Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova and Nona are European Club Cup 2019 Champions

by Sagar Shah
11/18/2019 – The European Club Cup came to an end with the fourth seeds Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova in the Open and third seeds Nona in the Women's tournament winning the title. The most important feature of both the teams was consistent performance by all the team members en route to wininng the title. In this article we bring you some of the most interesting moments from the event and also pictures from the closing ceremony.
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The European Club Cup came to an end with the Italian team Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova (literally "objective compensation") winning with a perfect score of 14.0/14 in the open section. The silver medal went to Ave Novy Bor from Czech Republic and the third place was taken by Mednyi Vsadnik from Russia.

Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova were deserving winners. They beat the top two seeds of the tournament — Alkaloid and Mednyi Vsadnik in rounds six and seven respectively. It was slightly unfortunate that the event was too short for the first and the second placed teams — Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova and Ave Novy Bor to face each other. This was also the case in 2018 when the winner Mednyi Vsadnik did not play Ave Novy Bor in the entire event. Well, these two year results should be enough to convince the organizers that with the number of teams growing in this event, it has become necessary to have a nine-round event.

Name Pts.
Rapport Richard 3,5
Adams Michael 4,0
Leko Peter 4,0
Vallejo Pons Francisco 4,0
Jones Gawain C B 5,0
Saric Ivan 4,0
Vocaturo Daniele 3,5
Brunello Sabino 2,5

Team roster and individual results

It's amazing that literally every player in the team gained rating at the event. Only Ivan Saric lost half an Elo point and Sabino Brunello dropped 6 points. Rapport, Adams and Leko all played very solid chess. Here's Leko's fine win against Alekseenko. The win is even more creditable as Alekseenko is in the best form of his chess career, having finished third at the Grand Swiss 2019.

 
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1.e41,171,04654%2421---
1.d4950,36055%2434---
1.Nf3282,82356%2440---
1.c4182,83756%2442---
1.g319,75456%2427---
1.b314,35254%2427---
1.f45,91948%2377---
1.Nc33,81751%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22254%2404---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395550%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343651%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411460%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh39066%2505---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Italian seems to be the speciality of Alekseenko. He recently knocked out Harikrishna from World Cup and played some impressive games in it at Isle of Man Grand Swiss. Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.a4 6.c3 d6 7.Re1 seems to be the most common tabiya, as the line played in the game is considered to be okay for Black. The game also proved that right! 6...a5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 d6 10.c3 Kg7 11.Nbd2 Ba7 12.Re1 Ng8 A nice multipurpose move. Black can now either play Ng8-e7-f5 or go for the plan with h5 h4. Practically speaking, to me, it looks easier for black to play this positon. 13.Nf1 h5 13...Nge7 14.d4 Ng6 Improving the knight and then going for h5-h4 is also a nice alternative 14.h3 Nh6 15.d4 g4 15...h4 16.Bh2 g4 17.hxg4 Nxg4 18.Ne3 Black's attack fizzles out 16.Bh4 f6 17.dxe5 An important strategic mistake. Time is of the essence. White had to sacrifice the d4 pawn to develop some initiative on the kingside. 17.N3h2 exd4 18.Ng3 Qe8 19.Nf5+ Bxf5 20.exf5 Ne5 21.Be6 d3 22.Re4 The line goes on, but white is having some initiative. Ofcourse it wasn't easy to evaluate this over the board. 17...dxe5 18.hxg4 hxg4 19.N3h2 Qe8 I like the idea to keep the queens. White now constantly has to worry about some ideas like Qh5-Rd8 19...Qxd1 20.Raxd1 Nf7 also keeps some edge. 20.Ne3 Qh5 21.Bg3 Ne7 22.Qd2 It's hard to criticize this natural looking move. But, already White had to be very precise. 22.Qb3 with ideas like Be6 was the key. 22...Nf7 23.Be2 Black has all the initiative and a big attack on the kingside. Why to repeat? Nh6 23...Rd8 24.Qc1 Nh6 24...Rh8 is even more powerful, but very hard for humans to evaluate the consequences. 25.Nexg4 Qg6 Now black simply plays, Be6-Rh7 and Rah8! The attack is deadly! Everything for just one pawn :) 24.Bc4 Nf7 25.Qe2 White declines the repetition! I guess, the fact that Alekseenko lost the previous game to Plat Vojtech, to some hand influenced this decision to take more risks. Although, in this position, it hardly can be justified. Black attacks now plays by itself. Nd6 26.Nd5 Nxd5 27.Bxd5 Bd7 28.Bb3 Rh8 The idea is simply. Triple on h-file and give mate. White can just watch. 29.Rad1 Rh6 30.Rd3 Rah8 31.Qd2 Qe8 32.Rd1 32.Rxd6 cxd6 33.Qxd6 Bb8 32...Bc5 Nice technique. Taking away the possibility of Rd6. The only glimmer of hope White had. 33.Rd5 b6 34.Qe2 Rxh2 35.Bxh2 White resigned before allowing Qh5 35.Bxh2 Qh5 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Alekseenko,K2715Leko,P26660–1201935th ECC Open 20196.3

