How I Defeated an IM in a Classical Game

## Step-by-Step Guide: How I Defeated an IM

Step 1: Learn from a bad tournament

Just a week before this game, I finished a tournament with very poor play and results. At first, it felt disappointing, but in reality that experience helped me a lot. Between tournaments, I decided to analyze my mistakes and work more with my coach on strategy. All that analysis showed me where I had gone wrong. Of course, it wasn’t only one bad tournament that made me improve—it was also the months of hard work at home and the ability to learn from my mistakes.

Step 2: Adjust your opening choice

In the previous tournament, I played a different variation. This time, I chose to play more “by the book” and with deeper understanding, since I had been working on Benoni structures.

Step 3: Have confidence in a fresh start

Confidence is key. What happened in the last tournament doesn’t matter—what matters is that every new tournament is a new beginning.

Step 4: Think differently during the game

During the game, my opponent left the opening theory, so I decided to approach the position differently and adjust my mindset. From my home analysis, I had already noticed that the move ...Na6, although played by some old masters, is not ideal in modern practice. It can be played, but today it gives White a slight advantage. The knight is much better placed on d7, where it can jump to e5 or later to c5 after the pawn push ...c4. Recognizing this gave me more clarity and confidence in the position.

Step 5: Take the initiative and execute your plan

When my opponent offered the bishop exchange, I realized they had lost a lot of tempo. That’s when I began preparing my familiar plan with e4-e5 or e4 and f4, also f4-f5 aiming to push my central pawns or even launch an attack on the kingside. At one point, my opponent found a pawn sacrifice on b6 ( Interesting idea, but not enough) and after a series of inaccurate moves, I managed to seize the initiative.

I’ll let you look at the game yourself to see how it unfolded. The game was played at a classical over-the-board tournament.

WFM Anastasia Grozdanovic - IM Slavisa Milanovic

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I hope my blog post will be helpful to you. Wishing you a pleasant weekend!
- Anastasia Grozdanovic