Reviewed games / 1st Chola Chess Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2026, round 4

Samvel Ter-Sahakyan vs Chithambaram VR. Aravindh: game review

Drawn on 2 November 2026, in the French Defense: Rubinstein Variation, Blackburne Defense. Stockfish 19 reviewed every move of both players at depth 18, double-checked the sharp moments deeper, and labelled each one from Brilliant to Blunder.

The board after 15…Be7, with both players' accuracy
Samvel Ter-Sahakyan 261393.5
Chithambaram VR. Aravindh 267793.6
Samvel Ter-SahakyanLabelChithambaram VR. Aravindh
0!Great1
17Best16
7Excellent7
2Good1
12Book12
Step through every moveReview your own game

Key moments

The Brilliant and Great moves, and the costliest mistakes, as the review explains them.

15…Be7: Great

15…Be7! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

  • Moves the attacked bishop to safety.
  • Moving away uncovers the rook on c8, which now hits the c4 pawn.
  • The next best move, 15…Bf8, would drop Black's winning chances from 47% to 36% (+1.59).
  • 15…Be7 gets the bishop out of the way of bxc5 and threatens …Rxc4, winning a pawn.
  • White was threatening bxc5, winning a bishop for a pawn. The bishop steps away.
  • It threatens …Rxc4, winning a pawn, so White has to spend the next move on it.

The opening

French Defense: Rubinstein Variation, Blackburne Defense (C10)

  • Both sides followed opening theory up to 12…f6: 24 moves in all, 12 by White and 12 by Black.
  • Theory runs out after 12…f6: too few games between strong players reached this position to go further.

Every move

The moves from the official broadcast on Lichess (the game), each with its label. Step through them on the board for the engine lines and an explanation of every move.

  1. 1.e4e6
  2. 2.d4d5
  3. 3.Nd2dxe4
  4. 4.Nxe4Nd7
  5. 5.Nf3Ngf6
  6. 6.Nxf6+Nxf6
  7. 7.Be3Nd5
  8. 8.Bd2c5
  9. 9.Bb5+Bd7
  10. 10.Bxd7+Qxd7
  11. 11.c4Nb6
  12. 12.Rc1f6
  13. 13.O-ORc8
  14. 14.dxc5Bxc5
  15. 15.b4!Be7
  16. 16.Qb3O-O
  17. 17.Rfd1Qa4
  18. 18.Nd4Qxb3
  19. 19.axb3Kf7
  20. 20.Be3Bxb4
  21. 21.Nb5Rcd8
  22. 22.Nxa7Nd7
  23. 23.Nb5Ke7
  24. 24.Nd4Rc8
  25. 25.g3Rfd8
  26. 26.Kg2Ne5
  27. 27.h3g5
  28. 28.Nc2Rxd1
  29. 29.Rxd1Bd6
  30. 30.Ne1Bb4
  31. 31.Nf3Nc6
  32. 32.Nd4Ne5
  33. 33.Nf3Nf7
  34. 34.Ra1Nd6
  35. 35.g4h6
  36. 36.Ne1Bc5
  37. 37.Bxc5Rxc5
  38. 38.Nd3

More reviewed games

Every reviewed game, newest first.

See your own games like this.

Enter a Chess.com or Lichess username or paste a PGN: free, no account, no daily limit.

Review a game