Chess bits

Xinqiao Cup 2018 Wenzhou, China August 10-15, 2018 Final Standings

Ding Liren CHN 2797 vs Veselin Topalov BUL 2747, 3.0-1.0

Nana Dzagnidze GEOI 2519 vs Tan Zhongyi CHN 2530, 3.0-1.0

China has already announced its team to the Batumi Chess Olympiad: Ding Liren (2797), Yu Yangyi (2760), Wei Yi (2735), Li Chao (2714), and Bu Xiangzhi (2712). With an average rating of 2751.5 (it is customary to only take into consideration the top four boards), they register as the third highest average rating after no. 1 USA

(2776) and no. 2 Russia (2767).

China is serious about regaining the title of Olympiad champion which they won in 2014 Tromso with a team composed of Wang Yue, Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi, Ni Hua, and Wei Yi. The solid Wang Yue and fighter Ni Hua are no longer with the team but Li Chao and Bu Xiangzhi are powerhouses in their own right.

In the past few months their federation has arranged for tune-up matches to bring them up to fighting shape. Yu Yangyi played a rapid/blitz match vs Peter Svidler in Shenzhen, Wei Yi defeated Ernesto Inarkiev in a friendly match played in Magas, the capital city of the Republic of Ingushetia, there was this 2018 Yinzhou Cup Television Rapid Chess Tournament last June held in Ningbo where four of the national team members, Yu Yangyi, Wei Yi, Li Chao and Bu Xiangzhi played six rounds of 25 minutes + 10 second rapid games.

BOBBY ANG is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the

University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently

Chief Audit Executive of the

Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

In Wenzhou, the hometown of Ding Liren, they organized the Xingqiao Cup, two one-on-one matches with Ding Liren facing the former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Tan Zhongyi, who had just lost her world title to compatriot Ju Wenjun last May, vs Georgia’s no. 1 player Nana Dzagnidze. The time control used was 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. This is the same time control as in the chess Olympiad.

By the way, some trivia, Wenzhou is a prosperous foreign treaty port situated in a mountainous region, which caused it to be isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, its local culture and language is very distinct and unique. The Chinese here in the Philippines are mostly from the province of Fujian, while the ones in Hong Kong are from Guangdong. On the other hand 90% of all Chinese residents in Italy are from Wenzhou.

But I digress. Ding Liren and Nana Dzagnidze won their matches undefeated with a 3-1 score. Ding won the 1st & 4th games while Nana won the last 2. Cash prizes were quite respectable – Ding received $20,000, Dzagnidze $12,000, Topalov $10,000, and Tan Zhongyi $6,000.

Last June, shortly after the super GM tournament in Norway started Ding broke his hip in a biking accident and had to withdraw. This injury sidelined him for more than two months and also caused him to pull out of his scheduled four-game match with the Czech no. 1 player David Navara. Now that Ding Liren has recovered it was deemed imperative to arrange for a top level match to give him high-level practice. Not only did he win vs Topalov but now his FIDE rating has been brought up to 2804, no. 4 in the world behind Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The following game is I believe the best in the match. A lot of queenside pressure then a sudden tactical strike in the kingside forces capituatlion.

Ding, Liren (2797) Topalov, Veselin (2747) [E10] 4th Xinqiao Cup 2018 Wenzhou (4), 14.08.2018 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3

Everybody seems to be playing the Catalan now.

4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.Bg5 c6 8.Bg2 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.0–0 Qd8 11.c5

Can’t White play 11.e4 ? The answer is yes, but after 11...dxc4 12.Qe2 (12.Nd2 e5 13.Nxc4 exd4 14.Qxd4 Bc7 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 White has no advantage whatever. Gledura,B (2500)-Bluebaum, M (2589) Karpacz 2015 0–1 49.) 12...b5 13.Rfd1 a6 14.h4 Nd7 15.e5 Be7 16.Nh2 Bb7 17.h5 Qc7 18.Ng4 I am not sure if White has enough compensation for the pawn. Walter,S (2406)-Bluebaum, M (2642) Germany 2016 0–1 39.

11...Bc7 12.e4 b6 13.b4 bxc5 14.bxc5 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Ba6

This bishop has no scope so Topalov transfers it to d5.

16.Re1 Bc4 17.Qa4 Bd5 18.Re3 Qc8 19.Nc3 Bd8 20.Rb1 Bf6 21.Bf1 Rd8

Threatening ...Bxf3 followed by B or Rxd4.

