In the first round of the 2026 Chess Olympiad, Aydın Süleymanlı, playing on Azerbaijan’s second board, defeated Morocco’s FM Mohamed-Mehdi Aithmidou with the black pieces. Aydın has raised his rating remarkably over the past year; when the video was recorded, his live rating stood at 2675, and his sights are now set on 2700. Evren Ucok, who supports Aydın, is wholeheartedly hoping to see him cross that mark.
In this game Black deliberately gives up a pawn in the opening, builds pressure on the queenside along the b- and c-files, and then redirects it towards f2 and the white king. The finish is the rook sacrifice shown on the video thumbnail: 37...Rc8!! Below you can replay the complete annotated game, with a summary of the ideas explained in the video, and then try solving four critical positions for yourself.
Annotated Game
Click the moves, use the buttons below the board, or press the arrow keys to navigate through the game. The board is shown from the perspective of Black, the side Aydın played; green arrows and highlighted squares illustrate the ideas discussed in the video. Use “Get PGN” in the menu to download the annotated PGN and import it into Lichess.
Critical Positions
These are four key Black moves highlighted in the video. Black is to move in every position. Think first, then reveal the answer or use the next-move button below the board.
Critical Position 1 — Move 9, Black to move
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9...O-O! Ne5 piles up on the knight on c6, which is pinned by the queen on a4. Aydın Süleymanlı castles out of the pin and deliberately gives up the c6-pawn. After Nxc6 bxc6 Qxc6 Rb8, the pressure on the b-file, Black’s lead in development, the bishop on c1 tied to defence and the knight stranded on a3 give Black excellent compensation for the pawn. The engine also rates this as the best move.
Critical Position 2 — Move 13, Black to move
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13...a5! First ask about your opponent’s plan: why did the knight come to c2? It is heading for b4 and then c6, where it would be centralised with fork ideas and close the b-file. ...a5 prevents this in advance. The pawn is also poisoned: if the queen takes on a5, ...Qd7 covers its escape squares and the queen is trapped. White could only save the game by giving up the queen for a rook.
Critical Position 3 — Move 26, Black to move
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26...Ne5! The bishop on f3 attacks the knight on g4. The knight escapes to the centre while also eyeing the bishop on f3. The surprise point is that if the bishop retreats, ...Rb8 comes, and the queen on b5 is in serious trouble. This is also the engine’s first choice. In the game White offered a queen trade with Qb7, but Aydın declined with ...Qd4 and gathered his pieces around the white king.
Critical Position 4 — Move 37, Black to move
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37...Rc8!! A deflection. The white queen on c7 defends the g3-pawn, while the f2-pawn is pinned by the queen on d4. If the queen captures on c8, ...Rxg3+ follows: Kh1 or Kh2 allows ...Qh4#, and Kf1 is met by ...Qd3+ Ke1 Rg1#. In the game White took on c8 with the queen and resigned after ...Rxg3+. The most stubborn defence was Qf4, but Black still wins after ...Rxc1+.
Lessons from the Game
- Every opening move has an idea: 2...Nc6 came with the threat of ...e5, 4...Nb4 with pressure on c2 and the idea of pushing the white knight to the edge, 6...Be7 anticipated Nh4, and 7...Nc6 threatened ...Bxa3.
- A pawn for development: In return for the c6-pawn, Black gained the b-file, a lead in development and passive white pieces on c1 and a3.
- Ask about your opponent’s plan: The question “Why did my opponent make that move, and what will they do next?” led to 13...a5, stopping White’s Nb4-c6 plan before it started.
- Open files are not only for attacking the king: The b- and c-files created pressure on the queenside, targeting the c3-pawn and the white knight on the edge.
- Switching wings: ...Qa7 and ...Ng4 turned the pressure towards f2 and then the kingside, as Black’s pieces gathered in the centre and swarmed around the white king.
- Pins and deflections: The pinned f2-pawn and the fact that only the queen was defending g3 made the final ...Rc8 deflection possible.
Game source: Lichess live broadcast of the Olympiad.
Video Commentary
The original video commentary is in Turkish. The game annotations and explanations on this page are in English.
