"Oh! Sheva completely abandons his pawn on the H file! He lets Boris Gelfand take that pawn freely! What do you think he is planning right now, Master Irfan?" On the live stream, Bagas asked as he raised his eyebrows slightly at the screen in front of him.
While normally, he would think that Sheva had some sort of plan for this kind of move, he couldn't say the same right now. No, the boy was so afraid that his best friend would collapse, starting to make one mistake after another.
Fortunately, it seemed that he was worried for nothing here.
"In fact, this is a smart move by Sheva," Irfan explained carefully. "You see, once Boris Gelfand takes that pawn, he will forever be locked on that H file. Yes, he can go back to the third rank, but that just puts the rook in an awkward position. No, if anything, that move would only waste more tempo, bringing Sheva a slight advantage in the game. This is definitely a calculated sacrifice by Sheva."
