Hungary-Poland training match for Olympiad

by Albert Silver
6/14/2014 – In preparation for the forthcoming Chess Olympiads, Hungary and Poland organized a training match between their top teams in both men and women. The competition took place in Budapest, Hungary where each team came with a full six players and all their stars, including Richard Rapport, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and Judit Polgar among others. It was a hard fought competition with exciting chess.

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Men's teams

Hungary
Poland
Rapport, Richard Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
Almasi, Zoltan Gajewski, Grzegorz
Polgar, Judit Bartel, Mateusz
Erdos, Viktor Socko, Bartosz
Berkes, Ferenc Swiercz, Dariusz
Balogh, Csaba Duda, Jan-Krzysztof

Women's teams

Hungary
Poland
Gara, Ticia Rajlich, Iweta
Vajda, Szidonia Socko, Monika
Gara, Anita Bartel, Marta
Madl,Ildiko Szczepkowska-Horowska, K.
Rudolf, Anna Majdan-Gajewska, Joanna
Papp, Petra Kulon, Klaudia

On the men's side, Hungary edged out Poland with the bare minimum 18.5-17.5. On both teams the only 2700 player was also their star performer, and Richard Rapport (2701) playing for Hungary, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2715) playing for Poland turned in excellent results, though the young Hungarian's was just a little more excellent. Rapport was the only player in the men's competition to score 4.5/6, and he earned 10 Elo for his 2806 performance. Wojtaszek was only slightly worse with 4.0/6 and a 2781 result, but it should be mentioned he lost in his direct confrontation with the Hungarian.

Radoslaw Wojtaszek did his job and then some, but Judit Polgar will be a bit disappointed
with her result as she was unable to really get into gear

Richard Rapport was the star of the competition and showed creativity and ambition. Above
is his nice win over Grzegorz Gajewski

[Event "HUN-POL Friendly Match m 2014"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2014.06.09"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Gajewski, Grzegorz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2701"] [BlackElo "2650"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2014.06.08"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Bg5 Qa5 8. Bxf6 dxc4 9. Qxc4 gxf6 10. Rc1 Qxc5 11. Qh4 Ke7 12. g3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 b6 14. Bg2 Ba6 15. Nd2 Rac8 {The position is quite double-edged, with both kings stuck in the center (unless White chooses to give up his e-pawn) and considerable threats.} 16. Ne4 Qf5 $2 17. g4 $1 {It is more than likely that Black simply overlooked this shot and did not consider it at all. Kudos to Rapport for having the imagination to see it as it really does not strike one as the top of the list of candidate moves.} Qg6 18. f4 Nd4 19. Rd1 Nc2+ 20. Kf2 {This sequence is very much in White''s favor. His biggest problem was finding a way to bring the king to a safer position and allow the rooks to connect. Black has just forced him to do exactly that.} Rhd8 21. Bf3 h6 22. Ng3 ({The engines recommend} 22. Qg3 $1 {but in the Hungarian's defense, his move is no weaker.} Kf8 23. f5 $1 exf5 24. Nd6 fxg4 (24... Rxd6 {hardly helps Black's case.} 25. Qxd6+ Kg7 26. gxf5 Qxf5 27. Rhg1+ $18) 25. Be4 $1 Qh5 26. Nxc8 Qc5+ 27. e3 Rxc8 28. Bxc2 {and White is winning.}) 22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rc4 24. Nh5 $1 Bb5 25. Qg3 Qg8 26. f5 $1 e5 {Diagram [#]} 27. Nxf6 $3 Kxf6 28. Rd6+ Kg7 29. Qh4 Qf8 30. Qxh6+ Kg8 {Diagram [#]} 31. Rg6+ $1 {and Black resigned in view of} (31. Rg6+ $1 fxg6 32. Bd5+ Qf7 33. Qxg6+ Kh8 34. Bxf7 {and Black gets mated.}) 1-0

The Women's competition was bound to be a different story as Poland fielded a much stronger team, and the result reflected this as they beat Hungary 21.5-14.5. The top three scoring players were all Polish, with the best being Iweta Rajlich who scored 4.5/6 and a 2492 TPR.

Tricia Gara (left) was the best Hungarian, but could not keep pace with Iweta Rajlich (right)

Petra Papp from Hungary

It was highly enjoyable following this match as the audience was allowed to enjoy some top-notch chess, and the players get some valuable time at the board, ensuring they arrive in good shape. Though the scores say only one team won, here it was a clear win-win for all.

Links

The games are being 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.