The Taiyuan Scheveningen was staged from July 10th to 22nd 2006, with a prize fund of US $18,000. The tournament was a double round Scheveningen, with two teams of six players each. One team consisted of Chinese players, the other was a "Rest of the World" team, consisting of two Russians, a Georgian, an Armenian, a Hungarian and a Brazilian.
After ten of a total of 12 rounds China was leading by a score of 32.5 to 27.5 points. In round eleven the Chinese team collapsed, losing 1:5 and bringing the total score to a nail-biting 33.5-32.5. In the final round four games were drawn and each side won one game, for an overall one-point victory by China: 36.5-35.5. This remains a remarkable achievement by a very young Chinese team (average age around 21) and shows us where chess is heading in the first decade of this century.
The victorious Chinese team, with Zhang Zhong, Bu Xiangzhi, Wang Hao,
Wang Yue, Ni Hua and Zhang Pengxiang
Top scorers with their trophies and prize monies: Wang Yue, Artyom Timofeev,
Baadur Jobava, Zhang Pengxiang, Bu Xiangzhi and Ni Hua
Top players in Taiyuan were Baadur Jobava with 8.0/12 and a 2749 performance, followed by Ni Hua, Bu Xiangzhi and Zhang Pengxiang, all with 7.0/12 and 2696, and Artyom Timofeev with 6.5/12 and 2686. At the bottom end we find Giovanni Vescovi with 4.0/12 and a 2508 performance, followed by Zhang Zhong with 3.0/12 and 2448.
Zhang Pengxiang and Artyom Timofeev compare their prizes
Top scorer Baadur Jobava (Georgia)
Friends and rivals: Baadur and Bu
All pictures by courtesy of the official web site
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