The format of the tournament
There are four teams, each consisting of a male and a female player, with the
partners chosen at random. Here are the list of the "couples":
- Team 1: Zhao Xue/Nigel Short
- Team 2: Xu Yuhua/Ye Jiangchuan
- Team 3: Xie Jun/Evgeny Bareev
- Team 4: Zhu Chen/Yasser Seirawan
The games are played in tandem. Here is an example of the move order in a game:
Team 1, consisting of players A and B, is playing against Team 2, consisting
of players C and D.
To start the game, A plays the first move, then C plays, then B, then C, then
B, then D, then A, then D, then A and another round of such turn begins. Or
to put names to the moves:
1. Zhao Xue, Xu Yuhua
2. Nigel Short, Xu Yuhua
3. Nigel Short, Ye Jiangchuan
4. Zhao Xue, Ye Jiangchuan
In summary, after the first move each player makes two consecutive moves for
his/her side, then the other player makes two consecutive moves.
If one player makes a move when it is not his/her turn, his/her team receives
a warning. If a second mistake is made the team is punished with a loss of two
minutes, or half the time left on the clock in case this is less than four minutes.
The third wrong move order costs the team the game.
Players are not allowed to talk to their teammates during the game. They are
only allowed to remind the teammate whose turn it is.
Here are the results of day one.
Picture gallery
Before the start of the tournament the players visited the Yong Chuan Xuan
Hua Middle School. There they met the students – all 4000 of them, gathered
together with their teachers on the playground to welcome the players.
When did we last see 4000 students gathered together to welcome chess players?
Evgeny Bareev and Nigel Short speak to the students
Here a schoolgirl shyly approaches to ask Nigel Short a question
Feeling good in China: English GM Nigel Short
Students waiting to get autographs from the great players
The lotus garden, where the players were taken for lunch
Chinese beauty Zhu Chen, posing by the lotus pond
American beauty Yasser Seirawan posing in front of the Great People's Hall of
Chongqing
Yin Hao, Chinese Chess Association
