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In terms of results, the second round of the 9th Hainan Danzhou Super Grandmaster Tournament was no different to the first. Three games were drawn and one finished decisively. But this time around, the games weren’t as dramatic. Early exchanges led to equal endgames in almost all of the match-ups and three games petered out in draws one after another. The only remaining game of the round between Yu Yangyi and his compatriot Bu Xiangzhi also didn’t provide much hope for a decisive result. But Bu, with great determination and a bit of luck, managed to scrape out a win after more than five hours of play.
Yu Yangyi had the white pieces and opened the game with the Bishop’s Opening, perhaps trying to sidestep a Petroff which has been a favourite of the Chinese contingent. Unimpressed, Bu managed to equalize easily. Several exchanges followed soon and the game seemed to be drifting towards an inevitable draw.
The Bishop's Opening and The Italian Game
Studying the content of this DVD and adding these openings to your repertoire will provide players with a very strong tool to fight 1...e5 - as the practice of the author clearly demonstrates.
White could have offered a queen exchange on his 23rd move and the resulting endgame would have hardly offered any chances to either side. Yu Yangyi, however, decided to play on instead and allowed his opponent’s heavy pieces to penetrate on the back rank.
At the outset, this does look a bit dangerous for white but all the critical squares are covered. Queens were exchanged a few moves later. An inaccuracy by his opponent in the resulting position did net Bu an extra pawn but, given the limited material remaining on the board, it wasn’t clear how he could make anything of it.
While Bu pondered over his options for making progress, Yu Yangyi came up with a crafty trick to save the day. On his 62nd turn, he walked into a fork to snap off the g6 pawn.
After 62…Nh5+, white went 63.Kxg6 Nxg7 and 64.Kxg7 Kf5 and 65.g6. But after 65…e5, Yu Yangyi played 66.Nh6+, missing the stunning 66.Nxe5, the only move that drew. Five moves later, it was curtains.
Yu Yangyi faltered at a crucial moment and ended up losing | Photo: Official website
With this win, Bu Xiangzhi caught up with the tournament leader Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who was held to a draw in the second round by the Vietnamese number one, Le Quang Liem. Adopting a King’s Indian-like setup against his opponent’s English Opening, Duda managed to exchange queens and a pair of knights within the first ten moves of the game. Black’s 10th move novelty was also just a sham that led to more exchanges.
Winning against King's Indian — The main line
In the classical system of the King's Indian White develops naturally and refrains from chasing ghosts looking for a refutation of Black's set-up. White instead relies on the fact that natural play should yield him a small but lasting advantage.
GM Le Quang Liem had no problems holding tournament leader Jan-Krzysztof Duda to a draw in round 2 | Photo: Official website
A lifetime repertoire: Play the Nimzo Indian
This DVD provides everything you need to know to be able to play one of the most classical openings with Black, the Nimzo-Indian, arising after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Nearly every World Championship and top tournament features the Nimzo-Indian.
Wei Yi played the shortest game of the day against GM Sam Shankland. The game followed the Classical System of the Nimzo-Indian Defence in which players hacked off pieces left, right and centre. Twenty-five moves into the game, a barren endgame was reached. The players shuffled pieces for a few moves before signing the truce via move repetition.
Sam Shankland and Wei Yi played the shortest game of the day | Photo: Official website
The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1
The dynamic play based on a strong strategic foundation has always fascinated me, and in these DVDs I have suggested the lines which I personally prefer and employ in practice.
Vladimir Fedoseev’s game against Vidit Gujrathi was no different. Here again, early exchanges had led to a drawn endgame. Having lost with white in the opening round, Vidit clearly wanted to remain solid.
Vidit Gujrathi would have been happy with a solid draw with black after his first round loss | Photo: Official website
