Playing Against Ivanchuk: Importance of Move Orders

Lessons from a Game Against a Chess Legend

In this blog, I would like to reflect on the importance of move orders in a game. I believe there is no player in the world who hasn't experienced the struggle of choosing the right move order during a game or simply not noticing their difference. Often, move orders directly influence the outcome of a game. Making the correct decision regarding move orders in a game is influenced by many factors, including:

1. Complexity of the position
2. Patience and the pressure of the game
3. Time factor
4. Intuition
5. Concentration

At the recent European Individual Championship, I had the pleasure of playing with the legend of world chess, Vasyl Ivanchuk, and played a very interesting game which I ended up winning. The game was very interesting from the aspect of the topic of this blog because I struggled to choose the right move order three times in the game, and I made the wrong choice all three times. I would say that my wrong decisions were influenced by two factors: complexity of the position, where I failed to calculate the variations deeply and precisely enough, and patience and pressure during the game.

To be honest, in those three key moments when I felt the chance to win, adrenaline kicked in, which disturbed my calculation and made me impatient. After all, it’s not every day that you play against Ivanchuk or a player of his caliber! Fortunately, the legend of world and Ukrainian chess did not exploit my lapses in concentration, and in the end, I recorded one of the most cherished victories in my career.

Food for Thought: Doing 'A Move Order Check'

During the writing of this blog, I've consulted with some of my friends who also hold chess titles, and we came to a conclusion: the best way to avoid making a move order mistake might simply be to force yourself to do 'a move order check.'

Take 10 to 30 seconds (we are talking about classical chess, of course) after every forcing move and calculation that you're entering and try to check different move orders. You will be surprised by all the things you will find!

Ivanchuk, Vasyl - Sedlak, Nikola

During one's entire career, one must work on themselves in all aspects of the game because chess is a very complex game. Controlling emotions, keeping a cool head, constantly working on calculating variations and combinatorial play are necessary to minimize such mistakes.

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