The hardest hitter was Gawain Jones with 5.0/6. 

In our previous report we had already mentioned how Ivan Saric played a splendid game to beat Azerbaijani youngster Aydin Suleymanli. In the final and most critical round of the event it was Daniele Vocaturo who rose to the occasion against Vladislav Kovalev of Alkaloid.

It was only fitting that the Italian no.1 scored the most critical win of the event for the team

 
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1.e4 13 All other games of the match between Alkaloid and Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova had ended in draws. This was the only decisive game that helped the Italian team to win. e6 0 2.d4 12 d5 10 3.Nd2 37 c5 29 4.Ngf3 0 cxd4 26 5.exd5 53 Qxd5 31 6.Bc4 5 Qd7 29 6...Qd6 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nb3 Nf6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 b5 12.Bb3 Bb7 13.Nxe6!+- Now we can see why the queen is not so well place on d6 and how in the game because it was on d7, this was not possible. 6...Qd8 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nb3 Nf6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 b5 12.Bb3 Bb7 13.Nxe6!+- Once again this is very powerful. 7.0-0 25 Nc6 35 8.Nb3 9 Nf6 28 9.Nbxd4 36 Nxd4 24 10.Nxd4 9 a6 40 11.Re1 2:33 b5 0 12.Bb3 4:47 Bb7 2:52 13.Bg5 4:25 13.Nxe6!? This should have been tried. fxe6 13...Qxd1 14.Nxg7++- 14.Rxe6+ Be7 15.Bf4 And Here Black has to play carefully. 0-0-0 And it seems as if Black should be fine here. But this entire line needs deeper investigation. 13...Ne4!? 7:13 13...Be7 was also possible but Vocaturo was in an aggressive mood. 14.Bh4 11:21 14.Bf4 was a better retreat. 14...g5! 1:38 15.Bg3 1:20 Nxg3 59 16.hxg3 11 0-0-0 1:20 17.c3 9:49 h5 38 18.Re3 29:01 18.a4 h4 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qg4 hxg3 21.Nxe6 gxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Bc5+ 0-1 (22) Ganguly,S (2658) -Peralta,F (2566) Linares 2019 18...h4 7:47 19.Qg4 0 hxg3 3:30 20.fxg3 2:49 20.Rxg3 Rh4 21.Qxg5 Be7 22.Qe3 Rdh8-+ 20...Bc5 10:40 20...Bd6! with the idea of e5 is absolutely killing. 21.Rf1 3:35 Qc6! 9:09 22.Re2 9:39 22.Nxc6 Bxe3+ 23.Rf2 Rd2-+ 22...f5 0 22...Rh7!? 23.Qf3 5:37 23.Bxe6+ Qxe6 24.Rxe6 24.Rxf5 Bxd4+ 25.cxd4 Qd7-+ 24...fxg4-+ 23...Qb6 2:42 24.Bxe6+ 1:21 Kb8 7 25.Qxf5 1:22 Rxd4 0 26.cxd4 5 Bxd4+ 4 27.Rff2 0 Qc6! An excellent game by Vocaturo. 27...Qc6! 32 A picturesque final finish. 28.Bd5 28.Qe4 Qxe4 29.Rxe4 Bxe4-+ 28.Qf3 Qc1+-+ 28...Qc1+-+ 0–1
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Kovalev,V2674Vocaturo,D26150–12019C0735th European Club Cup 20197.6

