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The last game in the University Challenge was one for the record books only. Of course, De Boer would like to score his first points of the match yet the match itself had already been decided on the day before. De Boer knew what to expect from Nijboer, who’d told him the day prior that an easy draw wouldn’t be coming his way.

The game started with an open Sicilian, where black can play either 8… 0-0 or 8… a6. De Boer chose d6-d5 whereafter Nijboer picked 9. Bg2 Bb4

and this is already a completely new position. Having been surprised, Nijboer found nothing better than to enter the endgame after 10. g5 Nxe4 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxe4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 dxe4 14. Qxc8+Kxd8.

After moves like 15. 0-0-0+ Ke8 16. Rd4 it’s approximately equal. Nijboer tried something creative however De Boer defended solidly and the position remained equal after 26 moves.

White’s a bit more active, however with such a ruined pawn structure any hopes for a win seem to be purely imaginary. Indeed, after a well-played rook endgame, the game ended in a draw and the match in 3 1/2- 1/2 in Nijboer’s favour.

De Boer admitted afterwards that Nijboer had managed to suprise him in basically every game which may have caused the seeminly lopsided score. Nijboer thought that the fourth game was clearly Nijboer’s best. “He found the only move in a couple of instances. I hope Eelke learned that it’s always important to have some surprises up your sleeve.”

Nijboer was clearly satisfied with the match score. Winning that easily, it was understandable that Nijboer’s enthousiasm on the board was obvious. “Learning and playing those new openings is something I should have done a long time ago. I’ve always been a fan of studying, but I could have learnt so much more over the years.

Experience once again beats the student in this year’s University Challenge, brought to you by the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. De Boer showed his competitive spirit, however he might need to show some composure in later games. Of course, he’s got time on his side.

Nijboer showed himself to still be that clever fox, and a strong one at that. Can he still improve himself? “I look forward to playing all my new openings, with both white and black. And then I’ll embark on my fifth or sixth chess life” Nijboer concluded.

Two days ago Nijboer, managed to make Eelke de Boer throw away his preparation by playing his maiden Caro-Kann. Today ofcourse, Eelke was ready for it. The best for white is not to play c2-c4 too soon, because black will have targets to manoeuvre to. However, two days of diving into Caro-Kann-territory proved too little, for Eelke was unable to refute Nijboer’s opening choice when it appeared on the board for the second time. After 18.Rd3

It went on 18…Bd6 19.Rh4 Rfe8 20.Qd1 Qf5 21. Ng1!? White really wants to play g2-g4, but 21.Nd2 seems more logical. 21..Nd5 22.Bc1 and Nijboer didn’t play 22…Qxf2, instead he played 22…e5!

A healthy charge in the centrum from Friso. After all it’s principal to open up the position when white plays backward moves like Ng1 and Lc1.

The weak f2-pawn proved fatal in the end; in the middle of a tactical move sequence the experienced GM from Amsterdam snatched the pawn, and this was too much to handle for Eelke in the resulting rookending.

Nijboer later explained there was more to the position than a superficial glance could reveal. Eelke de Boer had prepared himself well, and he surprised Friso with 18.Td3. ‘He wants to continue with Ne5 and maybe take on h6, followed by Rg3+ and mate. To block his intentions I found 18…Ld6 to take the punch out of any piece sacrifices.’

Taking with 28…Qxf2 Nijboer called a mistake: “I should have taken on h5 first. After 29.Rf4 I offered a draw, but Eelke wouldn’t take the half point.” Nijboer is expecting another tough battle in the final round: “Short draws, that’s just not in my system.”

That takes us to our young contender: how to cope with a dawning landslide? Ofcourse, there is no such thing as a clearcut recipe. Just try to play your game, and play it well. Forget about the results, and keep focussed on finding the next best move!