The final at the world championships in Kazan this year was almost hilariously one-sided (and I largely say almost because I may have had money on the loser). Gu was close to exhaustion, and Kovalev was fencing as well as I’ve ever seen him fence. He had Gu on the run from the very start, and by the halfway point, at 8/0 down, it was clear that he had him totally outclassed.

Gu got a good pep talk from his coach in the 1-minute break, and started to fight back. Then Kovalev pulled this off:

Full match is available on our YouTube channel. It’s a massacre, but Kovalev’s tactical game is worth checking out.

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