Leon Rapids Semifinals

The 27th edition of the Leon Rapid tournament is taking place in Leon, Spain. Leontxo Garcia brings us a report from the two semi-finals:

Left to right: Vachier-Lagrave, Ponomariov, Wei Yi and Anton Guijarro

Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime vs. Ponomariov, Ruslan

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave plays more tournaments than Ruslan Ponomariov, and perhaps this was the deciding factor in his victory 2.5-1.5 in the first semifinal of the XXVIII Leon Masters.

"I managed to retain my psychological strength in the most difficult moments, and perhaps that was the key" explained the winner. After resisting an attack by his opponent with precise play in the first game, it was MVL that was pressing in the second game but without success against the good defense from the Ukrainian.

MVL and Pono right after the drawing of lots

That was the moment that Vachier-Lagraeve was referring to in the previous paragraph. A bad streak in the last few months translated in a loss of over twenty positions in the FIDE rankings. Even though he finished without losses in the French League last week, and that everything indicates the crisis has passed, his confidence in himself is not as high as it was in January. That is why, after noticing victory escaped him in the second game, he entered the third game with hesitation.

And yet, it was Ponomariov that faltered in this moment, despite having the white pieces. He allowed his opponent to obtain a comfortable position that was finally converted into victory. The ticket to the finals seemed within reach for the Frenchman.

MVL's sharper instincts brought him the win

But things were not so easy, as he was playing an ex-World Champion who was full of resources. In the fourth bout the Ukrainian achieved what he needed: an advantageous position, complex, and with lots of play in both flanks with more time on the clock. Now things were gunning towards an electrifying tiebreak.

Ponomariov, however, paid the price for being rusty. Instead of pushing hard for a win, he chose a small material advantage at the cost of liberating his opponent's pieces. MVL managed to reach a rook and bishop vs. rook endgame, a theoretical draw. The Ukrainian pushed for 159 moves, but without success, only two less moves than the longest game in the history of the event (Dominguez-Aronian, 161 moves in 2010). After five rounds of fight, Ponomariov offered the draw and stretched out his hand.

MVL will disconnect from chess on Saturday while waiting for the other semi-final. "I have played plenty in the last months, and my priority tomorrow will be to enjoy some famous "tapas" from Leon".

Wei Yi vs. Anton Guijarro

The Ice Floe from Jiansu, as Arturo Perez Reverte has nicknamed this young genius, has unbelievable reflexes. The mix of sang froid and quickness was the key for the Chinese player Wei Yi, 16 years old, to win against David Anton Guijarro, 19, by the minimal margin of 2.5-1.5. Wei Yi will face Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals of the Leon Magistral tournament.

Two very talented young players

Perez Reverte, who left us with an unforgettable phrase from last year's edition ("It has already been some time since I exchanged God for chess"), had a special interest: after performing the opening move he had the opportunity to practice one of his favorite hobbies, which is observing chess players from up close. "The Wei Yi's cool is impressive" commented the novelist.

David Anton gave a lecture on hanging pawns to young students

However, serenity is also one of the qualities of David Anton, second place in the World Champion u18 in 2013 and in the European Championship in 2014. So it was not in that department that the player from Antocha lost the battle against the Chinese. "He saw many ideas and variations much faster than me, especially in the first two games, in which he obtained several minutes advantage on me" said David Anton.

Wei Yi was unusually expressive and happy after winning one game and drawing his other three after four and a half hours of play, as if he had lifted a great weight from his shoulders. "I had mentioned after the pairings for the semifinals were ready that Anton has talent and plays quite well. It was not easy to beat him and tomorrow I have another difficult battle against Vachier-Lagrave, a player that is able to both attack and defend very well, depending on the circumstances.", he explained. He also mentioned his preference of preparing in the morning, after breakfast. "Today I am very tired, and all I want to do is sleep after a good dinner. I like food a lot here and for now I don't miss Chinese food".

The conclusion from Anton was very clear: "I join without a doubt the people that see Wei Yi as a series challenger for the World Championship in the next few years. He is incredibly strong."

Anton Guijarro is one of the most, if not the most, promising players in Spain

Replay Games

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Photos from the official website

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.