Biel 03: Wins for Bu vs Polgar, Motylev vs van Wely

by ChessBase
7/26/2007 – Another day of exciting chess, with Bu Xiangzhi, the first Chinese GM to play in the Biel Chess Festival, defeating Judit Polgar in just 34 moves. Alexander Motylev, on the black side of an English Opening, demolished Loek van Wely. Top seeds Grischuk and Radjabov playing a cliff-hanger that ended after 66 moves in a draw. We bring you a report with pictures, and videos by Europe Echecs.

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Round three report

3rd round – Wednesday July 25th
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
 Teimour Radjabov
Yannick Pelletier
½-½
 Alexander Onischuk
Loek van Wely
0-1
 Alexander Motylev
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
 Boris Avrukh
Bu Xianghzi
1-0
 Judit Polgar

After three rounds eight of the ten players are close together, five separated by half a point from the leading trio, who have all won one and drawn two games. Local boy Yannick Peletier and top seed Teimour Radjabov have drawn all their games so far, while Bu Xiangzhi and Judit Polgar have won and lost one to reach their 50%. Holland's Loek van Wely has suffered two defeats and managed just one draw.

Standings after three rounds

Bu Xiangzhi, the first Chinese GM to play in the Biel Chess Festival, produced the suprise of round three, when he beat the strongest female player in the world, Judit Polgar, with apparent ease and in just 34 moves. Black's isolated queen's pawn came under steady pressure, and pawns eventually started dropping off. In the end Judit was missing three foot soldiers.


Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi vs Hungarian GM Judit Polgar in round three

Bu Xiangzhi (2685) - Polgar,Ju (2707) [D41]
GM Biel SUI (3), 25.07.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 e6 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.d4 Be7 8.0–0 0–0 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bg5 Qd7 12.Ne1 Re8 13.Nd3 Bb6 14.Bd2 Qd6 15.Nf4 Bg4 16.a4 Rad8 17.a5 Bc5 18.Re1 a6 19.Rc1 Ne5 20.h3 Bf5 21.Qb3 Nc4 22.Red1 Be6 23.Be1

23... b5 24.axb6 Nxb6 25.Qa2 Bb4 26.Bxb4 Qxb4 27.Qxa6 Nc4 28.Nxd5 Bxd5 29.Rxd5 Rxd5 30.Bxd5 Nb6 31.Ba2 h6 32.Rc7 Rd8 33.Rxf7 Kh8 34.Qa3 1–0.


A remarkable victory for Bu Xiangzhi

Player portrait: Bu Xiangzhi

China , 21 years, Elo: 2685

Date and place of birth: 10.12.1985 in Qingdao
Lives in: Beijing
National ranking: 2
World ranking: 25
Best world ranking: 25 (2685 Elo, July 2007)

There is no evidence where chess originates from, but presumably from India or China. Through the Islamic expansion, the game arrived in Europe via Spain. Strangely enough, the "Western" game of chess was less popular in China than its Chinese relative called Xiangqi, or "Chinese Chess".

Only in 1991, when Xie Jun became Women World Champion, did chess grow in popularity. Although the country has not had a top ten player yet, China is regularly well ranked in team competitions. Last year, the team won a silver medal at the Olympiads in Turin. This fantastic result would not have been possible without the impressive score of Bu Xiangzhi at the first board. Against some of world's strongest players, he achieved an outstanding performance of 8 out of 12 without any defeat. In 1999, he had already caught the world's attention when he became the youngest Grandmaster of all times, shortly before his 14th birthday.

Bu Xiangzhi became fascinated by chess after reading a translation of Bobby Fischer's famous book "My 60 Memorable Games.” Perhaps this is the reason for Bu's pragmatic style. He rarely loses a game and although he is not playing for the audience, his active positional chess is quite attractive. He is in good shape right now and at the peak of his young career, number 25 in the world ranking. This must be a good omen for his first tournament in Biel!

From the official web site players' portraits

Pelletier-Onischuk was a quiet draw, after mass simplifications produced a level opposite-coloured bishop ending.

Pelletier,Y (2591) - Onischuk,Al (2650) [E05]
GM Biel SUI (3), 25.07.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 Qc8 12.Bg5 Nbd7 13.Nbd2 Bb7 14.Nb3 a5 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nc5 Nxc5 17.Qxc5 Rd8 18.Rac1 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Bxd4 20.Qxb5 Qb8 21.Qc4 Ra7 22.b3 Qb4 23.Rfd1 Qxc4 24.bxc4 Rd6 25.Rb1 ½–½

Carlsen achieved very little from the opening, and even stood worse for the second half of the game, but Avrukh did not capitalise on his advantage.

