The Art of Doing Nothing

Our protagonist today is a talented grandmaster from the United States, whose strong opening preparation and calculation skills have led to him achieving multiple national records on his path to the top. He is especially known for his hard work ethic and extensive use of Chessable, where he has analyzed thousands of variations and extracted the best lines out of many courses.

That's right, Sam Shankland is again featured in today's game, as I just can't get enough of his classical chess (see my last post). However, this time Shankland is on the receiving end of powerful play from his opponent. We will see Abhimanyu Mishra putting his deep middlegame understanding and patience on full display for our enjoyment.

Before we get to that, the opening battle must be examined. Shankland finds himself faced with a challenging question for professional chess players these days: what to do when your opponent follows your own Chessable course?

It is an unfortunate coincidence for Sam that his previous game against Mishra from the 2023 US Championship went down a similar path. Mishra kept his defence intact while Sam pressed forward, eventually over-pressing and losing in an endgame.

Allow me to conclude this post with a short poem by my good friend and poet, @MatthiasMurdock, on the theme of these two games.

The Art of Patience

In calm repose, Mishra waits,
With subtlety, his strength creates.
Shankland's moves, though bold, unfold,
A silent trap, his fate foretold.