Hans Niemann dominates Capablanca Memorial

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/30/2022 – The 55th edition of the Capablanca Memorial took place on April 19-28 at the historic Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana. Hans Niemann from the United States dominated the Elite group, scoring 7½ points in the 10-player single round-robin. The Premier group, a women’s tournament, was similarly dominated by Romanian IM Irina Bulmaga, who also collected 7½ points to finish two points clear of her closest chaser. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club
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Ascending, quickly

Born in San Francisco in a family of Danish and Hawaiian descent, Hans Moke Niemann is an 18-year-old grandmaster who has quickly made a name for himself in the chess world. The youngster was awarded his GM title only 15 months ago, and by now has already climbed to seventh place in the junior live ratings list.

Two years ago, the ever-confident Niemann had a 2465 rating. Now, after his commanding performance at the Capablanca Memorial in Havana, his live rating is almost 200 points higher than that. Participating in strong online tournaments and focusing on his career as a professional chess player paid off handsomely for the rising star.

Clearly, the effort to gain Elo points is deliberate. On April 1, after being announced as one of the eight participants at the TePe Sigeman tournament in Sweden, he tweeted:

Over the next 3 months, I’ll play a marathon of 7 strong tournaments! The push to 2700 continues.

Niemann came from reaching the quarterfinals at the online Charity Cup, where he was knocked out by none other than Magnus Carlsen. At the Reykjavik Open, he scored 6½/9 to finish in seventh place, a performance which he described as pathetic. This might have sounded as a bit too harsh and perhaps overly ambitious, but his showing in Havana demonstrates that he is certainly capable of performing at a higher level.

The US grandmaster entered the 10-player event in Cuba as the second seed, behind Sandro Mareco, who recently won the Mexico Open in Chihuahua. Mareco and Niemann were two of five 2600+ rated players in the event.

Apparently the Caribbean weather is just what Niemann needed after his subpar performance — according to his standards — in Reykjavik.

Six wins and three draws granted the 18-year-old a 2857 tournament performance rating, as he got victories, among others, over Surya Ganguly (India), Yilmaz Mustafa (Turkey) and Mareco (Argentina). Ganguly was one of three players who finished two points behind the winner, as Vasif Durarbayli (Azerbaijan) and Luis Ernesto Quesada (Cuba) also collected 5½ points throughout the event.

Final standings

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 NIEMANN Hans Moke 7,5 0,0
2 DURARBAYLI Vasif 5,5 1,5
3 GANGULY Surya Shekhar 5,5 1,0
4 QUESADA PEREZ Luis Ernesto 5,5 0,5
5 MARECO Sandro 5,0 0,0
6 YILMAZ Mustafa 4,5 0,0
7 ALBORNOZ CABRERA Carlos Daniel 3,5 0,0
8 ORTIZ SUAREZ Isan Reynaldo 3,0 0,0
9 ALMEIDA QUINTANA Omar 2,5 0,5
10 QUESADA PEREZ Yasser 2,5 0,5

