GothamChess Clinches Battle Of Generations With 4 Games To Spare

IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) won the Battle of Generations against GM Pia Cramling with four games to spare. Rozman came into the final day with a four-point lead, and he clinched the match with two consecutive wins after the halftime break. The final match score was 21-15, and Rozman wins $6,000 while Cramling receives $4,000.

Unlike the first two portions, there were zero draws in the 12 blitz games on Saturday.

Match Scores

The first half of the blitz portion was competitive, with the players scoring an even 3-3 by the halftime break. However, the grandmaster was playing with a four-point handicap. Rozman ended the match with two consecutive wins, though they played the last four games to complete the event, where they traded two wins each.

After five days of classical and rapid chess, the level of play understandably dropped in the fastest time control. Game one was a cold shower for Cramling, as she blundered a piece in the time scramble with 27...h5?? 28.d5!, hitting both the rook and bishop. 

GothamChess would make his share of mistakes and blunders too. Cramling dominated the second game with a python-like squeeze. "The second game, she played just a brilliant game and I played like I didn't know how to play positional chess whatsoever, and she just destroyed me," said Rozman.

She just destroyed me.

—Levy Rozman

Cramling eventually won two pawns and even trapped the queen, but one of the most interesting moves in the game was one that wasn't played. 37...Rxd4!! would have won Black the game, though it's no surprise both players missed it, as Rozman had five seconds and Cramling had 19. 

Cramling strung together a second victory when, in a time scramble, her opponent allowed the decisive 33...Re2 and checkmate on the board.

The grandmaster looked like she was on her way to a third win, which would have brought the deficit down to two, but she lost control and lost on time. In the next game, she had the advantage, with two minor pieces against a rook, but in the end blundered a piece in a crazy time scramble—one where Rozman didn't claim a threefold repetition (which did occur) despite being down in material.

Pia hangs a piece in the time scramble and Levy takes a five-point lead!https://t.co/Vua00Kq9zf pic.twitter.com/GWvbsXNR0L

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 2, 2024

Cramling struck back by winning the next game, but in a position where Black did not have to resign. 39...Rf8 would have kept the balance, as the pawn can never promote to the light-square c8. The rook had just moved from that square the previous move, so it may have been difficult to see the retreat in a few seconds.

After the halftime break, Rozman won the next two games and thus the match. First, he evened the blitz score after Cramling blundered a pawn. Then, he won again in the following game when Cramling hung a pawn on c5. After feasting on it, Rozman nicely demonstrated the attacking potential of opposite-color bishops when the heavy pieces are still on the board:

GothamChess thus won the match with a 19-13 score by this point, with four games to spare, though they played out the rest of the games. 

Rozman said this match was eye-opening for him and that he learned from Cramling's calm, joyous approach to playing chess and dealing with pressure: "I think the last five-six days just shaped my perception of chess, a little bit. Like, it's a pleasure to play Pia because she just has a love for the game which I don't think I have quite developed. I put a lot more pressure on myself than I should."

It's a pleasure to play Pia because she just has a love for the game which I don't think I have quite developed.

—Levy Rozman

Cramling surmised that, especially by the rapid portion, Rozman played better chess in the match. She ended with, "I was very honored to play the match and, of course, congratulations to Levy who won it and who played very, very nice games... it has been a pleasure for me and I have been enjoying the games very, very much."

You can watch GothamChess' recap video below:

Or GM Hikaru Nakamura's video recap:

Will there be a second match in New York? The commentators floated the idea a few times throughout the week, so we'll have to wait and see!

The Battle of Generations is an over-the-board match between GM Pia Cramling and IM Levy Rozman featuring multiple time controls: four classical games (90+30), six rapid games (15+10), and 12 blitz games (3+2). It takes place at the Svarta Hasten in Stockholm, Sweden. The prize fund is $10,000, with $6,000 going to the winner.

Previous Coverage: 

• Day 5: GothamChess Sacrifices Rooks In Back-To-Back Games, Takes 4-Point Lead Before Final Day
• Day 4: GothamChess Wins On Time, Evens Match Score Before Rapid Games
• Day 3: Cramling Defends Difficult Endgame, Continues To Lead Vs. GothamChess
• Day 2: 14-Move Draw Leaves Cramling In Lead
• Day 1: Pia Cramling Wins With Black In Game 1 Vs. GothamChess
• Chess Legend Pia Cramling To Face Off With Levy Rozman In Battle Of Generations