All photos by Anastasia Balakhontseva
Round four
The FIDE Open and Women’s World Team Chess Championships is taking place from June 16 to June 27, 2017 (June 21 is a free day) in the the Ugra Chess Academy of the oil-book town of Khanty-Mansiysk, in western Siberia. Ten open and ten women's teams are participating. Games start at 3 p.m. local time – 12 noon CEST, 6 a.m. New York (check your location).
Open section
| Open section - Round 4 on 2017/06/20 at 15:00 |
|
No. |
SNo. |
Team |
Res. |
Team |
SNo. |
|
1 |
10 |
Belarus |
1-3 |
Russia |
7 |
|
2 |
8 |
Norway |
1-3 |
Ukraine |
6 |
|
3 |
9 |
Poland |
1.5-2.5 |
Turkey |
5 |
|
4 |
1 |
China |
3.5-0.5 |
Egypt |
4 |
|
5 |
2 |
India |
3.5-0.5 |
USA |
3 |
For board wise break down, click here
It would be an exaggeration to say the entire round had been one of upsets, since that was not the case. Russia was certainly expected to overcome Belarus, and sure enough they did, with a convincing 3-1 win, including victories by Ian Nepomniachtchi, as well as a re-invigorated Maxim Matlakov.
Ian Nepomniachtchi’s 2.5/3 result is certainly impressive, and it seems to suggest that he performs particularly well in team events, at least when playing for his country. During the Baku Olympiad in 2016 he was also a force to reckon with, as he had a terrific start.
Ian Nepomniachtchi scored another big win for Russia in their match against Belarus
The same was true of China’s emphatic 3.5-0.5 win over Egypt, a match between the top seed and the bottom seed, with a 340 Elo difference on average. Ukraine also had no trouble dispatching Norway where their board three and four were decisive.
That was where the normal ended though. Turkey had managed thus far to hold both Ukraine and Russia to draws, showing they were playing far beyond their ratings suggested. This has been a classic example of a team where the whole is worth more than the sum of their parts. Facing a confident Poland, that had won its three previous matches with an unblemished score, they outpipped them with three draws, and one win by Emre Can over Mateusz Bartel for a 2.5-1.5 win.
This key game by Can Emre (right) over Mateusz Bartel clinched the victory for Turkey over Poland
However, the biggest surprise was the big match between India, with an average rating of 2675, and the USA, which still came with a 2673 average, pretty much identical. But nothing went right for the Americans that day.
As IM Sagar Shah explains, “Adhiban began with two losses in this event. The logical thing to do would have been to rest him for a round. But coach Ramesh put faith in Adhiban's abilities and let him play the third round. The boy from Chennai delivered and India beat Belarus. Once Adhiban is in form, it is quite difficult to stop him and Varuzhan Akobian must have felt it in the fourth round!”
Instead of taking him off for a rest day, Adhiban was given another chance, and he delivered!
Indeed, watch the spectacular tactics the Indian unleashed to win his game against Varuzhan Akobian:
Akobian - Adhiban
After trying your hand at the position above, be sure to see the detailed analysis of the game:
Varuzhan Akobian (USA) vs B. Adhiban (IND) (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)
