8Strange decision by Rakotomaharo, opting for a quick endgame!
This isn't known to give any real chances to white, but in a blitz game, anything can happen!
13Rakotomaharo has successfully tricked Harvey in the opening! This position is now clearly better for him due to his space advantage in addition to Harvey having trouble getting his light-squared bishop into play.
1617Rakotomaharo now puts pressure on Harvey's queenside. While the pawns can be defended, Harvey will then be left with a very passive position.
This is looking promising for Rakotomaharo!
21Harvey manages to retake control over the queenside, making Rakotomaharo's advantage slip away.
25While Rakotomaharo has maintained his space advantage in the center, Harvey has managed to stabilize his queenside, restricting Rakotomaharo's pieces.
This is far from over, but the game remains balanced.
29The change in pawn structure on the queenside has not been in Harvey's favor, as he is now left with a clear weakness on that side of the board.
Rakotomaharo may still get his chances in this game!
3549Rakotomaharo manages to break through on the queenside!
He is now a pawn up and remains with more active pieces, giving him great winning chances.
This game looked completely over, but Rakotomaharo failed to see Harvey's trick! Harvey manages to create a constellation with his knight and rook to force a perpetual check, as his king is trapped and cannot avoid the knight moving back and forth to harass the white king.
Harvey's clever trick prevents Mother Continent from losing a match that would have ended in a draw! Wood Green keep their chances of advancement alive, though fate is no longer in their hands.
While Harvey and Wood Green keep winning their matches, they're still trailing one point behind Theme International Trading. The only thing they can do to change their fateto win the remaining two matches.
Let's see if they can keep their hopes alive!