Team Ave Novy Bor won the silver just like last year

Name Pts.
Harikrishna Pentala 3,5
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 4,0
Navara David 3,0
Ragger Markus 3,5
Sasikiran Krishnan 3,5
Bartel Mateusz 5,0
Babula Vlastimil 3,0
Kriebel Tadeas 3,0

It is very interesting to note that Harikrishna Pentala, Vidit Gujarathi, David Navara, Markus Ragger, Sasikiran Krishnan, Mateusz Bartel — all the top six GMs of team Ave Novy Bor lost some Elo points! Different players delivered in different rounds. They lost only one round to the eventual bronze medalist Mednyi Vsadnik with a score of 3½:2½. But this was a round that they should not have lost. Sasikiran was completely winning his game against Maxim Rodshtein and eventually lost.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 Re8 7.Bg5 a6 8.Ba4 h6 9.Bh4 b5 10.Bb3 g5 11.Bg3 d6 12.a4 Bd7 13.Re1 Bb6 14.Nbd2 Ne7 15.Nf1 Ng6 16.Ne3 Rb8 17.axb5 axb5 18.Qc2 Bxe3 19.fxe3 c5 20.Rf1 Kg7 21.Nd2 Rf8 22.Rf3 Nh7 23.Raf1 f6 24.Ra1 Qb6 25.Bd5 Ne7 26.c4 Nxd5 27.exd5 Ra8 28.Raf1 Bg4 29.R3f2 Bh5 30.cxb5 Qxb5 31.Nc4 Ra6 32.h4 Qd7 33.e4 Bg4 34.Qd2 Bh5 35.b4 cxb4 36.Qxb4 Rfa8 37.Kh2 Bg6 38.Rb2 R8a7 39.Rfb1 gxh4 40.Bxh4 Ng5 41.Bxg5 hxg5 42.Qb8 Bf7 43.Ne3 Ra8 44.Qb7 Qd8 45.Nf5+ White has a completely dominating position now. Kg6 46.Ne7+ 46.Rh1 The idea is to move the king to g3 and get the rook in the game. 46...Kg7 47.Nf5+ Kg6 48.Qe7 Qh8+ 49.Kg1 Re8 50.Qd7 Qh5 51.Rb7 Rf8 52.Qe7 Raa8 53.Rf1 53.Qxd6 Rh8 54.Qxf6+ Kxf6 55.R1b6+ Be6 56.Rxe6# 53...g4 54.Rb6 54.Nxd6!+- 54...Rh8 55.Rb2 55.Nh6!± 55...Qh2+ 56.Kf2 Rh3 57.Ke1? 57.Ke2∞ 57...Ra1+ 58.Ke2 Rxf1 59.Kxf1 Qf4+ 60.Ke2 Rh1 61.Nxd6 Qf1+ 62.Ke3 Qc1+ 63.Kf2 Qe1# A heartbreaking loss for Sasikiran. If he had won this game, his team would also have won the match. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sasikiran,K2660Rodshtein,M26530–12019C6535th ECC Open 20194.5

