China breaks India twice

India and China will face off in a Scheveningen Match on four boards at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad from March 1-10.

Round Five

Video from Vijay Kumar

by Arvin Aaron

The second phase of The India-China Chess Summit for the Komatireddy Prateek Reddy Trophy, organized by Telangana State Chess Association on behalf of the All India Chess Federation, started today after a free day. It was the resurgent Chinese who delivered and won the 5th round with the minimal margin of 2.5 – 1.5 points. China leads the match with 10.5 – 9.5.

Round five under way

The first game to finish  was the one between Lalith Babu and Wei Yi. Unwilling to take risks both played out a quick draw in 30 moves from a Queen pawn fianchetto. A flurry of exchanges from the 9th to the 19th move left each with a rook and three pawns and nothing to play for.

China took the lead when Ding Liren beat Sasikiran of India. The popular Berlin defense of the Ruy Lopez was the topic of their game. Ding chose to move his to Bishop to the g5 square instead of the routine Nbd2. A good control over the e file gave Ding enough to penetrate with a rook on the 7th rank. Sasi used his queen to counter attack and was busy picking up a few of white's pawns. When the clock was ticking around one minute, Sasi faltered by moving his bishop and allowed a strong attack by the Chinese player. Ding Liren, the youngest ever to win the Chinese Championship, went on to hunt the black king successfully and wrap up the game in 46 moves. Sasikiran is not in good shape, as he has lost a hat trick of games so far.

India's Sasikirian could not hold back Ding Liren's attack

Zhou Jiancho extended the lead for China when he beat Adhiban in 65 moves from a game arising out of semi-Tarrasch defense. Adhiban chose to sacrifice a pawn on the 24th move to gain some access on White’s King which backfired. Zhou digested the pawn successfully by exchanging major pieces and entered a pawn up rook endgame. Zhou notched his first win of the tournament in 65 moves.

Zhou Jianchao has had a great performance for China

Sethuraman turned out to be the savior once again, at least to reduce the deficit in game points. Sethu gained more space out of the Alekhine defense chosen by Wang Chen. An earlier queen exchange offered by the Chinese must have been a part of a strategy to play the game safe. Sethu expanded on the queen side and was able to win a rook for his knight and a pawn on the 36th move. With the Chinese IM putting a good resistance, the win was far from easy. Chen faltered with couple of moves in the time pressure of the second time control and Sethu won the game in 68 moves.

Sethuraman has been India's top scorer

Round Six

Video from Vijay Kumar

by Arvin Aaron

China extended their lead to 2 match victories by scoring an emphatic 3-1 win over India at the end of the 6th round of the India – China Summit for the Komatireddy Prateek Reddy Trophy, organized by Telangana Chess Association, on behalf of All India Chess Federation at the Marriott Hotel, Hyderabad. With two rounds still to go, the home team has the difficult task of winning the remaining matches to be on par with China. They also need to win one match with a margin of at least 3–1.

Ding Liren-Sasikirian mini-match favored the Chinese 2.5-1.5

Zhou Jianchao defeated Adhiban for the second consecutive time – in the fifth and sixth rounds. He used his dark colored pieces well to beat Adhiban quickly to put the Chinese team in a commanding position. In the Sicilian game, white's bishop got struck on black's queen side and the plan to retrieve it cost him dearly.

Sethuraman was unable to do the same magic like yesterday against IM Wang Chen who was determined to hold this game. The positional moves in the Closed Sicilian game chosen by Chen allowed less freedom to Sethu's minor pieces. A lifeless endgame appeared in the bishop's of opposite colors and they mutually agreed for a draw in 50 moves.

The third game to finish was between GMs Wei Yi and Lalith Babu. Wei replied with the advance variation against the Caro Kan defense of Lalith. Wei infiltrated with his Queen and Rook, thereby creating pressure on the e6 square. Lalith’s time pressure forced him to seek lesser alternative, which in turn handed the advantage to white. The ensuing tactics resulted in a two pawns deficit for Lalith, who resigned on move 55.

Wang Chen's 50% score after six rounds is well above his rating expectation

With two losses in three games and already the match point in the China's court, all the eyes were set on Sasikiran vs Ding Liren game. Ding sprang an early surprise by opting for the Benko gambit against the white pieces of Sasi. White’s strategy of invasion through the King file as well as holding of the Black’s Queen side counterplay did happen, much to the relief of the spectators. In a complex middle game Sasikiran probably missed a knight pseudo sacrifice on the 48th move to get closer to win. Ding seized the opportunity to get his defenses right and drew the game in 58 moves. It was unlucky for Sasi who came back well after three consecutive losses, only to let Ding off the hook.

Photos and info from the official website

Replay Round five and six

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Links Official tournament site The games will be 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.