All games

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 14 c5 5 2.Nf3 13 d6 5 3.d4 7 cxd4 4 4.Nxd4 6 Nf6 4 5.Nc3 8 a6 5 6.Be3 36 e5 5 7.Nb3 9 Be7 15 8.f3 20 Be6 15 9.Qd2 32 0-0 13 10.0-0-0 37 Nbd7 8 11.g4 45       b5 3 12.g5 46 Nh5 4 13.Kb1 47 B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5. Nb6 48 14.Na5 3:48
Black must now prevent Nc6. 14...Rc8 1:04 Prevents Nc6. 15.Nd5 1:10 The position is equal. is now debated instead of 15.a3. Don't play 15.Nb7 Qc7 16.Na5 16.Nxd6? Rcd8-+ 16...Nf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 15...Nxd5 1:15 16.exd5 8 Bxd5 19 17.Qxd5 6 Qxa5 5 18.c4 2:14 Nf4 2:56 19.Bxf4 28 exf4 6 20.h4 1:30 Qa4 59 21.Bd3 25 And now h5 would win. bxc4 3:17 22.Qe4 24 g6 26 23.Bc2 7
23...Qe8N 9 Predecessor: 23...Qd7 24.h5 Qe6 25.hxg6 hxg6 26.Qxf4 Qe5 27.Qh4 Qg7 28.Rd2 Rc5 29.f4 f6 30.Rdh2 fxg5 31.Qe1 Bf6 32.Rh6 Qb7 33.Qe6+ 1-0 (33) Dominguez Perez,L (2758)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2751) Saint Louis 2021 24.Rde1 14 Rc7 35 25.h5! 55 Hoping for hxg6. d5 2:38 26.Qe5 16:00 Qc6 13 27.hxg6 45 fxg6 17 28.Rh6 41 Strongly threatening Bxg6! Qd6 1:16 ...Qxe5 is the strong threat. 29.Bxg6 53      
Pin 29...Qxe5 20 30.Bxh7+ 9 Kg7 40 31.Rxe5 aiming for Bf5. Really sharp! Bxg5! 9:56 32.Rh2 Bf6 16:29 33.Rxd5 10:02 An even fight not without its subleties. Weighted Error Value: White=0.02 (flawless) /Black=0.01 (flawless) ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ganguly,S2627Yilmaz,M2627½–½2022B90LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20221.1
Quesada Perez,Y2568Durarbayli,V2615½–½2022B51LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20221.2
Albornoz Cabrera,C2567Mareco,S26430–12022D36LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20221.3
Almeida Quintana,O2535Ortiz Suarez,I2531½–½2022D36LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20221.4
Niemann,H2642Quesada Perez,L2517½–½2022C10LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20221.5
Yilmaz,M2627Quesada Perez,L2517½–½2022A30LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20222.1
Ortiz Suarez,I2531Niemann,H26420–12022C77LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20222.2
Mareco,S2643Almeida Quintana,O25351–02022B06LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20222.3
Durarbayli,V2615Albornoz Cabrera,C25671–02022B92LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20222.4
Ganguly,S2627Quesada Perez,Y25681–02022B36LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20222.5
Quesada Perez,Y2568Yilmaz,M2627½–½2022D46LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20223.1
Albornoz Cabrera,C2567Ganguly,S26270–12022C70LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20223.2
Almeida Quintana,O2535Durarbayli,V2615½–½2022E65LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20223.3
Niemann,H2642Mareco,S26431–02022E36LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20223.4
Quesada Perez,L2517Ortiz Suarez,I2531½–½2022B22LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20223.5
Yilmaz,M2627Ortiz Suarez,I25311–02022D36LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20224.1
Mareco,S2643Quesada Perez,L25170–12022A61LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20224.2
Durarbayli,V2615Niemann,H2642½–½2022C65LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20224.3
Ganguly,S2627Almeida Quintana,O25351–02022B06LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20224.4
Quesada Perez,Y2568Albornoz Cabrera,C25670–12022B52LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20224.5
Albornoz Cabrera,C2567Yilmaz,M2627½–½2022B97LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20225.1
Almeida Quintana,O2535Quesada Perez,Y2568½–½2022D14LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20225.2
Niemann,H2642Ganguly,S26271–02022A34LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20225.3
Quesada Perez,L2517Durarbayli,V2615½–½2022D46LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20225.4
Ortiz Suarez,I2531Mareco,S26431–02022C78LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20225.5
Yilmaz,M2627Mareco,S2643½–½2022D30LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20226.1
Durarbayli,V2615Ortiz Suarez,I2531½–½2022B94LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20226.2
Ganguly,S2627Quesada Perez,L25171–02022D94LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20226.3
Quesada Perez,Y2568Niemann,H26420–12022A45LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20226.4
Albornoz Cabrera,C2567Almeida Quintana,O25351–02022B06LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20226.5
Almeida Quintana,O2535Yilmaz,M2627½–½2022D38LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20227.1
Niemann,H2642Albornoz Cabrera,C25671–02022B95LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20227.2
Quesada Perez,L2517Quesada Perez,Y25681–02022A52LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20227.3
Ortiz Suarez,I2531Ganguly,S2627½–½2022A09LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20227.4
Mareco,S2643Durarbayli,V2615½–½2022D46LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20227.5
Yilmaz,M2627Durarbayli,V2615½–½2022D11LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20228.1
Ganguly,S2627Mareco,S2643½–½2022D35LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20228.2
Quesada Perez,Y2568Ortiz Suarez,I2531½–½2022E17LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20228.3
Albornoz Cabrera,C2567Quesada Perez,L2517½–½2022B12LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20228.4
Almeida Quintana,O2535Niemann,H2642½–½2022E12LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20228.5
Niemann,H2642Yilmaz,M26271–02022B51LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20229.1
Quesada Perez,L2517Almeida Quintana,O25351–02022B07LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20229.2
Ortiz Suarez,I2531Albornoz Cabrera,C2567½–½2022LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20229.3
Mareco,S2643Quesada Perez,Y2568½–½2022B31LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20229.4
Durarbayli,V2615Ganguly,S26271–02022B92LV Capablanca Memorial Elite 20229.5

Bulmaga shines among the women

Much like Niemann, Irina Bulmaga did not have a stellar performance in his previous classical, individual event. The Romanian got fourth place at the women’s national tournament despite arriving in Eforie North as the top seed — however, she did succeed at both the solving championship and the rapid championship!

