As a friend, I asked, "Do you really want to know right now?" He said yes, so I told him the truth: he had to win to score the GM norm; a draw would not be enough.
Then came the defining moment: Leon arrived at the board and played 1.e4, and to everyone's surprise, Viresh replied with 1...Nc6. He went on to win the game, later mentioning in the commentary that he had initially planned to play the Sicilian Najdorf, but decided on 1...Nc6 because I told him a win was mandatory. It was a shocking, risky choice, but I'm thrilled it all worked out.
Position after 29...d4
The most critical moment of the game: here Leon took 4 minutes and played 30.Qxd4, which allowed Viresh to capture the pawn on b2 with his a3 pawn. Now the black pawn on b2 is unstoppable, and Leon resigned after 4 moves.
Check out the full game
I was caught between surprise and worry. Had the result gone the other way, I might have blamed myself for influencing his mindset just two minutes before the game. I still wonder whether I did the right thing. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