For Rodshtein, although luck was on his side against Ave Novy Bor, when it was his game against Gawain Jones from Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova, things turned 180 degrees!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 b6 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Qd2 Qd7 13.Bb5 Rad8 14.d5 Qc7 15.Bxc6 Bxc6 16.Bh6 e6 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.c4 exd5 19.cxd5 Bb7 20.Rfd1 Qe7 21.f3 Kg8 22.Nf4 Qe5 23.a4 Rd6 24.Nd3 Qd4+ 25.Kh1 f5 26.Qa2 Qg7 27.a5 g5 28.a6 Ba8 So far, White has strategically outplayed Black. He has a strong pawn mass in the centre and better mobility for the pieces. I am sure at this point no one would have thought that the bishop on a8 will be the Hero for the Italian team! 29.Nb2 fxe4 30.Nc4 Rdf6 31.fxe4 Rf2 32.Qa1 Qg6 33.Re1 Qh5 34.Ne5 R8f4 34...Qh4 Threatening Rg2 35.Nd3 Rxg2 36.Kxg2 Qg4+ 37.Kh1 Qf3+ 35.Qc3 White is winning again. g4 36.Kg1 Ra2 37.Ra1 Raf2 38.Rac1 Ra2 39.Ra1 Raf2 40.Rad1 Ra2 41.Rf1 White smartly repeated the moves in the last 2-3 moves to get to the move 40 and get additional time. But I feel, practically Rf1 is a mistake. It unnecessary allows Black some counterplay. Although, its still winning. 41.Nd3 Rxe4 42.Rxe4 g3 Might have bothered Maxim, but white has a brilliant win 43.Re8+‼ 43.hxg3 also is enough Qxd1+ 44.Re1 Qd2 45.Qxd2 Rxd2 46.Re8+ Kg7 47.Rxa8 Rxd3 48.Rxa7+ 43...Qxe8 44.Nf4 41...Rxe4 42.Nd7 Rxg2+! 43.Kxg2 Re2+ 44.Rf2 Bxd5+ 45.Kg1 Rxf2 46.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 47.Ke1 Throwing away the win. 47.Ke3 Qh6+ 48.Kd3 Qg6+ 49.Kd2 And White escapes through the 'landmines'. 47...Bf3 48.Qc4+ Kg7 49.Qc3+ Kg8 50.Nf6+ Kf7 51.Rd7+ Kg6 52.Rg7+ Kf5 Surprisingly, with 3 pieces attacking, Black king safely runs in the centre of the board! 52...Kxg7 53.Nxg4+ 53.Qd3+ Kxf6 54.Rxh7 54.Qc3+ White had to take the draw Kf5 55.Qd3+ 54...Qg1+ 55.Kd2 Qd1+ 56.Kc3 Qc1+ 56...Qc1+ 57.Kb3 c4+ 58.Qxc4 Bd1+ 59.Kb4 Qb2+ 60.Qb3 Qxb3# 0–1
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Rodshtein,M2653Jones,G26630–1201935th ECC Open 20196.5

