Mitropa Cup, Round 4: Czechia and Italy in the lead

by Klaus Besenthal
5/8/2021 – Four (out of nine) rounds of the Mitropa Cup have alerady been played. After a 3-1 victory over Hungary in round four, the German team is currently in second place, only one team point behind the leading Czechs. In the women’s category, Italy has won every single match so far and has a two-point lead over Hungary and Germany. | Photos: Claudia Münstermann

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Mitropa Cup 2021

This hybrid tournament is a mixture of over-the-board and online chess: the players of each team are physically gathered in one place, but they play online, on the platform Tornelo, against their respective opponents from other European countries.

The time control (90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds for each move played) and the rating calculations are no different from a normal over-the-board tournament, as renowned arbiters can check that the players are not cheating by getting computer help. 

Against Hungary in round four, the German players were slightly behind in terms of rating, except on top board, where Daniel Fridman and his Hungarian opponent, Imre Hera, both had exactly the same rating — 2610 Elo points. Consequently, the result was a draw.

Ruben Gideon Köllner also drew on board 3, so that it was up to the two black players, Ashot Parvanyan (board 2) and Alexander Krastev (board 4), to secure team victory. Both players won their games

It was a wild game between Borhy and Krastev, but the Hungarian made two serious mistakes: first he gave away an important central pawn on move 19, and then, on move 25, he faltered again, as capturing on h7 created a perfect refuge for Krastev’s king:

 

Standings after round 4

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 Czech Republic 7
2 Germany 6
3 Italy 5
4 Slovenia 5
5 France 5
6 Slovakia 4
7 Austria 3
8 Hungary 3
9 Switzerland 2
10 Croatia 0

All games

 

Women’s section

The German team was a slight favourite against Hungary, but only Jana Schneider was able to win her game on top board. Melanie Lubbe and Fiona Sieber lost on boards 3 and 4, while Annmarie Mütsch drew on board two. 

In the fifth round on Saturday against Slovenia, the German team will once again be the favourite by rating.  

The tournament atmosphere under the hybrid format is reminiscent of a SAT exam

Standings after round 4

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 Italy 8
2 Hungary 6
3 Germany 6
4 France 4
5 Czech Republic 4
6 Slovakia 4
7 Croatia 3
8 Slovenia 2
9 Austria 2
10 Switzerland 1

All games

 

Links


Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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