19th Bangkok Chess Club Open begins with upsets

Press release by GM Ian Rogers

Local Hero Stops Top Seed  at Bangkok Open

In 2016 Poompong Wiwatanadate was working as an arbiter at the Bangkok Chess Club Open, collecting results and ruling on disputes. Three years later the 29-year-old has become the toast of Bangkok by holding a draw against — and almost beating — top seed and former world title challenger Nigel Short.

Wiwatanadate had twice lost to Short in earlier BBC Opens, an event Short has won thrice, but said before today’s game that he would not be scared. At various points during the game Short seemed to be gaining the upper hand but Wiwatanadate fought hard and eventually the veteran Englishman started to go wrong.

However just when Wiwatanadate had the game at his mercy he missed a winning breakthrough and Short managed to hang on and force a repetition of position. The draw was a career-best result for Wiwatanadate and forced Short down outside the top 30 in the 201 player field.

Greatest Hits Vol. 1

Nigel Short takes us on an electrifying journey through a very rich chess career, which saw him beat no less than twelve world champions. His experience in tournaments and matches all over the world – Short has visited a total of 89 countries – can be seen in the narratives that precede the games which he annotates with humour and instructive insights.

Short was not the only high profile casualty in the second round of the BCC Open, being held at the Centara Grand Hotel in Ladprao. Third seed Babu Lalith drew with 13-year-old Filipino rising star Alekhine Nouri.

Alekhine Nouri vs Babu Lalith | Photo: BangkokChess.com

The upsets leave German Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson in the box seat to win his second BCC Open, although with seven rounds remaining and more than 30 players on a perfect score, plenty of players still have hopes to secure the 100,000 Baht first prize.

One Grandmaster was defeated in the second round — India’s Dopade Swapnil beaten by Australian journeyman Colin Savige. Swapnil lost on time on move 61 in a difficult position but one which he would nonetheless have expected to draw. The top Chinese player in the BCC Open, International Master Lou Yiping suffered the biggest upset of the round, losing to German veteran Mick Tobor, with the 68-year-old launching a decisive attack to beat the 12th seed.

The Bangkok Chess Club Open, often known as the Thai Open, is Thailand’s most popular open tournament and alternates between Bangkok and other major Thai cities. It is held through the period of Songkran, formerly Thai New Year and now a traditional water festival washing away bad moves and bad luck.

The BCC Open will be held daily until April 14th at the Centara Grand Hotel in Central Plaza, Ladprao, Bangkok. The third round of the Open division and the first round of the Challengers section begin on Monday April 8th at 15.00. Spectator entry is free.

The field of 201 from 34 countries in the Open division includes three previous BCC Open titleholders: Nigel Short (England, winner in 2012, 2015 and 2017), Jan Gustafsson (Germany, 2011) and Zhao Zong Yuan (Australia, 2013).

All three won their first round comfortably against lower rated opposition, with Short launching a spectacular checkmating attack involving the sacrifice of a rook and then a queen, with his opponent resigning four moves later.

However, the top seeds did not have matters all their own way, with Chilean Grandmaster Rodrigo Vasquez drawing with 13-year-old Singaporean talent Hariharan Ashwin. India has the biggest foreign delegation in Bangkok, with 44 representatives in the Open division alone.

The local fans also had something to cheer about with Chiang Mai junior Kavin Nattavutthisit holding Singaporean veteran Grandmaster Bong Villamayor to a draw despite a 600 point rating differential. Another Thai, Thoetsak Wongsawan, almost pulled off an even greater upset before spoiling a defensible endgame and losing to the sixth seed, 25 year old Italian Grandmaster Andrea Stella.

Tactic Toolbox Grünfeld

The most effective, timeproven way to develop tactical abilities, imagination, and the ability to calculate variations, is practice. The 69 exercises on this DVD are taken from grandmaster games and show tactical ideas that are typical for the Grünfeld.

Wongsawan vs Stella | Photo: BangkokChess.com

Standings after Round 2 (top 20)

Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Alekhine

On this DVD GMs Rogozenco, Marin, Müller, and IM Reeh present outstanding games, stunning combinations and exemplary endgames by Alekhine. And they invite you to improve your knowledge with the help of video lectures, annotated games and interactive tests

Watch Round 3 Live

All available games

Links

• Official site
• Full results (Chess-Results)