5 Great Underdog Triumphs in Chess History

INTRODUCTION

In many good sports matches, one side is more heavily favored to win than the other. There is typically one side that is expected to win the match and one side that is expected to lose. 

It is fairly rare, but every once in a while the side that is expected to lose pulls off an upset and wins the match. When this does happen, it is called an "underdog story". These underdog stories are captivating and thrilling. They remind us why we love sports.

A great example of this is the 2022-23 Miami Heat team (I'm a very passionate Miami Heat fan, so I just had to include this).

The Heat had one of their worst regular seasons in a while and just barely snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Then, the Heat pulled off 3 shocking upsets in a row, defeating the #1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the #5-seeded New York Knicks, and the #2-seeded Boston Celtics to advance all the way to the NBA Finals. From the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference to the Eastern Conference Champions! I myself couldn't even believe it.

Unfortunately, the Heat couldn't completely finish the job, as they were taken down by Nikola Jokic and the almighty Denver Nuggets in 5 games in the Finals. Nevertheless, we should still forever remember the Heat's unreal underdog playoff run. 

Jimmy "Playoff" Butler is a real thing!

It's not just physical sports like basketball, football, baseball, and soccer, though... these amazing underdog stories happen in chess as well! In this blog, I will be sharing with you some of the best underdog stories in the history of chess and reminding you that anybody can be defeated! 

NODIRBEK ABDUSATTOROV

2021 WORLD RAPID CHAMPION

Entering the 2021 World Rapid Championship in Warsaw, Poland, all eyes were on Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, and the other leading grandmasters of the chess world. Nobody paid 17-year-old grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan any mind whatsoever. He was practically a nobody in the huge playing field of 176 masters.

Slowly, though, Nodirbek began to climb the rankings and gain some attention. He started off 3/3 and even upset Fabiano Caruana as white in the third round (Caruana's only loss in the tournament). He also drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi as black in round four. Through nine rounds, he was 7/9 and up near the top of the standings. Unfortunately for him, that meant playing the GOAT himself, Magnus Carlsen, in round ten.

Magnus was almost completely favored to win the game, but Nodirbek didn't lose heart. He wasn't ready to end his run just yet! He fought his heart out and ended up pulling off a stunning victory in a fascinating queen endgame. 

Beating Magnus Carlsen is a huge deal, but there was still a tournament to win. Nodirbek had to ignore the fact that he had just defeated the literal chess GOAT and just keep moving forward in the tournament as if nothing had happened. 

To finish off the tournament, Nodirbek had 3 straight draws against Vladimir Fedoseev, Gukesh D, and Jan Krzysztof-Duda. These draws were just enough to put him in first place, tied with Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, and Magnus Carlsen on 9.5/11. But obviously, only one player could receive the title of 2021 World Rapid Champion, so a blitz tiebreak was held between Nodirbek and Ian Nepomniachtchi since they had more tiebreak points than Fabiano and Magnus. 

It was time to find out if Nodirbek could complete the dream upset win, or if he would crumble under all the pressure.

The first tiebreak game ended in a lame draw, so a second one was played. In this game, Nodirbek showed that he had that dog in him (underdog, that is) and came out on top after a wild game ending to take it all home!

Nodirbek officially claimed the title of 2021 World Rapid Champion, stunning the whole world in the process. This victory showed how strong Nodirbek truly was and put him on the map. He's now competing with the game's best at some of the biggest tournaments of the year, including the Tata Steel Masters, which he almost won back in January. 

Nodirbek proved that rating is just a number. Although his rating was nearly 150 rating points lower than the majority of the contestants there, he ended up getting the W.

Not Magnus Carlsen, not Ian Nepomniachtchi, or any of those other big dogs, but Nodirbek Abdusattorov hoisted the 2021 World Rapid Championship trophy

BOBBY FISCHER

1972 WORLD CHAMPION

The Soviet Union had been at the top of the chess world for 24 years. From Mikhail Botvinnik to Vasily Smyslov to Mikhail Tal to Tigran Petrosian to Boris Spassky, the Russians made it clear that they were the rulers of chess.

Right when it seemed like nobody could dethrone them, a new challenger approached the defending champion, Russian chess legend Boris Spassky: 29-year-old American Bobby Fischer. Bobby was taking this match very seriously. He made it very clear that he was determined to beat the Russians.

My goal is to win the World Chess Championship; to beat the Russians. I take this very seriously.

            - Bobby Fischer

(Special shoutout to @TheCheeseDuck for teaching me how to embed the code for the green quotation mark )

Obviously, Bobby was the match's clear underdog. Many people assumed that the Russians would reign supreme in the world of chess forever. Nobody thought much of Bobby at all. But Bobby was far too motivated to go down that easy. He was on a mission to prove everybody wrong.

The match didn't start out too well for Bobby, though. Boris Spassky completely obliterated him in an endgame in game 1. Bobby blamed it on the fact that there were too many cameras surrounding the players and demanded that all cameras be removed. To show that he wasn't messing around, he took a forfeit loss in game 2, boycotting the competition until the cameras were taken away. Bobby even intended to take the next flight out of Iceland, but he was persuaded not to.

