China beats India in dual meet
The celebrated China-India inter-country match took place on March 5- 8 in Liaocheng, China.
China defeated India, 10:6, in a fourboard match, played under the Scheveningen format, i.e.,a player from one team plays against all players from the other team.
Seventeen yearprodigy WeiYi,l ed his team, composed of reliBu Xiangzhi, Lu Shanglei and Zhao Jianchao to victory. The Indian contingent was spearheaded by its current champion S. P. Sethuraman, and veterans S.S. Ganguly and Abhijeet Gupta, and youngster Karthikeyan Murali.
The first such team match was held in 2015 in Hyderabad, India.
The Chinese team also won that one, 18:14. ***
In Russia, hometown GM Vladimir Fedoseev defended Russian colors by topping the 15th Aeroflot International Open held last week in Moscow.
Fedoseev, 21, had 7.0 out of a possible 9.0, half a point clear of compatriots Niables kita Vitiugov and Evgeny Najer, who were tied for second and third, respectively.
It was Fedoseev’s first major plum, and the victory earned him a spot in the Dortmund Chess Meeting, a super GM invitational slated this summer in Dortmund, Germany.
The young Russian distinguished himself by essaying unorthodox opening lines and squeezing out wins from a microscopic endgame advantage.
It seems Fedoseev, at such a tender age, has graduated from the stage of combinative tendencies to the stage of positional maturity. Watch the following game where he excels in minorpiece play. 2017 Aeroflot Open W) V. Fedoseev g (RUS) B) M. Matiakov g (RUS) Queens’s Gambit Declined 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4
The Ragozin Variation, named after Russian grandmaster and world correspondence champion, Viacheslav Ragozin (1908-1962). 5. Qb3 ...
After 5. Bg5 h6 (5...dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. a4 c6 8. e5 h6 9. exf6 hxg5 10. fxg7 Rg8 11. h4!? favors White) 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 0-0 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nd7 11. Qb3, White keeps a slight advantage. 5... c5 6. dxc5 Na6
6...Nc6 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Qa5 9. Rc1 Qxc5 10. Qxc5 Bxc5 leads to an even game. Nakamura- Aronian, London Chess Classic 2016. 7. a3 Bxc3ch 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 Nc5
Bu Xiangzgi-Yu Yangi, China 2016, went 13...Bd7 14. f3 Nc5 15. e4 Nb3, and Black has achieved equality. 14. Rb1 f6 15. Nc4 e5
According to the engine, 15... Bd7 16. f3 b5 17. Na5 f5 18. Bd2 Rc8 leads to a balance game. 16. f3 Ke7 17. e4 Nf4 18. Be3 Ncd3ch
18... b6 19. Rd1 Be6 20. Bxc5ch bxc5 21. Na5 Bd7 22. Kf2 Rab8 23. b3 Ne6 is probably even=Computer. 19. Bxd3 Nxd3ch 20. Ke2 Nf4ch 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Na5! b6?!
After 22...Rd8 23. Rbc1 Ke6 24. Rhd1 Rxd1 25. Kxd1 b6 one could fairly assess the position as equal. 23. Nc6ch Kd6?!
The decisive mistake that allowed White to build up strong pressure along the open d file. 23...Ke6 seems necessary to hold for the time being. 24. Rbc1 Ba6ch 25. Kf2 Rhc8 26. Rhd1ch Ke6 27. g3 fxg3ch
Also inferior is 27...g5 28. gxf4 gxf4 29. Rd5 Bb7 30. Nd4ch Ke7 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rh5 Rh8 33. Ne2. and White wins material. 28. hxg3 g6 29. f4! Bb7?
This loses outright, but Black has no adequate continuation. After 31...Re8, 32. g4 followed by 33. f5ch is equally hopeless. 30. f5ch! 1:0
Black loses material after 30... gxf5 31. exf5ch Kxf5 (or 31...Kf7 Rd7ch) 32. Ne7ch. Solution to last week’s puzzle: White to play and win. W=Kg1, Qe5, Rd1, Bb3, Nd4, Pa2, Pb2, Pc2, Pg2, Ph2
B=Kg8, Qd7, Re8, Bb7, Nd5, Pa6, Pb5, Pe6, Pg7. Ph7 1. Nxe6! Qxe6
Or 1...Rxe6 2. Rxd5 Bxd5 3. Qxd5 Qxd5 4. Bxd5 Kf7 5. Kf2, Ke7 6. Bxe6 Kxe6 7. Ke3 and White wins easily. 2. Rxd5! 1:0 If 2...Qxe5 3. Rxe5ch Kf8 4. Rf5ch Ke7 5. Rf7ch and wins, or 2...Kf8 3. Qf4ch Kg8/ Ke7/Qf6 4. Re5/Rf5 and wins.