[Event "11th World Teams 2017"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2017.06.20"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Black "Adhiban, Baskaran"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2673"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2017.06.17"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 {Adhiban likes to play the triangle variation. He is not averse to trying out the Noteboom and he quite likes the Meran.} 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Be7 $5 {Bd6 is by far the main move in the position. But Adhiban is looking for something that is not deeply analyzed by Var.} 7. g4 {Now this move might not be as potent as it is against Bd6.} dxc4 8. g5 Nd5 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Be2 (10. Bxd5 cxd5 $5 {is also interesting.} (10... exd5 $15) 11. Nxb5 O-O $44) 10... Nxc3 11. Qxc3 Bb7 12. d5 $2 {Adhiban's provocation has worked. Instead of continuing normal development, Akobian wastes precious time with this pawn push. He is severely punished.} O-O $1 13. dxe6 (13. dxc6 Rc8 14. Bxb5 Nb8 $1 $17) 13... fxe6 {True the isolated pawn on e6 looks weak, but apart from that everything is in Black's favour. The f-file just opened up and the rook on f8 is jumping with joy. The c6 pawn is about to move and the bishop on b7 will be unleashed. All in all this is quite a bad position for White already.} 14. h4 (14. Nd4 {was the only logical move.} Nc5 $1 $17 15. b4 $2 Qd5 16. Rg1 Ne4 $19) 14... Rxf3 $1 {The geometric motif is very nice.} ( 14... c5 $19 {was good, but the text is way stronger.}) 15. Bxf3 Qf8 {Not only attacking f3 but also threatening Bb4 winning the queen. White has only one move at his disposal.} 16. Ke2 b4 $1 {Ba6+ cannot be allowed.} 17. Qc4 { Everything seems under control? If Ne5 then the e6 pawn falls with a check.} Qxf3+ $1 {Of course Adhiban had seen it all when he went for Rxf3.} 18. Kxf3 Ne5+ 19. Kg3 Nxc4 $19 {The rest as they say, is just a matter of technique. White is unconditionally lost.} 20. Rd1 c5 21. b3 Nd6 22. Bb2 Rf8 23. f4 Bd5 24. Kh3 Ne4 25. Rf1 g6 26. Be5 a5 27. Bc7 Ra8 28. Kh2 a4 29. Be5 Kf7 30. Rfd1 Nf2 31. Re1 Nd3 32. Rf1 axb3 33. axb3 Rxa1 34. Bxa1 Bxb3 35. e4 c4 36. f5 exf5 37. exf5 c3 38. h5 gxh5 39. Rg1 c2 40. g6+ hxg6 41. fxg6+ Kg8 0-1
Another key win was Krishnan Sasikiran’s victory over Ray Robson. Robson is a very talented grandmaster, with a powerful sense of opportunism that has allowed him to turn many pooor positions into outright wins, but he faced a very much in-form Sasikiran, fresh from a victory at the Capablanca Memorial, and also a big expert on the Slav.
Krishan Sasikiran (IND) vs Ray Robson (USA) (annotated by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson)
[Event "World Team-ch 2017"] [Site "Khanty-Mansyisk"] [Date "2017.06.20"] [Round "4"] [White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2669"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Tiger Hillarp-Persson"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 {The Semi Slav is one of the few openings where Black doesn't have to forget about a sound position in order to get sharp play.} 5. e3 ({I always thought the most principled move to be} 5. Bg5 {Now Black has three decent continuations:} h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 {and here the old main line} {when the old main line} 7. e3 {seem to have run out of new ideas.} ({However, both} 7. g3) ({and} 7. Qb3 {is scoring well for White.})) ({ The interest in} 5. g3 {has peaked and the line} dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 (6... Nbd7 { has become more popular...}) 7. Ne5 Qb6 {still looks like a good place to seek winning chances, for both sides.}) 5... Nbd7 {is the more traditional way to handle this position. Black has two ideas; either to take on c4 and follow up with b5/Bb7, or to play Bd6 and play e6-e5. White basically has a choice between two lines.