Carlsen,M (2710) - Avrukh,B (2645) [B42]
GM Biel SUI (3), 25.07.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.c3 Ne7 7.0–0 Nbc6 8.Be3 d6 9.Nd2 0–0 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.Rad1 Bd7 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.e5 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 dxe5 15.Qxe5 Rad8 16.Nf3 f6 17.Qh5 g6 18.Qh4 Qc7 19.Rfe1 Bc8 20.Qc4 Nd5 21.Nd4 e5 22.Qxc7 Nxc7 23.Bc4+ Kg7 24.f4 Bg4 25.Nf3 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 exf4 27.Rd6 Re8 28.Nd4

28... Bc8 29.Kf2 Re5 30.a4 g5 31.b4 h5 32.Bb3 Re3 33.Rd8 Re8 34.Rd6 Re3 35.Rd8 Re8 36.Rd6 ½–½

The two top seeds in the GM tournament, Russian GM Alexander Grischuk (No. 14) and Azerbaijan's Teimour Radjabov (world number 9) played a long and fluctuating King's Indian, which eventually turned decisively in favour of the former, but somehow the win slipped through his fingers.


Alexander Grischuk vs Teimour Radjabov in round three

Grischuk,A (2726) - Radjabov,T (2746) [E73]
GM Biel SUI (3), 25.07.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Bg5 Na6 7.Qd2 e5 8.d5 Qe8 9.Bd1 Bd7 10.Nge2 Nc5 11.Bc2 a5 12.f3 h5 13.0–0 Nh7 14.Be3 Qe7 15.Nb5 Bxb5 16.cxb5 Bf6 17.Qc3 Bg5 18.Bf2 Rfc8 19.Qc4 Nf6 20.Nc3 h4 21.a3 Ncd7 22.b4 Nb6 23.Qb3 Nh5 24.Ne2 Nd7 25.Bd3 b6

26.Ra2 Ra7 27.Qc4 Nf4 28.Nxf4 exf4 29.Be2 Rca8 30.bxa5 Ne5 31.Qc1 Rxa5 32.h3 R5a7 33.Be1 Nd7 34.Bb4 Nc5 35.Bc4 Bh6 36.Re1 g5 37.e5 dxe5 38.Rae2 Bg7 39.Qc2 Re8 40.Ba2 Qd6 41.Bb1 Qh6 42.Kh2 Raa8 43.a4 g4 44.hxg4 h3 45.gxh3 Qh4 46.Rg1 e4 47.Bxc5 bxc5 48.Rxe4 Bd4 49.Rg2 Kg7 50.Rxd4 cxd4 51.g5 Re5 52.Rg4 Qh5 53.g6 Rg5 54.Qxc7 Rf8 55.Qxf4 Rxg4 56.Qxg4 Qxd5 57.gxf7+ Kxf7

58.Qf5+ Qxf5 59.Bxf5 Ke7 60.Be4 d3 61.Bxd3 Rxf3 62.Be4 Rf4 63.Bc6 Rxa4 64.b6 Rb4 65.b7 Rxb7 66.Bxb7 Kf8  ½–½

Van Wely-Motylev saw a heavyweight English Opening struggle, where White's position gradually proved the more vulnerable. Any lingering hopes of holding on went West with White's 31st move.

Van Wely,L (2680) - Motylev,A (2648) [A26]
GM Biel SUI (3), 25.07.2007
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 Be6 7.d3 Nh6 8.h4 Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Nd5 Ng4 11.Bh3 Nf6 12.Bg5 c6 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Qg4 Kd7 16.Bd2 Rg8 17.h5 g5 18.b4 Qe7 19.Ke2 Raf8 20.Rhc1 Be5 21.c5 Rg7 22.Rab1 Rgf7 23.Be1 b6 24.a4 Rf6 25.Rc2 Qf7 26.Kd1 Rh6 27.Rbc1 bxc5 28.bxc5 Rxh5 29.cxd6 Rh1 30.Qe2 Bxd6

31.Rxc6? Qxf2 32.Qxf2 Rxf2 33.R6c4 Bxg3 34.Rxd4+ Ke7 35.e5 Rxe1+ 36.Kxe1 Rf4+ 37.Ke2 Rxd4 38.Rc7+  0–1.