22.Nxd5 cxd5 23.Reb3 Re8 24.Rb7 Re7 25.Rxe7 Bxe7 26.Ne5 Bf6 27.f4

Ding is overcautious. I am sure he saw that 27.c6! Bxe5 28.dxe5 and now Black can capture the c6–pawn two ways but both lead to disaster: 28...Nxc6? 29.Rc1; 28...Qxc6 29.Rxb8+.

But what if Black does not capture the c6-pawn but instead plays 28...a5? I think Ding doesn’t realize the strength of 29.Rb6! The threat is 30.c7 and Black loses. 30...Qxc7 (30... Nd7 31.Rd6) 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Rd6 The back rank penetration is fatal, not to say anything about the threat of Bd3+.

27...g6 28.h4 h5 29.Kf2 Kg7 30.Ke3 a6 31.Rb6 Ra7 32.Bd3

Black is in a bind, but how is White supposed to break through?

32...Ra8 33.Qc2 Nd7 34.Rc6 Qe8

With the threat of ...Nxe5.

35.Rc7 Nxe5 36.fxe5 Bd8 37.Rb7 Qc6 38.Qb1 Bc7 <D>

POSITION AFTER 38...BC7 39.Bxg6! Rg8

[39...fxg6 40.Qb6] 40.Bxf7! 1–0

[40.Bxf7 Kxf7 41.Qb6]

GM DAVID PARAVYAN

Have you ever heard of this 20-year-old GM from Moscow? If you haven’t yet then it is time to put his name in the stick-it note on your computer as one of those players whose games you have to follow. He is a modern-day Mikhail Tal. I recently saw one of his beautiful productions and would like to share it with BW (BusinessWorld) readers. The game is from the Viktor Korchnoi Memorial played as part of the 2018 St. Petersburg Summer Chess Festival. This is a huge event which includes many events run in parallel: The Children’s Cup of Russia, Fischer chess, the international Blitz tournament and also the Grand Prix of Russia in Rapid Chess. So, everywhere you go you are surrounded by chess players, children, adult and seniors. What a wonderful place to be! Viktor Korchnoi Memorial St. Petersburg, Russia August 15-23, 2018 Final Top Standings 1. GM Kirill Stupak BLR 2573, 8.0/9 2-3. GM Maksim Chigaev RUS 2577, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov BLR 2585, 7.5/9

4-9. IM Zhamsaran Tsydypov RUS 2520, IM Maksim Vavulin RUS 2545, GM Pavel Ponkratov RUS 2605, GM David Paravyan RUS 2630, FM Nikita Afanasiev RUS 2473, GM Vadim Zvjaginsev RUS 2643, 7.0/9

Total Participants 150

Time Control: 90 minutes for the whole game with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1. Paravyan,David (2630) Golubov,Saveliy (2470) [C42] Korchnoi Memorial chess24.com (6.7), 20.08.2018 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 c6 9.Qb3

The text move is not so common here. The main lines are 9.Nc3, 9.Qc2, 9.cxd5 and 9.Re1.

9...dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd7 11.Re1 Ndf6 12.Nbd2 Nxd2 13.Bxd2 Qb6 14.Qd3!?

First, a small offering of a pawn on b2.

14...Qxb2 15.Rab1 Qa3 16.Qc2

Threatens 17.Re3, which forces Black to give up a piece with 17...Bxh2+ otherwise his queen is lost.

16...Nd5?

Unbelievably, White now has a winning attack. 16...b5 is safer, giving his queen an escape square on a6.

17.Rb3 Qa4 18.Bxd5 cxd5 19.Ng5 g6

[19...f5? does not work: 20.Nxh7! Kxh7 21.Rh3+ winning the black queen]

20.Nxh7!

The knight still cannot be captured because then his queen falls to a discovered attack.

20...Bf5

[20...Kxh7 21.Rh3+ then Qxa4]

21.Nf6+ Kg7 22.Bh6+! Kxf6

[22...Kxh6 23.Rh3+]

23.g4 Bf4

[23...Bxg4 24.Qd2 forces mate]

24.Qc7! Bxh6

[24...Bxc7 25.g5#]

25.Qe5+ Kg5 26.h4+ Kxh4

[26...Kxg4 27.Rg3+ Kh5 28.Qe2+ Kxh4 29.Qf3 with forced mate 29...Qd7 30.Re5 g5 31.Rxf5 Qxf5 32.Qxf5 followed by mate]

27.Rh3+ Kg5

[27...Kxh3 28.Qg3#]

28.Qe7+ 1–0

[28.Qe7+ f6 (28...Kxg4 29.Qh4#; 28... Kf4 29.Qe3+ Kxg4 30.Qg3#) 29.Qe3+ Kxg4 30.Qg3#]