} (5... a6 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Qe7 10. Bc2 $5 {was seen in Aronian,L (2790)-Carlsen,M (2830) 5th Norway Chess 2017, last week. A game that Alexander Yermolinsky commented on for Chessbase.}) 6. Qc2 (6. Bd3 {After} dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 {we get to Botvinnik's old love, the Meran variation. There is a lot of theory one must remember in order to play these positions well. I have sometimes found myself unable to get to the position that I analyzed the night before.} (8. Be2 {has also been played a lot, although} Bb7 9. O-O Be7 $1 10. e4 b4 11. e5 bxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. bxc3 c5 {seem just as good a solution to Black's problem as it was ten years ago.}) 8... a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11. Nxb5 axb5 12. exf6 gxf6 {has been the main focus here since Anand used it twice to beat Kramnik in their match in 2008.}) 6... Bd6 ({On board 2, Adhiban tried the unorthodox} 6... Be7 {against Akobian, who thought this was as good a moment as any to set Shabalov's patent plan into motion:} 7. g4 $5 dxc4 {5} 8. g5 Nd5 9. Bxc4 b5 $5 10. Be2 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 Bb7 12. d5 O-O $1 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. h4 $2 Rxf3 $1 15. Bxf3 Qf8 $1 16. Ke2 $2 ( 16. Bxc6 Bb4 17. Bxb7) 16... b4 $1 17. Qc4 Qxf3+ $1 18. Kxf3 Ne5+ 19. Kg3 Nxc4 {and Black went on to win, in Akobian,V (2673)-Adhiban,B (2670) Khanty-Mansyisk 2017.}) 7. Be2 ({The seemingly more active} 7. Bd3 {has a downside in that Black can force things with} O-O 8. O-O e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. e4 exd4 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 h6 $1 13. Nxd4 Qh4 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Qf5 Qxf5 17. Bxf5 Nf6 {(a position that has been seen many times) when draw is close to unavoidable.}) (7. g4 {is the Shabalov variation, where} h6 8. Rg1 e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nb5 Bb8 11. g5 hxg5 12. Nxg5 e4 13. Bd2 Nb6 $1 14. Qc5 Bd7 15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Qxd6 Qb8 17. Bb4 Qxd6 18. Bxd6 Ng8 $1 19. f3 f6 {was winning for Black, in Thejkumar,M (2407)-Adhiban,B (2547) Hyderabad 2013.}) 7... O-O 8. O-O dxc4 ({Black (and with "Black" I mostly mean Gelfand) has done well with} 8... Re8 9. Rd1 Qe7 {The point is that White hardly has a better move than} 10. b3 { , when} b6 {leads to another big line with hundreds and hundreds of games in the database.}) (8... e5 {is not as good as when White places the bishop on d3: } 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nb5 Bb8 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Bd2 {and Black has to defend a position with an isolated pawn.}) (8... b6 $5 {is a hard nut to crack.} 9. e4 ( 9. b3 Bb7 10. Bb2 {leads to the same big line mentioned above.}) 9... Nxe4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Qxe4 Bb7 12. Bf4 Nf6 13. Qe3 c5 14. Rad1 Bxf4 15. Qxf4 Qe7 16. Qe5 cxd4 (16... Rac8 $5) 17. Rxd4 Rfd8 (17... Qb4 $5) 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. a3 Kf8 20. b4 {left White with some initiative in Ragger,M (2689)-Muzychuk,A (2537) Gibraltar 2016.}) 9. Bxc4 ({It is also possible to play} 9. a4 {, but Svidler showed a solid way towards equality, against Giri, earlier this year:} e5 10. Bxc4 exd4 11. exd4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nbd5 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. a5 {and although} Qc8 (15... h6) 16. Bxf6 Qxc2 17. Bxc2 gxf6 {was probably fine for Black, it might have been even better to play 15...h6.