It's a calculated risk. Does he do this in positions where he really NEEDS to win (for example he would otherwise be out of the running), or did he just play recklessly out of Ego? There is a difference.pichy wrote: What you have mentioned is very interesting and it happened so many times in higher level chess. When a player doesn't like to draw games sometimes they tend to make suicidal moves and it work against them. Take for instance GM Nakamura whenever the position looks drawish against an inferior or lower rated player he often makes very unusual and unsafe moves which end up biting him at the end.
I used to play tournament chess myself (at the lower levels, not the master level) and I have had very good success with calculated risks - meaning I did not lose when it mattered to me and I won some games I should not have due to playing provocatively when I could not afford to lose. I also discovered that you should not respect any player too much or else you will not play your best chess. If you play it safe against weaker players you are crippled and if you are afraid of the stronger player you will lose every time.
It may not work this way at higher levels than I played at, but if your opponent is 200+ weaker you will have multiple opportunities to beat him so there is no need to play it too safe.