Olympiad · Open · Round 8

A pawn given away with check, and eight moves later it was over

September 24, 2026 · Vachier-Lagrave 1–0 Tabatabaei

After 30.e6+ · Stockfish +2.09 → +2.45

SquaresPiecesLight side

30.e6+ gave a pawn away with check. GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (Iran, 2737) took it with the king, 30...Kxe6, and the white rook went to f8.

Stockfish had White clearly better before the pawn went (+2.09) and after it (+2.45), and it never swung back. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2718), rated 19 points lower, won in 38 moves in round 8 of the Olympiad.

What did Stockfish see in the pawn? Stop the replay on move 30 and look for it, then play it out against the engine.

White: GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 2718 · France
Black: GM M. Amin Tabatabaei, 2737 · Iran
Result: 1–0 in 38 moves
Opening: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack, Anti-English · B90
Event: 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026, Open, Round 8 · Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Key move: {0}: 30.e6+

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Moves from the official broadcast — the game on Lichess. Evaluations by Stockfish 18. Brass Pawn is not affiliated with the event or the players.