What goes through your mind when you face a Grandmaster?
What goes through your mind when you face a Grandmaster? Maybe a mix of excitement and nervousness? This is a story of Vipin Zamvar, a cardiac surgeon in Scotland who makes time for chess alongside a demanding profession. He recently sat across the board from GM Nigel Short during a simultaneous exhibition at the Edinburgh Chess Club. In the piece below, he shares his thoughts from the game and reflects on the lessons he took away from a memorable game. His story will remind you that passion for the game is more important than the result! Photo: Vipin Zamvar
A journey in progress...
Last year, I published an article on Vipin Zamvar, a cardiac surgeon in Scotland. He shared how he finds similarities between chess and cardiac surgery. During our conversation, I could feel his immense love for the game. I had always assumed that doctors lead such hectic lives that serious engagement with hobbies becomes difficult. But this story challenged that notion completely! Here was a cardiac surgeon deeply committed to his profession, yet equally passionate about chess, making time to study, play, and improve. His dream is to become a titled player! I remember telling him then that I would love to interview him again the day he fulfills that dream.
Recently, he faced GM Nigel Short in a simultaneous exhibition at the Edinburgh Chess Club. In the piece below, he walks us through the game and offers some insights into his decision-making. In the end, he also shares the lessons he took away from this special encounter!
Draw against a Grandmaster!
by Vipin Zamvar
On 30 December 2025, GM Nigel Short visited the Edinburgh Chess Club, the second oldest Chess Club, and also the oldest continuously existing chess club (we are 205 years old). He played a Simul against 20 players and scored an impressive 17 wins and 3 draws.
I was on the first table (just by chance) and was keen to give it my best. Nigel announced the rules before the start. He said that we have to be ready with our moves when he arrives at our table, and we must make the move when he is standing in front of us. He did not want to allow passes, as that delays the entire exercise (and this was a fair point, as the games started at about 7:30 PM, and we did not want to be here till midnight).
So here is the analysis of my game:
Nigel played e4. I decided to respond with c6. Caro-Kann is my favourite opening. It was going to be the advanced variation. My options were Bf5, or c5. In 2022, for a few months, Petra Papp, the Hungarian WGM was my coach, and she had introduced me to the Caro-Kann. For the Advance variation, she had recommended playing c5 instead of Bf5. I have had mixed results with this, but today, I decided to play that.
Why has he played a3? I could not make sense of this move. Was it just a waiting move? Was it to prepare b4? I could not see any logic. Maybe Grandmasters play such moves just to confuse 1750 players. Anyway, what should I do? I knew that in the Caro-Kann, you have to get the light-squared Bishop out as soon as possible, before it gets locked in by e6. I did not want to play it to Bf5 just now. I was hoping he would soon play Nf3 so that I could land my Bishop straight onto g4 and then perhaps if he plays h3, exchange it for the Knight. I wanted to keep my Bishop move a surprise. What else could I play? e6 was not an option. So I decided to just take on d4. I decided that I will follow it up with Qb6, and then he will be forced to move his Knight to f3, and then I will get my Bishop out. So I decided to take on d4.
Oh, so he has played Ne2 and not Nf3. I wonder why he did that? What would be the logic of Ne2? Anyways, not for me to waste too much time thinking about this at this stage. I will just get my Bishop out. Yes, he can respond with f3, but I see no danger; I can just retreat to h5 or f5. So I will go for Bg4.
I know that f3 is not a good move. It weakens his kingside. But then he is a Grandmaster. He will surely know how to deal with minor weaknesses. I have two options to retreat my Bishop to, Bf5 and Bh5. Which one should I choose? I found no special benefit in playing Bh5. He could still play g4 and push me back to Bg3. He can do this if I play Bf5 as well, but at least with Bf5, I have more activity for my Bishop. So I decided to play Bf5. 9. Bnc3 is a normal developmental move by White. But I can now expect him to harass my Queen with Na4. But nothing much to worry about. My Queen can always come back to d8 or c7. I will just continue with normal development too. I will play e6 followed by Be7.
