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The festivities in Hawaii continued with very packed schedules. The early morning activity was whale watching! Even though this meant waking up at about 7 a.m., I was still ok with it considering it was about 10 a.m. Dallas time.
Players of all levels signed up for the tour
Hawaii is unique in that its water is very clear, and you can go up to any random shoreline,
ook down and see fish. This was taken just on the docks.
Hou Yifan posing for her favorite photographer, Wang Qian, also her mother...
...while hiding from the paparazzi...
Samy Shoker and Niclas Huschenbeth enjoying on-board breakfast
The bus took us directly to the docks were we boarded our ship. Things were a little slow as we didn't move for a while, but it was compensated by a hearty breakfast to kick off the day. After we were well on our way the only logical course of action was to enjoy the scenery from the top deck.
Born to be at sea: Sam Shankland
More than a few parasailers could be spotted
Honolulu at the distance
The World Champion seemed quite pleased with the photo opportunities
Sabrina Chevannes also had fun, though her hair didn't agree with the wind.
Here she is next to FM Josip Arik, director of the Chess Informants.
Not a whale, but we did spot a couple of submarines. Waikiki Beach, where the tournament was held, is only a 10-15 minute drive to Pearl Harbor, a catalyst of the US involvement in World War II and still a strategically important military base today.
We went out pretty far into the ocean to try to find the whales...
Organizer Beau Mueller and his family
After a couple of hours without sightings, Sabrina Chevannes and I decided to sit down on a couple of chairs in a lower deck, simply enjoying the sea breeze and catching up on life. Out of nowhere, a whale jumped out of the water in front of us! I frantically tried to take a picture but was too late.
Somewhere in this sea of blue you can see the tail of a Humpback whale.
It isn't a National Geographic photo, but it is prove that I saw one!
People rushed to our side of the ship, where we were comfortably sitting, but it was too late. The whale did not resurface. Since most people were unable to see anything and the tour had a "whale guarantee" the passengers received free tickets for a whale watch tour in a future date, but our schedule seems too packed to be able to take advantage of this.
Finally it was time for the main event. The GM Challenge was a quadruple round robin event, with half of the games being played in rapid format and the other half in blitz. The rounds were split into two days, the first on Thursday after the whale watching and the second on Sunday evening, to wrap up the event.
Players drawing their pairing numbers
The participants were grandmasters Samuel Shankland, Timur Gareev and Hou Yifan. They were joined by the winner of the fundraising contest for the Hawaii Chess Festival. However, the first winner was not a chess player! He declined his invitation and another winner had to be elected... who also declined his invitation! Despite being a chess player he did not feel ready for the strength of the event (despite the fact that the grandmasters would have played with a strong time handicap against him). Instead the winner suggested a suitable replacement: IM Shinya Kojima, from Japan! At a strong 2403 Kojima is no pushover, and is Japan's strongest player.
Round One
Round one-three were played in rapid format (25+5'), while four-six were blitz (5+2'). The first indication that this would be a close event game in the very first round:
This was far from a clean game
Sam Shankland meanwhile completely swept Timur Gareev off the board, despite missing the next pretty tactic:
Shankland was always in control against Gareev
Round Two
Kojima was visibly upset with his result, not only letting Hou Yifan go but also losing the game. This might have affected his concentration, and when you play against Gareev there is no room for error:
A demolition
In the other game Sam Shankland surprised Hou Yifan in the opening, obtained a slight advantage and converted in grandmaster fashion. A very nice game from the American who moved to 2-0.
Round Three
In the third round, and the last rapid of the day, Kojima chose a very solid approach against Shankland. Neither side gained anything and a draw was eventually reached.
In the Hou Yifan-Gareev game the World Champion was again outplayed. In mutual time pressure there were several inaccuracies, though no major mistakes, and the American grandmaster was able to take the game down with his passed a-pawn.
Hou Yifan started with a grim 1.0/3 after losing to Gareev
Round Four
Kojima again found himself in a better position against Hou Yifan, but this time the World Champion came up with a clever resource:
Grandmasters are tricky, World Champions are resourceful
Kojima is still not sure what hit him
Meanwhile the Gareev-Shankland game was not an affair for the faint of heart. You can find the game further below, but be warned:
Yes, that is 1.d4 Nf6 2.g4....
Round Five
Kojima gave too much respect to his opponent, Gareev, and instead of punishing Black's wild play he fell into a passive position. With the initiative Gareev created good opportunities for himself and finished things off with a simple, but nice, combination:
Meanwhile the Hou Yifan-Shankland game was unclear. The American had a better position at a certain point, but played the endgame badly. White obtained a winning position but kept missing her chances, until Shankland obtained a draw.
Round Six
Gareev sacrificed all his pieces on the kingside against Hou Yifan, but he was unable to break through. The Chinese player consolidated her extra material and won without problems. Meanwhile Sam Shankland continued with his good results and outplayed Kojima convincingly.
These are the standings so far in the GM Challenge:
There are six more games, so basically anything can happen, but Shankland does goes into day two with a solid one point lead over Hou Yifan and Gareev.
Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games
We will bring you the report of the final day of the GM Challenge, as well as a brief overview of the International Open in our next report.