}) 9... b5 (9... e5 10. Bb3 Qe7 {is quite a famous position due to the "zugzwang" that arise after} 11. h3 $1 {(I cannot remember whether it was Yusupov or Dvoretsky who wrote about it.)} {Black's best move is} Bb8 {, but after} (11... Re8 12. Ng5 $1 Rf8 13. Bd2 (13. f4 $5)) (11... h6 12. Nh4 $1) (11... exd4 12. exd4) 12. Bd2 a5 13. a3 {it is hard to find the next move.}) (9... a6 {is also quite possible.} { The topic line goes} 10. Rd1 b5 11. Bd3 Qc7 12. Bd2 c5 {when} 13. Ne4 c4 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. Be2 Bb7 16. b3 Rfc8 17. Qb2 Rab8 18. Rac1 h6 19. Ne5 $1 {was good for White, in Jakovenko,D (2738)-Karjakin,S (2753) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015.}) 10. Be2 ({Just as popular is} 10. Bd3 {White is not foremost thinking of e3-e4, since e6-e5 will leave the bishop rather vulnerable on d3 if a knight lands on e5. Instead White is trying to combine the ideas b2-b4 and Nf3-g5-e4, in order to stop Black from playing c6-c5.} Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. b4 c5 {was first played by Ganguly and has been discussed extensively ever since. The last word seems to indicate that Black is suffering:} (12... a5 $5) 13. bxc5 Bxf3 14. cxd6 Nd5 15. gxf3 Qg5+ 16. Kh1 Qh5 17. Be2 Nxc3 18. Rg1 Nf6 19. Bb2 Na4 20. Qd2 Rfd8 21. e4 Rxd6 22. e5 {1-0, Sethuraman,S (2653)-Shirov,A (2682) Edmonton 2016.}) 10... Bb7 11. a3 $5 {This is a rare bird compared to the two main lines:} (11. Rd1 Qc7 12. e4 e5 13. Bg5 exd4 14. Rxd4 Ne5 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. g3 Bc5 17. Rd2 Qb6 18. Rf1 Ng4 19. Nd1 Rad8 20. Nh4 {gave White some advantage, in Golod,V (2579) -Nielsen,P (2687) Germany 2011.}) (11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 (12. Rd1 Qc7) 12... Nxe5 13. Nd4 (13. Nh4 Bc8 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 Re8 16. Bg5 {1/2-1/2 (16) Grigoriants,S (2560)-Sasikiran,K (2670) Aeroflot Open A 2017}) 13... Neg4 14. g3 Re8 $1 (14... Bc5 15. Nf5 $36) (14... Bxg3 15. hxg3 Qxd4 16. Qd1 Qxd1 17. Rxd1 {and Black has a hard time defending the dark squares.}) 15. Nf5 Bc5 { gave Black plenty of play, in Nakamura,H (2790)-Giri,A (2793) Moscow 2016.}) 11... a5 ({A beautiful exhibition of the b4-idea was seen in Ehlvest,J (2622) -Ippolito,D (2373) Philadelphia 2000:} 11... a6 12. b4 a5 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Qe7 15. Qb3 Nd5 16. e4 $1 Nxc3 (16... Nxb4 $2 17. e5) 17. Qxc3 e5 (17... Nb6 18. Bd3 Ra4 19. e5 Bxb4 20. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 21. Rxb4 Rxb4 $2 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Qh3 $18) 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Nd4 g6 20. Bh6 Rfd8 21. f4 c5 22. Nxb5 cxb4 23. Qb2 Bc5+ 24. Kh1 Be3 (24... Bxe4 25. fxe5 Bxb1 26. e6 f6 27. Rxb1 $40) 25. Bg5 f6 26. fxe5 Bxg5 27. exf6 {and White went on to win.}) (11... Re8 {has been played by Shirov lately, so it should be taken seriously.}) 12. e4 (12. Rd1 Qc7 13. e4 { is same, same.}) 12... e5 13. Rd1 Qc7 (13... exd4 {is probably premature:} 14. Nxd4 Qc7 15. g3 Be5 $1 16. Nf3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rfe8 18. Bf4 Qb6 19. e5 Nd5 (19... Ng4 20. Rxd7 Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Rxe5 22. Ra2 $18) 20. c4 bxc4 21. Ng5 Nf8 22. Bxc4 $16) 14. dxe5 {This natural move seems to be a novelty.} (14. g3 Rfe8 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Bg5 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Be5 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Bg4 {led to a slight advantage for White, in Nakamura,H (2787)-Giri,A (2785) Bilbao 2016, but it was nothing that Giri could not handle.