I was kind of expecting Na4. But why has he gone b4? Maybe he wants to fianchetto on the queenside. Does that cause me problems? He has two pawns on the dark squares d4 and e5, surely, his Bishop will be very frustrated on b2. But then, there might be more to this move than the desire to fianchetto. Anyways, I cannot fathom it. I will continue with my plans to develop on the kingside and eventually castle. I cannot play Ne7 because it has nowhere to go afterwards. Ng6 will be met by g4, trapping my Bishop on f5. So I will just play Be7, and will follow it up with Nh6 and O-O. Later, when I was looking at the game with the engine, it suggested f6 as the first option. Makes sense. After f6, if he takes on f6 with exf6, Nxf6 will allow my Knight to get developed for free. So he will not take on f6. He will play something else, and whatever he plays, I will just play fxe5; and I think I have a better position. (Now, how do I think of such moves during a game? Perhaps I just have to go through all possible viable options.)
Why has he played Bb2? It does not make sense. The long diagonal is blocked by his own pawns. I will do my best not to open up that diagonal. What are my options? How do I evaluate this position? I think White has made a lot of pawn moves; they appear very erratic to me. His King is still in the centre. My position looks very solid. My pawn structure is solid, and I do not see any weaknesses in the Black camp. I have two central light-squared pawns, and I would like to exchange my light-squared Bishop, but I don’t see any target willing to be exchanged. I need to castle to get my King to safety. The best way to do that would be to play Nh6 and then O-O.
He played 12. Na4 which was expected. I have to move my Queen back. I don’t think c7 is a good square, because it will fall foul of Rc1. So I will opt for Qd8. During the analysis later with the engine, I found that the engine actually finds Qc7 to be the better option. It is not worried about Rc1, because it can play a6. But during the game, intuitively, it did not feel safe for me to play Qc7. So I opted for Qd8.
This knight can become a nuisance later on. It has a nice outpost on c5. I think I will just exchange it with my Bishop. My dark-squared Bishop is the better of the two Bishops, but I think that Knight may prove to be dangerous later on. I will just exchange. What should I play later? Intuitively, it just looks natural that I should play Rc8 and also claim part ownership of the c-file. Other options include Qh4+ and f6. Qh4 will be met by g3, and I will have to come back to e7 or d8. I would just have given a free move to White. f6 might help him open up the long diagonal. So better just to play Rc8.
I do not understand this move. Why has he played Qd2? What is he hoping to achieve? I did not have much time to think about my possible options. One of the rules of the Simul was that I had to make my move when Nigel arrived. I would have liked some more time. Anyway, I decided it would be best to exchange Rooks, so I played Ne7. This was a move made without proper analysis. (This is often what happens to me in OTB games. I look at Option 1, then Option 2, then Option 3, and then look at the time ticking away, and then for unknown reasons, play Option 4. A habit that I have to get rid of.)
Oh No!. Am I going to lose a piece? Such a stupid thing on my part to have played Ne7. Anyway, I have to deal with the consequences now and make the best of what I have. I can retreat to Bg6, but then he will play h4 and for the time being, I have an escape square on b1. But that will not last long. I am sure somehow my Bishop will get trapped there. I will just go Bg6 for now and wait for the h4 guillotine.
What the hell! Did Nigel find something better than h4. I was mentally prepared to lose a piece, but now maybe I have a way out. I can play Qa4 and then get the Bishop to c2. That way I can save my Bishop. The Knight looks miserable on h6 and soon will be threatened by g5. But that is a worry for another time. I can see another way out by playing f6 or f5. But that hangs my e6 pawn, Qd7 will help protect the e6 pawn, allow me to play f6 or f5, and also allow my Queen to travel to a4 providing a safe haven for my Bishop on c2. I think I can thank my stars that h4 did not happen. But hang on. Nigel is a Grandmaster! Surely there must be something up his sleeve. But I cannot see what. I will worry about that when that happens. For now, I will play Qd7.
