Hans Niemann defeated Elshan Moradiabadi in the 10th round of the US Chess Championship. After a very good start with 2/3 points, Hans lost three games in four days and came back with an important victory today. In the post-game interview, Niemann revealed he went all-in into today’s game: “Today I decided I will either going to lose or I am going to win. Nothing between”.
Speaking about his preparation for today’s game, Hans explained he didn’t check a single variation of the King’s Indian which he played today: “I decided that I will just going to freestyle a bit, because I felt I need to go back to my roots of playing just absolutely psychotic chess“.
Despite the good play and clearly better position after the opening, Hans gave a chance to his opponent to come back and even fight for the win: “The momentum completely shifted. In the opening I do this great stuff, I played quickly I take control, and then I made just one idiotic move and he plays three genius moves and I am sitting there like an idiot“. Moradiabadi however missed his chances and blundered 38…e5! which forced him to immediate resignation. “It is a very interesting concept because you think this pawn is never going to move. But I guess when you are an arrogant idiot you get rewarded sometimes. (…) I am a complete idiot and I have a lot to learn in chess. I have too many things to work on“, said Hans. (Replay the game here)
Speaking about his upcoming games in the US Chess Championship, Niemann announced the comeback and said he was definitely humbled a lot in this tournament: “I think the comeback is certainly coming and I’ve definitely been humbled a lot in this tournament so I think it’s always good to win someone who is as arrogant as me and is humbled“. He added that the life of a professional chess player is extremely hard unless you make it: “You really really have to have very very high pain and stress tolerance. And you have to be able to have this ultimate confidence in yourself“. See the complete interview below:
Read more: Hans Niemann’s father for Daily Mail: Hans is a good kid. His chess speaks for itself
