Asian Continental starts with dreams and hopes

By Albert Silver and Priyadarshan Banjan

Photos by Evgeny Smolnikov

Most of the great cities of the world are characterised by the inherent social and demographic conflicts that are ingrained in them. It is often starkly visible in the form of the old relics and customs and the modern ways that succeeded them, without really killing their predecessors. Tashkent qualifies — a part of it is a new-age metropolis, the most happening place in Uzbekistan, a part of it a leafy Soviet-era city, and also, a part of it is a home away from home represented by sprawling greenery. 

The Uzbekistan Chess Federation on behalf of Asian Chess Federation and FIDE is hosting the Asian Continental Chess Championships (Open and Women’s) from 25 May — 5 June 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The tournament is a nine-round-swiss with the time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

The tournament is being hosted at the four-star Uzbekistan Hotel...

...and began with much fanfare.

The costumery was breathtaking

The stakes are multi-tiered and while some are no doubt dreaming of not only one of the top cash prizes such as the US$11,000 for first place and US$9,000 for second, but also the five coveted places in the next World Cup, but also the rich title norm opportunities. In a sense the five top places are far richer than the prize list would suggest, since a place in the World Cup, even if it should mean a first-round exit, still entails a nice bonus in the end. Never think the chances (or lack of) are clear even if you aren't a top seed here such as Le Quang Liem or Rustam Kasimdzhanov, comfortably placed in the 2700 club. Ask Canadian Anton Kovalyov, who could not believe his lucky stars as he made it to the third round in the Baku WOrld Cup last year, falling to Fabiano Caruana, and leaving with a far larger paycheck than he had ever expected.

Le Quang Liem is the top seed with 2718, and though he was held to a draw by Chinese
player GM Wen Yang, he is in no.1 on tiebreak over five others.

Le Quang Liem - Murtas Kazhgaleyev

The Vietnamese player found a neat tactic that yielded him a decisive
advantage. Can you find it? White to play and win.

In second place is third-seed GM Wei Yi, the great Chinese prodigy who finally seems to be
shrugging off a short phase of indifferent form and is also at 3.5/4.

The second seed is local hero Rustam Kasimdzhanov who also shares 3.5/4

Still, it is not all about top places and World Cup spots. Many players know that short of a large chunk of the field breaking their legs en masse, they are there for the glory, the competition and a norm if that is missing from their CV. In fact, the Asian Continental is an extremely fertile field for norms as these events enjoy a two-for-one offer on norms. In other words, any norm scored is worth two towards a title. As a result many come seeking their fates here, including a swath of slavering juniors ready to claim the scalp of any player not able to fend them off.

Among the young guns is 12-year-old Alireza Firouzja, who made waves when he stomped the
Iranian Championship. The young player, rated 2485, drew Ni Hua (2682) in round two, but was
finally made to respect his elders when he lost to Kasimdzhanov (above) in round three. He won
his round four game againsta fellow prodigy and is on the hunt for that double norm.

11-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattarov is one of the local prodigies seeking a norm and experience

Iranian GM Ehsan Maghami also had a strong start and is in the pack with 3.5/4. In round
three he defeated...

... GM Vidit Gujrathi.

India is certainly well represented, such as GM S.P. Sethuruman ...

... 16-year-old GM Chithambaram, and...

...17-year-old GM Karthikeyan, Indian champion, who had a tough start with two losses in
rounds two and three, before rebounding with a win in round four.

Standings after four rounds

Click for complete standings

WGM Bhakti Kulkarni (2296) has faced two compatriots in three rounds already. She held IM Padmini Rout
to a draw, while she beat WGM Soumya Swaminathan — full credits for duking it out. She is now in first place
after defeating top-seed IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2459) in round four. [Photo: Priyadarshan Banjan]

WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan is currently in third with 3.0/4

Standings after four rounds

Click for complete standings

Links Official tournament site All Open games in PGN All Women's games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.