In Havana, Bulmaga, much like the US star, grabbed six wins and three draws to finish two points clear of Yerisbel Miranda, who got sole second place. The 7½/9 score that allowed the Romanian to win the tournament outright gained her no less than 22.9 rating points.

Bulmaga was personally congratulated by Doris Mircea, the Romanian Ambassador in Cuba.

Final standings

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 BULMAGA Irina 7,5 0,0
2 MIRANDA LLANES Yerisbel 5,5 0,0
3 HERNANDEZ GIL Ineymig 5,0 0,5
4 FORGAS MORENO Yaniela 5,0 0,5
5 ORDAZ VALDES Lisandra Teresa 4,5 0,0
6 KIOLBASA Oliwia 4,0 1,0
7 LUJAN Carolina 4,0 1,0
8 ARRIBAS ROBAINA Maritza 4,0 1,0
9 CORI T. Deysi 3,0 0,0
10 HERNANDEZ MOYA Yuleisy 2,5 0,0

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1.e4 1:14 e6 13 2.d4 10 d5 8 3.Nd2 11 c5 23 4.Ngf3 15 cxd4 1:50 5.Nxd4 21 Nc6 15:00 6.Bb5 19 Bd7 1 7.Nxc6 21 Bxc6 3:37 8.Bxc6+ 1:00 bxc6 5 9.0-0 1:21 C07: French Tarrasch: 3...c5, 4 Ngf3 and 4 exd5 Qxd5. Nf6 1:06 10.Qe2 1:42 Qc7 4:46
11.Re1N 7:41 Predecessor: 11.e5 Nd7 12.Nf3 Rb8 13.Re1 Be7 14.b3 Bb4 15.Bd2 Bxd2 16.Qxd2 0-0 17.Re3 ½-½ (37) Rometti,N-Melngailis,E Buenos Aires 1939 11...Bc5 5:11 12.c4 7:18 0-0 4:06       13.b3 8:24 Bb4 18:48 Black wants to play ...Nxe4. 14.exd5 18:57 exd5 5:54 Much worse is 14...cxd5 15.Bb2= 15.Rd1 6:58 Rfe8 6:50 16.Qf3 3:11 Qe5 12:57 Inhibits Bb2. 17.Rb1 23 d4 11:24 18.a3 10:34 Bc3 54       Black is pushing. 19.Nf1 3:30 Qe2 2:42 19...c5 20.Qxe2 2:29 Rxe2 2 21.Ng3 2:45 21.f3! 21...Ra2 24 22.f3 2:20 h6 1:43 22...Re8 keeps more tension. 23.Kf1 h5 24.Bg5 Nh7 23.b4 7:40 Re8 7 24.h3 3:30 24.Bf4 24...Re1+? 2:21 24...g5-+ Hoping for ...Kh7. 25.Kh2 25.Nf5? Ree2-+ 25...Kh7 25.Rxe1= 32 Bxe1 2 26.Bf4 2:11 Bc3 1:29 26...Bf2+= 27.Kf1 g5 27.Rb3 3:24 27.Nf5 keeps the upper hand. 27...g5 1:01 Black should play 27...Kh7! 28.Be5 3:12 28.Bb8!= 28...Nd7 9 29.Bc7 26 Ra1+ 1:04 30.Kf2? 1:34
30.Kh2 only move. 30...d3! 22 31.Ne4 46 Bd4+ 47 32.Kg3 6 Rd1 16 White must now prevent ...f5. 33.Nf2! 47 Bxf2+ 43 34.Kxf2 2 Nb6 29 34...f5!= keeps the balance. 35.Bxb6± 23 axb6 1       Endgame KR-KR 36.Ke3 27 d2 30 37.Rd3 1:48 Rc1? 12 37...Kf8± 38.Kxd2+- 18 Worse is 38.Rxd2 Rxc4 39.Ra2 b5= 38...Rxc4 8
39.Rd6? 52 39.Rc3!+- Rxc3 40.Kxc3 39...Kg7= 16 The position is equal. 40.Rd7 0 h5 0 41.Rd6 4:14 f6 3:29 42.Rd7+ 6:24 Quite a comeback for White. Weighted Error Value: White=0.29 (precise) /Black=0.40 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Hernandez Gil,I2348Hernandez Moya,Y2250½–½2022C07LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20221.1
Bulmaga,I2390Forgas Moreno,Y23031–02022B07LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20221.2
Cori Tello,D2391Kiolbasa,O23881–02022A17LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20221.3
Miranda Llanes,Y2261Ordaz Valdes,L2371½–½2022E46LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20221.4
Lujan,C2334Arribas Robaina,M2204½–½2022C54LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20221.5
Hernandez Moya,Y2250Arribas Robaina,M22040–12022C54LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20222.1
Ordaz Valdes,L2371Lujan,C2334½–½2022D90LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20222.2
Kiolbasa,O2388Miranda Llanes,Y22611–02022C78LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20222.3
Forgas Moreno,Y2303Cori Tello,D23911–02022A03LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20222.4
Hernandez Gil,I2348Bulmaga,I2390½–½2022B11LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20222.5
Bulmaga,I2390Hernandez Moya,Y22501–02022C18LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20223.1