As expected, he played h4. I am thinking of follow-ups with h5 and g5 now. g5 is not a worry, because I can play Nf5 (with threats of Ng3, which will give me time to move my Bishop before he gets to play h5). Anyway, now is the time to play Qa4! But before that, should I exchange Rooks on c5? That way, my Rook on f8 does not have to shoulder the responsibility of staying on f8 to protect the c8 Rook. It might be that I might need the Rook on f8 for some defensive role on the f-file. So I will exchange Rooks on c5 first, before playing Qa4.
I had not considered this response from White. (Again, this is a reflection of my poor calculating skills. I have to work on them more.) But not to worry, I still have the b1 square for the Bishop. In the meantime, I can look at my very cramped kingside, and see if I can wiggle out somehow. One option would be to play Ng8. For that, I would have to play Kh8 first. In the absence of any other viable option, I will just go for Kh8.
WOW!! I cannot believe my luck. I think I am definitely out of the woods now. My Bishop can run away to c2, and then to b3 and then to freedom. But let me check out, why has Nigel played Be2? I cannot fathom the reason, and I am not going to spend too much time on that. For now, it is time to run.
What are my options now? Maybe I should stick to my plan and play Ng8. But before that, let me look at other moves. Hang on, Qb3 allows me to threaten the Bishop on b2. That would be a move with tempo. I will just go for that first, before I play Ng8.
OK! So now Nigel is offering a Queen swap. In a way that is a relief. He will not have a mating attack. There are more chances of a draw with the Queens off the board. I think I will just take it. But before that, can I look at alternate moves? Can I turn the tables, now that my pieces have found some freedom, and there are no immediate threats? I could play Qb1; that pins his Bishop and also keeps my Queen and Bishop safe. And who knows, I could somehow manage to bring one more piece into the battlefield, and I could have some chances. How do I get my other pieces into the action? The Knight on e7 can travel to c6, but then gets stuck. Nc6, of course, will allow me to play d4, and that will give me some activity. d3 can follow as well. So that is something worth considering.
The Rook on f8 can enter the game via the c-file if I can manage to open up the c-file somehow. I can offer a pawn by playing b6, but that can be dangerous as well. b6, cxb6, axb6, Qxb6 and I lose a pawn, even though I get an open c file. Another option is to give up two pawns: b6, cxb6, Rc8, bxa7. That can be very dangerous for me if I do not get a mating attack. Well, I need some more time to think of all these variations, but Nigel is here now. One of the rules of the game is that I make my move when Nigel arrives. He is here. He is a Grandmaster. Even a draw will be like a win. I will take the offer of a Queen trade. (Against a weaker player, perhaps I would have carried on, I would have played Qb1).
I am looking at my options now. d4 is a possibility, but that is just like showing off. His Bishop will retreat, and then there is no follow-on. My Knight is stuck on c6 protecting the d4 pawn. Bb5 will threaten my knight, and then d4 will fall. d3 is an option after d4, but that can be met by the King moving forward to d2 and then gobbling up the pawn (with exchange of Bishops as well). So I will choose the safe option and go for some exchanges on f6.
Great! That gives me the f5 square for my Knight. It is a no-brainer. Besides there are not many attractive options elsewhere.
No better move than Re4. Nice outpost for the Rook, it is safe on a white square, and is definitely more active here than on the 8th rank. After 38. Rd2, I started considering my options. If I allow him to take on d5, then f5 will also soon fall. I cannot let that happen. But I can lay a small trap for Nigel. I could play d4 and if he takes with the Bishop, I can actually win a pawn. Bxd4, Rxf4+, Ke3, Re4+ and then next move I can take the b5 pawn. Then I will be a pawn up.
At this point, Nigel offered me a draw. I immediately accepted it. To draw with GM Short is also a nice achievement!
What I have learned from this game
Even strong players can make weak moves, so it is best to play against the position on the board and not against the player. Against a weaker player, I would not have accepted the Queen trade on move 25. I would have played Qb1 and continued the imbalance, hoping to win the game. Maybe I should have done that against Nigel as well (but then what a shame it would have been if I had rejected the draw offer and gone on to lose the game).
You must keep enough time for the later stages of the middle game and the endgame to think through all the myriad possibilities.
If your Bishop is outside the pawn chain (like my light-squared Bishop was), it can become vulnerable to pawn pushes on the Kingside.
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