Game of the Week: Mikhalevski, Negi

One thing that separates strong players from ordinary ones is the knowledge that material is not everything. Most players will automatically reject variations in which they lose a pawn or an exchange if they do not see a short-term benefit. In our feature game from the World Open, young Indian star Parimarjan Negi had a very nice looking position in the middlegame. Israeli grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski needed to somehow change the course of the game, and he found a positional sacrifice to keep the position on edge throughout.