Then came time for game 3, this time without cameras in the playing room, per Bobby's demands. The whole ordeal had psyched Boris out and drained a lot of his momentum and zeal, and it showed in his play. Bobby was able to bounce back in game 3, taking down Boris in 41 moves as black.

This game would later prove to be the turning point of the match, as now Bobby had the total psychologic advantage.

Game 4 ended in a fairly uneventful draw, so game 5 came around with Boris still a full point ahead. Then, Bobby suddenly took down Boris in games 5, 6 and 8 (game 7 was a draw) and was now ahead by two full points. So the tables had turned completely and the pressure was now solely on Boris.

It wasn't going to be easy, though... after a third draw in game 9, Bobby took home yet another win in game 10. Bobby was now three points up in the match. It was going to be mighty tough for Boris to overcome the deficit. 

Boris took some momentum back by winning game 11 but was then promptly defeated two rounds later in game 13. The match then took a turn for the boring side from games 14-20, which all ended in draws. This meant that Bobby was still up by three whole points and Boris's chances of winning the match continued to slide away, but you know what they say: it ain't over 'til it's truly over. Nothing was set in stone just yet.

Then came game 21. They were playing best of 24 games, which meant that Bobby could win the match here. Could Bobby finally close out the match? Or would the game once again end in a boring draw? The answer to that question is found within...

Bobby did it! He was the World Chess Champion and just the second American to claim that title! But, most importantly, he could finally brag that he had defeated the Russians.

Bobby proved that anybody can be beaten... even the Russians.

Bobby finally stole the crown!

ALEXANDER ALEKHINE

1927 WORLD CHAMPION

The stage was all set for the 1927 World Championship match to begin. It was going to be the returning world champ, Cuban grandmaster Jose Raul Capablanca, taking on a new challenger, Russian-French grandmaster Alexander Alekhine. 

Capablanca was by far the best player in the world at the time, and he had proven it over and over again. He destroyed every playing field he faced in just about every tournament he participated in. In fact, leading up to the match against Alekhine, Capablanca had obliterated everyone in his path during the 1927 New York tournament, finishing with 8 wins and 12 draws to total 14 points and win the tournament. 

However, Alexander Alekhine wasn't afraid. He had personally challenged Capablanca to the match, and Capablanca had agreed, most likely thinking that he was going to easily blow this man off the board. And he wouldn't have been incorrect to think so. That was the general consensus among chess fans, after all. Almost everybody in the chess world was betting on a smooth victory for Capablanca.

After game 1, though, it became clear to Capablanca and all of Alekhine's doubters that it wasn't going to be quite so easy.  Alekhine tore open Capablanca's position and captured a win in an equal material queen and rook versus queen and rook endgame. 

Alekhine made the first jump and took a 1-0 lead in the match, but Capablanca came back quickly and was up 2-1 after ten games (draws did not count as points in their format). Then, Alekhine also came back quickly and took both games 11 and 12 back-to-back to go up 3-2.

Right when it seemed like it was about to become a serious dogfight, games 13-20 all ended in draws, which meant that through 20 games Alekhine was still up 3-2. Both players must have been feeling pretty frustrated by now that neither of them could really make any progress. Then, just like in the Spassky-Fischer World Championship match, game 21 saw a breakthrough. Alekhine took a win as black and increased his advantage to 4-2.

The underdog was running away with the match right in front of Capablanca's eyes, but he was helpless to do anything against it. The best he had been able to come up with since game 7 was a draw. Then, finally, in game 29, Capablanca was able to win one, making it a more manageable 4-3. It was anyone's match at this point, but Alekhine still held the one-point advantage and the confidence that he could steal an upset.

In game 32, Alekhine took home another win and pushed his lead back up to two points again, 5-3. Alekhine was one point away (they were playing first to six points). It was going to take a lot for Capablanca to form a comeback.

Game 33 was a draw, but Alekhine had white again in game 34. Being just one point away from claiming the title, Alekhine wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to end the match once and for all. Could he finally put an to end the seemingly never-ending match? Or would Capablanca live to see another day?

It took a longgg 34 games, but Alekhine was the World Champion! Nobody saw Alekhine's victory coming except Alekhine himself. Alekhine had confidence in his chances and he pulled off the upset! 

Alekhine proved that even the biggest of Goliaths could be slain by the littlest of Davids. Alexander Alekhine, the one who nobody counted on, was the champion of the chess world. Until another underdog approached...

History repeats itself - David beats Goliath!

MAX EUWE

1935 WORLD CHAMPION

It was about time for another World Championship match, but there was nobody to challenge the defending champion, our good friend Alexander Alekhine. He refused to play Capablanca for a second time, but it seemed that Capablanca was really the only suitable challenger.

Eventually, Alekhine chose Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe to be his opponent. Alekhine obviously picked Euwe thinking that he would be easy to defeat, but the truth was that Euwe was a highly underrated player and was actually much stronger than anyone realized. 

