Matthias Bluebaum - The Dark Horse!

Good day, everyone! I’m glad we are together again. The hero of today’s blog is the 28-year-old German grandmaster Matthias Blübaum. By taking second place at the recently concluded Grand Swiss tournament, this “dark horse” secured himself a ticket to the Candidates Tournament. In addition, something that makes me single out this young man is the fact that he is currently the only chess player in history to have won the European Individual Championship
twice.

What fascinates me about him is his approach to chess and the openings: strange and rare variations, deeply elaborated, which he plays always and against everyone! Apart from French, where he has already left a strong mark with his ideas, he drew my attention with this rare approach as Black against the Catalan with Bd6 and an early Nc6!

I have chosen a game from the European Championship held last year in Montenegro, where my friend and compatriot, grandmaster Aleksandar Inđić, took the victory.

In what follows, let us try to get to know the qualities of the German national team member...

A phenomenal performance by Black in all phases of the game. Excellent preparation that led him into a fighting position. Accurate calculation and strong handling of the middlegame, constantly presenting his opponent with numerous problems. Fantastic play in the endgame, where he combined precise calculation, the highlighting of his positional trumps (the queenside pawns), and the use of psychological factors (such as White’s reluctance to consider the knight exchange).

The key to victory lay in patience and a prolonged battle.

Credit also goes to the French grandmaster Girel for his excellent resistance and for maintaining balance throughout most of the game. Unfortunately for him, after g4 there was no way back.

For us, it remains to support Matthias in his further career and to continue learning from his achievements.

Thank you for your attention! Until next time.