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The 20th Maccabiah was officially opened in the Israeli capital of Jerusalem and it is the greatest Maccabiah since the first edition held in 1932. Some ten thousand sportsmen from 80 countries are taking part in about 3000 competitions in 46 different sports all over the country, through July 18th. These figures make the Maccabiah the third biggest sportive event behind the Olympic Games and the world football cup. Chess games have been part of the Maccabiah games since 1935.
In the current edition of the Maccabiah games six different tournaments are being held with players from 16 different countries: Two GM groups, two IM groups (invitational tournaments with ten players each) and an open tournament with 100 players. These are being held in Dan hotel Jerusalem while a youth tournament is held in the town of Nesher nearby Haifa.
After three rounds, German GM Georg Meier is in the sole lead with 2½ points.
Georg Meier in Jerusalem | Photo: Ritvo Photography
Draw offers are forbidden before move 30. Here are 2 exciting moments from the first round:
The famous pattern of the Greek gift combination was already seen as early as in round one and in no other than in grandmaster group A:
Two minor pieces and a rook are sacrificed in just 15 moves!
The following position was reached in GM group B. Each side missed one brilliant opportunity:
Bellaiche,Anthony (2463) – Zilberman,Yaacov (2388) [D35]
30.g4!? Qf6? [ 30…Rxe5! 31.Rc8+ Kh7 32.Qxe5 Qxg4+ 33.Kf2 Qh4+] 31.Rc8+ Rd8 32.g5 hxg5 33.fxg5 Qf8
34.Nd7?
[ 34.Qh3!! Rxc8 35.Qxe6+ Kh7 36.g6+ Kh6 (36…Kh8 37.Qh3+ Kg8 38.Qh7#) 37.Nf7+ Kh5 38.Qf5++-]
34…Qe7 35.Rxd8+ Qxd8 36.Qxe6+ Kh8 37.Qh3+ Kg8 38.Qe6+ Kh8 39.Qh3+ Kg8 40.Qb3+ Kh8 41.Qh3+ ½–½
IM Gabriel Flom upset tournament favourite GM Ilia Smirin | Photo: Ritvo Photography
Anna Ushenina is the only woman competing in the GM groups | Photo: Ritvo Photography