}) 14... Nxe5 15. Nd4 {I would not be surprised if there are a few hundred GM:s out there who have analysed this position and are hoping to be the first to get to play it.} Neg4 ({Robson's choice doesn't turn out too well, so perhaps this is the moment to look for an improvement. The only reasonable alternative is} 15... Bc5 16. Bf4 Bxd4 17. Rxd4 Nf3+ 18. Bxf3 Qxf4 {, when White is only slightly better.}) 16. Bxg4 Bxh2+ 17. Kf1 Nxg4 18. g3 {The bishop is caught, but there are plenty of ways for Black to to sacrifice the bishop for attacking chances.} f5 $6 {After this move it seems that White is dictating the proceedings. The alternatives were:} (18... Nxf2 {, which runs into a nice in-between move:} 19. Nd5 $1 Qxg3 20. Ne7+ Kh8 21. Qxf2 c5 22. Qxg3 Bxg3 23. Nxb5 Bxe4 24. Nd6 {and because of the active knights Black is struggling to organize his forces.}) (18... Bxg3 $5 { is the best, although it is not clear that it is enough:} 19. fxg3 f5 20. Bf4 fxe4 21. Qxe4 Qf7 22. Qe6 Qxe6 23. Nxe6 Ne3+ 24. Kf2 Nxd1+ 25. Rxd1 {So long it is basically forced, and now something like} Rf7 26. Ne4 Re8 27. N6c5 Bc8 28. Nd6 Rd8 29. Rd4 {seem plausible. I prefer the White side.}) 19. Bf4 $1 Qf7 20. Nxf5 Qh5 $2 {This is the losing move. Bh2 is almost more of a defensive piece for White than an attacking piece for Black.} ({The best chance was} 20... g6 21. f3 Bxg3 $1 22. Bxg3 Ne3+ $1 23. Nxe3 Qxf3+ 24. Kg1 Qxg3+ 25. Ng2 Qe5 {, but after} 26. Rd2 Qc5+ 27. Rf2 {White is still close to winning.}) 21. Rd7 $1 Rxf5 (21... Qh3+ 22. Ke2 Rae8 23. Rxg7+ Kh8 24. Rxb7 Rxf5 25. Qd2 $1 { It looks messy, but with the bishop out of play Black is constantly suffering from a lack of guns:} Qh5 26. f3 Ne5 27. Bxe5+ Rfxe5 28. Rh1 $18) 22. exf5 Qh3+ 23. Ke1 Re8+ 24. Kd2 Bc8 25. Qb3+ $1 {The engines will inform you that there are "more winning" continuations than the one Sasikiran chose, but I quite like his choice. From a human perspective it is a real quality to evaluate and minimize risks and this is a master class.} (25. Rd6 $18) 25... Kh8 26. Qf7 $1 Bxd7 27. Re1 $1 {Everything comes off and Black is left with the bishop on h2.} Rg8 (27... Nf6 28. Rxe8+ Bxe8 29. Qf8+ Ng8 30. Qxe8 Qxf5 31. Qxc6) (27... Rd8 28. Qe7) 28. Qxd7 Nxf2 $5 {...and the engines hate this move, preferring} ( 28... Nf6 29. Qxc6 Rd8+ 30. Kc1 Qxf5 31. Qxb5 {, which is utterly hopeless for Black. Perhaps Robson missed what is coming, but it is also possible that he thought: "If the bishop is to get out, then the f2 pawn must go. And if White plays a second rate move, then I have a chance."}) 29. Re8 $1 h5 30. Rxg8+ Kxg8 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qg6+ {There is no harm in repeating moves.} Kg8 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. f6 $1 {It is time to finish the game.} Ng4 (34... Qf5 35. f7 b4 36. f8=N+ Kh8 37. Ne6+ Kh7 38. Ng5+ $18) (34... gxf6 35. Qf7+ Kh8 36. Qxf6+ Kg8 37. Qg6+ Kf8 38. Bd6#) 35. Qe4+ Kg8 36. Qe6+ Kh7 37. f7 Bxg3 38. f8=Q {and Black resigned.} 1-0
Finally, it came down to the last board between Jeffery Xiong, one of America’s brightest young talents, and Parimarjan Negi, who is no stranger to the concept of prodigy. Negi, it should be noted, has the record as the world's third youngest grandmaster ever. Though he is retired from play at the moment, focused on his studies in Stanford, at age 24 he is still a player with over 10 years as a grandmaster. Experience counts for something in chess, and he wisely chose to neutralize Xiong's tactical skills, and steer for a simple dry position where his younger opponent broke his teeth.
