It was another day of sweeps in PogChamps 4 presented by Coinbase, with all three matches going 2-0.
5uppp defeated JakenbakeLIVE after Botez Gambits on each side. QTcinderella, taking down Tectone despite blunders, won confidently in both games, and Fundy flexed his higher rating and defeated NickEh30 in both games with barely any missteps.
5uppp Baits Jake
In game one, the players executed their openings like “Russian GMs.” The tension built until a series of exchanges left 5uppp a piece up, and he offered a queen trade, but Jake declined and went for the Botez Gambit instead.
The queen sacrifice left 5uppp way more than five points up, and then it was a simple matter of trading away all Jakes’s pieces and getting the ladder checkmate.
fIn game two, Jake went with the Ruy Lopez. Both players seemed confident in their openings and came out with solid positions. It seemed dead-even until 5uppp found a baby fork and won a piece. He implemented his “just win” strategy and started tightening the noose but then lost his concentration and blundered his queen.
Everything seemed to be falling apart for 5uppp, but he didn’t quit and instead threw out a Hail Mary poisoned-bishop bait. Jake fell for the trap and got back-rank mated, giving 5uppp the 2-0 sweep.
QT Crushes Tectone
Game one started with a bang with both players taking turns to blunder rooks.
After losing a rook each, the players stabilized in the mid-game. QT lined up a checkmate threat, and Tectone was distracted by a pawn capture and didn’t defend.
In the next game, Tectone got to play his beloved Hippo, and despite blundering a knight, he got a strong battery with a queen and bishop pointed at QT’s kingside. QT saw a fork, was singing her way to victory, but instead gave away her queen.
But our favorite Twitch princess stayed strong, accepted multiple free bishops from Tectone, and eventually reached a winning pawn endgame. She overcame her dyslexia, remembered the queen vs. king checkmate, and took the match at 2-0.
Depending on the next match, QT has a real chance to end up in the winners’ bracket.
Fundy Wins, NickEh30 Stays Positive
In the first game, Fundy came out strong and pressured Nick the entire time. Nick had a great time, even though the massive rating difference was not in his favor. After a tough battle ended with him down a couple of pieces, Nick made a major miscalculation and lost his rooks.
After that, Fundy did not let any attacks get through and took the game to a ladder checkmate, despite Nicks’s hopes for a stalemate. Even in defeat, Nick is always positive!
In game two, both players avoided blunders in the opening, including some nice calculations from Nick to avoid a bad trade. Later, he found a defensive pin that the commentators were very impressed with:
But Fundy’s experience and refusal to blunder took him further and further into the lead until Nick was hoping so hard for the impossible that he forgot about his queen:
Fundy clinched the game and now has the most points of anyone in the tournament.
All Games Day 6
You can see all the updated results at pogchampschess.com.
PogChamps returns tomorrow, Sunday, September 5, with three matches. Stay tuned!
PogChamps 4 started on August 29 and will run through September 12. You can read more information about the event here. Make sure to tune into the action on Chess.com/tv or Twitch, or on our Events platform!
PogChamps 4 is presented by Coinbase. Whether you’re looking to make your first crypto purchase or you’re an experienced trader, Coinbase has you covered. Earn crypto by learning about crypto with Coinbase Earn, power up your trading with Coinbase’s advanced features, get exclusive rewards when you spend with Coinbase Card, and much more. Learn more at Coinbase.com/Chess.
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