Cori Tello,D2391Hernandez Gil,I2348½–½2022D10LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20223.2
Miranda Llanes,Y2261Forgas Moreno,Y23030–12022A42LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20223.3
Lujan,C2334Kiolbasa,O2388½–½2022C55LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20223.4
Arribas Robaina,M2204Ordaz Valdes,L23710–12022C78LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20223.5
Hernandez Moya,Y2250Ordaz Valdes,L23710–12022C45LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20224.1
Kiolbasa,O2388Arribas Robaina,M2204½–½2022C02LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20224.2
Forgas Moreno,Y2303Lujan,C23341–02022A03LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20224.3
Hernandez Gil,I2348Miranda Llanes,Y2261½–½2022C54LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20224.4
Bulmaga,I2390Cori Tello,D23911–02022C12LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20224.5
Cori Tello,D2391Hernandez Moya,Y22501–02022B14LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20225.1
Miranda Llanes,Y2261Bulmaga,I2390½–½2022C02LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20225.2
Lujan,C2334Hernandez Gil,I23481–02022B13LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20225.3
Arribas Robaina,M2204Forgas Moreno,Y2303½–½2022B51LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20225.4
Ordaz Valdes,L2371Kiolbasa,O23880–12022D36LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20225.5
Hernandez Moya,Y2250Kiolbasa,O23881–02022C45LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20226.1
Forgas Moreno,Y2303Ordaz Valdes,L2371½–½2022A03LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20226.2
Hernandez Gil,I2348Arribas Robaina,M2204½–½2022C10LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20226.3
Bulmaga,I2390Lujan,C23341–02022B22LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20226.4
Cori Tello,D2391Miranda Llanes,Y22610–12022A20LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20226.5
Miranda Llanes,Y2261Hernandez Moya,Y22501–02022A81LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20227.1
Lujan,C2334Cori Tello,D2391½–½2022LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20227.2
Arribas Robaina,M2204Bulmaga,I23900–12022C54LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20227.3
Ordaz Valdes,L2371Hernandez Gil,I23480–12022D30LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20227.4
Kiolbasa,O2388Forgas Moreno,Y2303½–½2022B29LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20227.5
Hernandez Moya,Y2250Forgas Moreno,Y23031–02022B94LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20228.1
Hernandez Gil,I2348Kiolbasa,O23881–02022C55LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20228.2
Bulmaga,I2390Ordaz Valdes,L23711–02022C54LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20228.3
Cori Tello,D2391Arribas Robaina,M22040–12022E60LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20228.4
Miranda Llanes,Y2261Lujan,C23341–02022D85LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20228.5
Arribas Robaina,M2204Miranda Llanes,Y22610–12022C78LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20229.2
Ordaz Valdes,L2371Cori Tello,D23911–02022B07LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20229.3
Kiolbasa,O2388Bulmaga,I2390½–½2022C92LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20229.4
Forgas Moreno,Y2303Hernandez Gil,I2348½–½2022A03LV Capablanca Memorial Premier 20229.5

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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