Jeffery Xiong (USA) vs Parimarjan Negi (IND) (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)
[Event "11th World Teams 2017"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2017.06.20"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Negi, Parimarjan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2658"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2017.06.17"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. Nbd2 a6 9. Nf1 $5 {Bold play by Xiong. He is not afraid that Na5 will win his c4 bishop. Usually White would play Bb3 in such positions to preserve the light squared bishop. But that's a tempo loss and Black usually replies with Be6.} Na5 10. b4 $5 {This was Xiong's idea which has been seen in the game between Giri and Mamedyarov.} Nxc4 11. bxc5 Na5 12. a4 (12. cxd6 cxd6 13. a4 b5 14. axb5 axb5 15. Rb1 Qc7 16. Bd2 Re8 17. h3 Nb7 18. Nh4 d5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Rxb5 Nxc3 21. Bxc3 Qxc3 22. Nf3 Ra5 23. Rxa5 Qxa5 24. Qd2 Qb5 25. Qc3 f6 26. d4 exd4 27. Nxd4 Qd7 28. Rxe8+ Qxe8 29. Ne3 Nd6 30. Qc5 Qe5 31. Qxe5 fxe5 32. Nc6 e4 33. Kh2 Kf7 34. Kg3 g5 35. h4 Nf5+ 36. Nxf5 Bxf5 37. hxg5 hxg5 38. Ne5+ Kf6 39. Nc4 Be6 40. Ne3 {1/2-1/2 (40) Giri,A (2755)-Mamedyarov,S (2761) Moscow 2016}) 12... Re8 13. cxd6 Qxd6 14. Ba3 Qd8 15. Ng3 b6 {The bishop will be well placed on b7, but this does seem a tad slow.} 16. d4 $1 {Xiong is quick to realize that this is his opportunity.} Nc4 17. Nxe5 (17. Qb3 Nxa3 (17... Na5 18. Qc2 $16) 18. Nxe5 $16) 17... Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qxd1 19. Raxd1 Rxe5 20. f4 Re8 21. e5 { White is pushing on. And optically it does seem that he is better. But Black has no weaknesses and it is not so easy to find out, which is the point that White should be attacking in Black's position.} Nd7 22. a5 {A little bit too overambitious.} (22. Nf5 {was interesting threatening Ne7 and Nxc8.} Nc5 23. Ne3 Nxa4 24. Nd5 Ra7 25. Ne7+ Kh7 26. Nxc8 Rxc8 27. Rd7 {with good play for the pawn.}) 22... Kh7 23. axb6 Nxb6 24. Rd4 f6 $1 {Black's position doesn't look too attractive. The rooks are disconnected, the pawns seem isolated, yet there is no way for White to take advantage of it and hence the position is equal.} 25. f5 $2 {Now this just loses a pawn.} Rxe5 26. Rxe5 fxe5 27. Rg4 Bd7 {It would be interesting to know what was it that Jeffery had prepared. Because he just lost a pawn!} 28. c4 a5 29. Kf2 a4 30. Ke1 Rg8 (30... Be8 $1 { The idea is to play Bf7 and get the knight to c4 and evict the bishop out of a3.} 31. Ne4 Rd8 (31... Bf7 32. Nd2) 32. f6 g5 $19) 31. Bb2 g6 {Parimarjan plays in a very pragmatic fashion. He gives back the pawn, just so that he can free up his position.} 32. c5 Nd5 33. fxg6+ Rxg6 34. Rxg6 Kxg6 35. Bxe5 { The material is even, but the a4 pawn is a real trump.} a3 36. Kd2 a2 37. Ne2 Nb4 38. Nc1 Kf5 39. Bb2 Be6 40. Nd3 Na6 41. Ke3 Bc4 42. Ne5 (42. Kd4 Bxd3 43. Kxd3 Nxc5+ 44. Kc4 Ne4 45. Kb3 {This should end in a draw.}) 42... Bd5 43. g4+ Kg5 44. c6 Nb4 45. Kd4 Be6 46. Kc3 Nd5+ 47. Kd4 Kh4 48. Ke4 Nb4 49. Nd3 Nxc6 { By nimble manuevring Black has won a pawn!} 50. Bf6+ Kxg4 {And another!} 51. Ne5+ Nxe5 52. Bxe5 Kh3 53. Kf3 c5 {This opposite coloured endgame is completely winning because Black will give up his a-pawn for winning the h2 pawn and the resulting two pawns would be just too far away for White to handle.} 54. Kf2 a1=Q 55. Bxa1 Kxh2 56. Bg7 h5 57. Bf8 c4 58. Bb4 Bd5 59. Bc3 Kh3 60. Be5 Kg4 61. Ke3 h4 62. Kd4 h3 63. Ke3 Bf7 64. Bd6 Be8 (64... Be8 65. Be5 Bb5 66. Bd6 c3 67. Be5 Ba4 68. Kd3 c2 69. Kd2 Kf3 $19) 0-1
In round five, one of the most intriguing matches will be China vs Turkey. With the surprising success the Turkish team has had, China is taking no chances, and will field its strongest team possible.