The match started out exactly as expected, with Alekhine taking game 1 as white. Euwe then took his first win of the match and evened the score as white in game 2 by creating a nice trap in the ending.

It was a great win while it lasted, but it didn't take long for Alekhine to respond. Alekhine took the next two games and jumped out to a 2-point lead in the match after four games.

Games 5 and 6 were draws, but after that it was right back to the back-and-forth excitement. Alekhine won game 7, then Euwe won game 8. Alekhine won game 9, then Euwe won game 10. They were just trading punches without anything really changing. Alekhine was still up by 2 points through 10 games.

Through 20 games, the match was neck-and-neck. Euwe had caught up and was now only trailing by half a point, 10-9½. Everyone was on their toes now. There were still a few games left (the first to win six games and score fifteen points would be declared the winner) and it was clear that the match was going to be a close finish.

Euwe won game 21, which gave him the half-point lead in the match, and then after three draws in a row he won game 25 as well. He now had a 1½ point lead going into game 26, which was a pretty must-win game for Alekhine. Unfortunately for Alekhine but fortunately for Euwe and underdog fans everywhere, Euwe took game 26 in triumphant fashion.

This game turned out to be the game that won Euwe the match! Although Alekhine made it kinda scary again by winning game 27, the match went on to finish with three anticlimactic draws in a row that gave Euwe just the right amount of points to become the World Champion!

Alekhine went from the underdog to the victim of the underdog. He got a little too confident and it showed. He, like many others, doubted Euwe's abilities and Euwe made them all pay. Euwe proved to all that underdogs should never be underestimated.

Euwe will never be doubted again!

DING LIREN

2023 WORLD CHAMPION

The 2022 Candidates tournament was coming up and one slot was still open for a player after Sergey Karjakin of Russia was suspended from the tournament because of his public controversial statements on the war in Ukraine.

Ding Liren, Chinese grandmaster and world #2 at the time, had his eyes set on potentially participating in a World Championship match. In order to do that, though, Ding needed a miracle. He had to play at least 26 more OTB games before he could be Candidates-eligible. And due to strict quarantine restrictions related to COVID-19 in China, Ding was unable to leave the country to participate in many international tournaments, such as the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Grand Prix.

It seemed hopeless for Ding, but the Chinese Chess Federation had his back. They hosted 3 short tournaments out of the blue with other Chinese masters to help Ding get up to 30 games played. Ding destroyed the playing field in these tournaments and was able to become eligible for the Candidates.

                      Ding playing fellow Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi during one of the                           three mini-tournaments held in Hangzhou, China

The Candidates tournament started out poorly for Ding and was full of ups and downs for him, but in the final round he pulled off a clutch win against Hikaru Nakamura that boosted him to a second-place finish, just behind Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi.

To keep his World Championship hopes alive, Ding would again need a miracle. It was all up to Magnus Carlsen, the returning World Champion. Magnus had a choice to make. He could either play another World Championship match or he could leave it to someone else. He expressed his uninterest in playing against Ian Nepomniachtchi a second time and eventually chose to not participate in the 2023 World Championship. This meant that Ding Liren would face Ian Nepomniachtchi for the 2023 World Chess Championship!

After months of heavy prep, the match began. Like in the Candidates tournament, the World Championship match didn't start out too well for Ding. Ian struck first with a win as black in game 2. It was a heartbreaking loss for Ding, but he was able to win game 4 as white to even the score. Ian got a win in game 5 as white, though, and retook the lead in the match.

Then, in game 6, down a full point in the match, Ding, with white, opted for... The London System? To everybody's great surprise, Ding played The London in a World Championship game. Ian himself was clearly stunned, but Ding knew what he was doing. He, to everybody's even greater surprise, was able to pull out a nice win while playing one of the most trashed chess openings of all time to tie the match score again.

It was shaping out to be a great back-and-forth match, like Alekhine versus Euwe. Ian was able to steal a win in game 7 as white after Ding randomly hung a pawn in the endgame. All of the momentum was on Ian's side now. Ding was clearly feeling anguished that he couldn't pull away.

Games 8, 9, 10, and 11 were all draws. Then, in game 12, Ding captured a clutch victory as white and evened the score yet again. The match finished with four straight draws in games 13, 14, 15, and 16, which meant that the match would be decided by a rapid tiebreak.

Ding had white in the first rapid tiebreak game, but the best he could come up with was a draw. Ian now got white for the second game, but Ding had the heart on his side. With the match on the line and playing black, Ding stepped up to the plate annnnd...

Home run! Ding went from almost not even competing in the Candidates to being the World Chess Champion. It was an unbelievable run. 

Ding captured the hearts of many during his journey. The underdog did it! He proved that anything is possible and taught us to never lose heart!

That smile says it all! Ding earned that moment!

CONCLUSION

The lesson I am attempting to teach in this blog is that anything can happen and anyone can be defeated. Underdogs must never lose heart and give it all they got because they just might break through!

These 5 masters, all once underdogs, understood this. They poured their hearts into what they did and it paid off in the end.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Cya next time!