May 13, 2025
Author's Commentary #438:
Time to talk about Chapter 438: Urusov major.
The finale of the Japan vs Russia match is here, and I have to say, this game was amazing. The masked man is proving his rating of 101 is merely a placeholder as his true strength is easily 5000 elo. Maestro Ian Kimovich really was playing his best, but it wasn't enough to overcome the maestro slayer.
Now this game has a really interesting story behind it. Originally, the game I had planned between Ian and the masked man was one featuring the Japanese Gambit, but burnout and bloc were hindering my ability to write it. That was when I stumbled upon an article on Chees.com discussing the Usurov Gambit. It was the breath of fresh air I needed and as a result, we got this amazing game. And like all maestros, except for Xiao Lin, this game was played against Chess.com's 3200-rated level 25 engine bot. Though me playing this opening against the 2900-rated level 24 engine bot was what tempted me to try this gambit against the level 25 one. One final thing to mention is that this variation of the Urusov Gambit is known as the Bishop's Opening: Berlin, Ponziani, Urusov, Keidansky Gambit.
But despite the masked man's heroics, the match ends in a draw. I was debating whether or not to have the team get the win, but I felt a draw would be better for the overall story. And speaking of which, this game was so amazing, you can bet it will be making a very strong case for appearing in my list of my top 30 favorite games in the series.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