Warm thanks to IM Sagar Shah for sharing his analysis with ChessBase readers. You can read his full report at ChessBase India.
Crosstable of Open section
| Rank |
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
MP |
Pts. |
| 1 |
China |
* |
|
|
|
2½ |
|
2 |
|
3½ |
3½ |
7 |
11½ |
| 2 |
Russia |
|
* |
|
2 |
|
2½ |
|
|
3 |
3½ |
7 |
11 |
| 3 |
Poland |
|
|
* |
1½ |
2½ |
|
2½ |
|
|
3 |
6 |
9½ |
| 4 |
Turkey |
|
2 |
2½ |
* |
|
2 |
|
2½ |
|
|
6 |
9 |
| 5 |
India |
1½ |
|
1½ |
|
* |
|
3½ |
|
2½ |
|
4 |
9 |
| 6 |
Ukraine |
|
1½ |
|
2 |
|
* |
|
3 |
2 |
|
4 |
8½ |
| 7 |
USA |
2 |
|
1½ |
|
½ |
|
* |
2½ |
|
|
3 |
6½ |
| 8 |
Norway |
|
|
|
1½ |
|
1 |
1½ |
* |
|
2½ |
2 |
6½ |
| 9 |
Belarus |
½ |
1 |
|
|
1½ |
2 |
|
|
* |
|
1 |
5 |
| 10 |
Egypt |
½ |
½ |
1 |
|
|
|
|
1½ |
|
* |
0 |
3½ |
Women's section
| Women's section - Round 4 on 2017/06/20 at 15:00 |
|
No. |
SNo |
Team |
Res |
Team |
SNo |
|
1 |
10 |
Ukraine |
3-1 |
Vietnam |
7 |
|
2 |
8 |
Azerbaijan |
2-2 |
China |
6 |
|
3 |
9 |
Georgia |
1.5-2.5 |
Russia |
5 |
|
4 |
1 |
USA |
3.5-0.5 |
Egypt |
4 |
|
5 |
2 |
India |
2.5-1.5 |
Poland |
3 |
For a board wise break down, click here
The women’s competition saw another success for India, as they overcame the team of Poland, rated identically. While this places them in third place, they are still a margin away from the two leaders Russia and Ukraine. China faltered once again, and were unable to overcome Azerbaijan.
India had a great day, and their women's team also emerged victorious, defeating Poland
Round five sees Russia pitted against Team USA.
Crosstable of Women's section
| Rank |
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
MP |
Pts. |
| 1 |
Russia |
* |
|
|
2½ |
|
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
|
7 |
10½ |
| 2 |
Ukraine |
|
* |
2½ |
|
|
|
2 |
2½ |
3 |
|
7 |
10 |
| 3 |
India |
|
1½ |
* |
2 |
2½ |
|
|
2½ |
|
|
5 |
8½ |
| 4 |
Georgia |
1½ |
|
2 |
* |
2 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
4 |
9½ |
| 5 |
Poland |
|
|
1½ |
2 |
* |
3½ |
|
2 |
|
|
4 |
9 |
| 6 |
Azerbaijan |
2 |
|
|
|
½ |
* |
2 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
8½ |
| 7 |
China |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
* |
|
2½ |
|
4 |
7½ |
| 8 |
USA |
|
1½ |
1½ |
|
2 |
|
|
* |
|
3½ |
3 |
8½ |
| 9 |
Vietnam |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
1½ |
|
* |
4 |
2 |
7½ |
| 10 |
Egypt |
|
|
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
½ |
0 |
* |
0 |
½ |
Links
You can use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.
