattack when he brings his rook to the 2nd rank, it will be too slow.

Rdd7 seals the win. This is because black is about to be mated in a couple of moves, no matter how he responds. A mate is coming on h7, and if he takes the pawn on f6, any of the white rooks goes that and gives a check that leads to a mate in two moves.

From here, it is all over.

You can watch the game through the game link:

Here is the Game PGN:

[Event "Lichess Liga 5C Team Battle"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/gRJ1vFR3"]
[Date "2025.07.31"]
[White "Gmdalods-16"]
[Black "bahamega"]
[Result "1-0"]
[GameId "gRJ1vFR3"]
[UTCDate "2025.07.31"]
[UTCTime "19:22:03"]
[WhiteElo "2251"]
[BlackElo "2396"]
[WhiteRatingDiff "+8"]
[BlackRatingDiff "-9"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[TimeControl "300+0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[Opening "Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation"]
[Termination "Normal"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 d5 3. d4 Nc6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Bd3 g6 6. Nbd2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. h3 Nd7 9. Re1 e5 10. dxe5 Ndxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Bc2 Be6 13. e4 d4 14. cxd4 cxd4 15. Bb3 Nd3 16. Rf1 Nxc1 17. Rxc1 Qb6 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Qb3 Qxb3 20. Nxb3 b6 21. Rc7 Bh6 22. Nxd4 Rfe8 23. b3 Rad8 24. Nc6 Rd2 25. Rxa7 Rf8 26. Ne5 Rc8 27. Ng4 Bg7 28. e5 Re2 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. f4 Rf8 31. Rd1 Bxf6 32. exf6 Re4 33. Rdd7 Rxf6 34. Rd8+ 1-0

Toluwani_keenchess 2260 vs FM Skibbi 2288

The next is from the second blockchain chess team player who brought in some of the most points right after our MVP. This is the game he played against an FIDE Master of Chess from Germany.

The Pirc Defense: other variations is where this positional setup springs from. It is when white decides not to maintain the pressure in the center, instead goes for the exchange of pawns, and immediately the exchange of queens as well. Although when black captures the queen with his king, he gives up the chance to castle, but he has nothing much to worry about since the queens are off the board and the gameplay is left to the only major piece, the rook, the minor pieces, the bishops and knights, and lastly the pawns.

f5 is the blunder that makes the black position bad on the spot since it gives out a pawn on the get-go. Being a strong player, white will not miss a chance to grab on to the pawn. And there is more to the position. Now blacks position has gotten worse due to the placement of his king and his inactive rooks and knight.

Due to the numerous pawns black dropped earlier in the game, it has become impossible to gain a win or even a draw in this endgame. There are more than enough passed pawns for white. And this leads to his victory.

Here is the game link to view the game:

And the Game PGN:

[Event "Lichess Liga 5C Team Battle"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/ZkYSuef4"]
[Date "2025.07.31"]
[White "Toluwani_keenchess"]
[Black "Skibbi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[GameId "ZkYSuef4"]
[UTCDate "2025.07.31"]
[UTCTime "19:21:11"]
[WhiteElo "2260"]
[BlackElo "2288"]
[WhiteRatingDiff "+7"]
[BlackRatingDiff "-6"]
[BlackTitle "FM"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[TimeControl "300+0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Opening "Pirc Defense"]
[Termination "Normal"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. dxe5 dxe5 5. Qxd8+ Kxd8 6. Bg5 Be6 7. Nf3 b6 8. Nxe5 Bd6 9. O-O-O Kc8 10. Nc4 Bb4 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Nd5 Bc5 13. f3 f5 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Bd3 Be6 16. Be4 c6 17. Nde3 f5 18. Bxf5 Bxf5 19. Nxf5 b5 20. Ne5 Kc7 21. Rhe1 Rf8 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Na6 24. Rd7+ Kb6 25. Rxh7 Rae8 26. Nd3 Rxe1+ 27. Nxe1 Re8 28. Kd1 Nb4 29. a3 Nd5 30. g4 Rd8 31. Kc1 Ne3 32. Nd3 c5 33. b3 c4 34. Rh6+ Kc7 35. bxc4 bxc4 36. Nc5 Rd1+ 37. Kb2 Nd5 38. Na6+ Kb7 39. Nb4 c3+ 40. Kb3 Rb1+ 41. Kc4 Nxb4 42. axb4 Re1 43. Kxc3 Re3+ 44. Kb2 Rxf3 45. c3 Rf4 46. g5 Rg4 47. g6 Rg2+ 48. Kb3 a6 49. h4 Rg4 50. h5 Kb6 51. g7+ Kb5 52. Rg6 Rxb4+ 53. cxb4 a5 54. bxa5 Kxa5 55. g8=Q Kb5 56. Qd5# 1-0

That is a wrap for this round, and see you in the next round on Sunday. For more updates on the team chess battle, check this post:

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Thanks For Reading!

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