Winning with black: Alexander Motylev of Russia

Player portrait: Alexander Motylev

Russia , 28 years, Elo: 2648

Date and place of birth: 17.6.1979 in Yekaterinburg
Lives in: Yekaterinburg
National ranking: 18
World ranking: 68
Best world ranking: 23 (2680 Elo, April 2005)

If he came from another country, he would have become famous quite early. But as a Russian, Alexander Motylev was just one of many very talented players. He does not have to hide from anybody. Motylev became Champion of Russia in 2001 and won the Corus B Tournament in Wijk an Zee (Holland), which allowed him to participate in the A Tournament the following year. There he scored reasonably well against world-class players. Another great success of Motylev's was the first place at Aeroflot Open in Moscow 2005, one of the world's top open tournaments.

In spite of his young age, Motylev has assisted other Grandmasters several times at matches, for example his compatriot Vladimir Kramnik when he successfully defended his World Champion Title against Veselin Topalov in 2006.

Motylev, who was born in 1979, comes from a family with a passion for chess. Both his grandfather and his father were good players. In his youth, he was an ambitious soccer player as well. This game is only a hobby for him nowadays. Alexander Motylev's chess is very aggressive; he loves to attack directly the opponent's king. On a good day, he is able to put the whole board on fire – therefore his first appearance in Biel will certainly be an entertaining one.

From the official web site players' portraits

Videos from the Biel Chess Festival

Presented by Europe Echecs

Schedule and results

1st round – Monday July 23rd
Alexander Onischuk
½-½
 Teimour Radjabov
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
 Alexander Motylev
Yannick Pelletier
½-½
 Boris Avrukh
Loek van Wely
0-1
 Judit Polgar
Magnus Carlsen
1-0
 Bu Xianghzi
2nd round – Tuesday July 24th
Teimour Radjabov
½-½
 Bu Xianghzi
Judit Polgar
½-½
 Magnus Carlsen
Boris Avrukh
½-½
 Loek van Wely
Alexander Motylev
½-½
 Yannick Pelletier
Alexander Onischuk
1-0
 Alexander Grischuk
3rd round – Wednesday July 25th
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
 Teimour Radjabov
Yannick Pelletier
½-½
 Alexander Onischuk
Loek van Wely
0-1
 Alexander Motylev
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
 Boris Avrukh
Bu Xianghzi
1-0
 Judit Polgar
4th round – Friday July 27th
Teimour Radjabov
-
 Judit Polgar
Boris Avrukh
-
 Bu Xianghzi
Alexander Motylev
-
 Magnus Carlsen
Alexander Onischuk
-
 Loek van Wely
Alexander Grischuk
-
 Yannick Pelletier
Games – Report
5th round – Saturday July 28th
Yannick Pelletier
-
 Teimour Radjabov
Loek van Wely
-
 Alexander Grischuk
Magnus Carlsen
-
 Alexander Onischuk
Bu Xianghzi
-
 Alexander Motylev
Judit Polgar
-
 Boris Avrukh
Games – Report
6th round – Sunday July 29th
Teimour Radjabov
-
 Boris Avrukh
Alexander Motylev
-
 Judit Polgar
Alexander Onischuk
-
 Bu Xianghzi
Alexander Grischuk
-
 Magnus Carlsen
Yannick Pelletier
-
 Loek van Wely
Games – Report
7th round – Tuesday July 31th
Loek van Wely
-
 Teimour Radjabov
Magnus Carlsen
-
 Yannick Pelletier
Bu Xianghzi
-
 Alexander Grischuk
Judit Polgar
-
 Alexander Onischuk
Boris Avrukh
-
 Alexander Motylev
Games – Report
8th round – Wednesday August 1st
Teimour Radjabov
-
 Alexander Motylev
Alexander Onischuk
-
 Boris Avrukh
Alexander Grischuk
-
 Judit Polgar
Yannick Pelletier
-
 Bu Xianghzi
Loek van Wely
-
 Magnus Carlsen
Games – Report
9th round – Thursday August 2nd
Magnus Carlsen
-
 Teimour Radjabov
Bu Xianghzi
-
 Loek van Wely
Judit Polgar
-
 Yannick Pelletier
Boris Avrukh
-
 Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Motylev
-
 Alexander Onischuk
Games – Report
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