Harikrishna played the third longest game ever in the history of classical chess against David Howell. It lasted for 236 moves. The position was completely drawn, but Howell kept trying to find ways to keep the struggle going. He used the strategy of making a pawn move every time he was close to the 50 move rule. Harikrishna, however, stood his ground and managed to hold the draw without too many difficulties.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nf6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.c4 e6 11.Nc3 Be7 12.b3 Nd7 13.Be3 c5 14.Bf4 Qc7 15.Qd2 Rd8 16.Rad1 Ne5 17.Bxe5 dxe5 18.Qc2 0-0 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 Rd4 21.Ne2 Rxd1+ 22.Qxd1 Qa5 23.a4 Qb4 24.g3 g6 25.Kg2 Kf8 26.Qd3 Qb7 27.Ng1 f5 28.f3 Ke8 29.Nh3 Qd7 30.Qxd7+ Kxd7 31.Nf2 Bd6 32.Nd3 Kc6 33.Kh3 a5 34.Kg2 Kd7 35.Kf2 Kc6 36.Ke2 Bc7 37.Nf2 Bd8 38.Nd1 Bg5 39.Nc3 Bc1 40.Nd1 Kd6 41.Kf1 Bd2 42.Ke2 Bc1 43.Kf1 Bd2 44.Kg2 Ke7 45.Kh3 Kd6 46.Nf2 Be3 47.Nd3 Bg5 48.Kg2 Be3 49.Kh3 Bg5 50.Kg2 Be3 51.g4 Bg5 52.Kg3 f4+ 53.Kf2 Bd8 54.Kg2 g5 55.Kh1 Bc7 56.Kg1 Kc6 57.Kf1 Bd6 58.Ke1 Bc7 59.Kd1 Bd6 60.Kc1 Bc7 61.Kb1 Bd6 62.Ka1 Bc7 63.Ka2 Bd6 64.Kb2 Bc7 65.Kc2 Bd6 66.Kd2 Bc7 67.Ke2 Bd6 68.Kf2 Bc7 69.Kg2 Bd6 70.Nf2 Be7 71.Nh1 Bd6 72.Kh3 Be7 73.Nf2 Bd6 74.Nd1 Be7 75.Nc3 Bd6 76.Nb5 Be7 77.Na7+ Kb7 78.Nb5 Kc6 79.Kg2 Bf8 80.Na3 Bd6 81.Nc2 Bc7 82.Na1 Bd6 83.Kh1 Bc7 84.Kg2 Bd6 85.Kf1 Bc7 86.Ke2 Bd6 87.Kd1 Bc7 88.Kc2 Bd8 89.Kc1 Bc7 90.Nc2 Bd6 91.Kb2 Be7 92.Ne1 Bd6 93.Ka3 Be7 94.Ka2 Bd6 95.Nd3 Bc7 96.Nf2 Bd6 97.Ka1 Be7 98.Kb2 Bd6 99.Kb1 Be7 100.Kc2 Bd6 101.Kd3 Be7 102.Ke2 Bd6 103.Kf1 Be7 104.h3 Bd6 105.Kg2 Be7 106.Nd3 Bd6 107.Kf2 Bc7 108.Ke2 Bd6 109.Kd2 Bc7 110.Kc2 Bd6 111.Kb2 Bc7 112.Ka2 Bd6 113.Ka1 Bc7 114.Kb1 Bd6 115.Kc1 Bc7 116.Kd1 Bd6 117.Ke1 Bc7 118.Kf1 Bd6 119.Kg1 Bc7 120.Kh1 Bd6 121.Nc1 Bc7 122.Na2 Bd6 123.Nc3 Be7 124.Nb5 Bf8 125.Na7+ Kb7 126.Nb5 Kc6 127.Kg1 Be7 128.Kf1 Bf8 129.Ke1 Be7 130.Kd1 Bf8 131.Kc1 Be7 132.Na3 Bd6 133.Nc2 Be7 134.Kd2 Bd6 135.Ke2 Be7 136.Kf2 Bd6 137.Kg2 Be7 138.Kh2 Bd6 139.Na1 Be7 140.Nc2 Bd6 141.Ne1 Be7 142.Nd3 Bd6 143.Nb2 Be7 144.Kh1 Bd6 145.Kg2 Be7 146.Nd1 Bd6 147.Nf2 Be7 148.Kg1 Bd6 149.Kh1 Be7 150.Kg2 Bd6 151.Kh2 Be7 152.Nd3 Bd6 153.h4 h6 154.Kh3 Bc7 155.Kg2 Bd6 156.Kf1 Bc7 157.Kg2 Bd6 158.Ne1 Be7 159.Kh3 Bd6 160.Kh2 Be7 161.Ng2 Bd8 162.Kh3 Be7 163.Kh2 Bd8 164.Kh3 Be7 165.h5 Bd8 166.Kh2 Be7 167.Kh1 Bd8 168.Kg1 Be7 169.Kf1 Bd8 170.Ke1 Be7 171.Kd1 Bd6 172.Kc1 Be7 173.Kb1 Bd6 174.Ka1 Be7 175.Ne1 Bd6 176.Nd3 Bc7 177.Nf2 Bd6 178.Nh3 Be7 179.Ka2 Kd6 180.Kb2 Kc6 181.Kc2 Kd6 182.Kd2 Kc6 183.Ke2 Kd6 184.Kf2 Kc6 185.Kg2 Kd6 186.Kh2 Kc6 187.Nf2 Bd6 188.Nd3 Bc7 189.Kh3 Bd6 190.Kg2 Bc7 191.Kf1 Bd6 192.Ke2 Bc7 193.Kd1 Bd6 194.Kc2 Bc7 195.Kb1 Bd6 196.Ka2 Bc7 197.Kb2 Bd6 198.Kc1 Bc7 199.Kc2 Bd6 200.b4 cxb4 201.Kb3 Bc7 202.c5 Bb8 203.Kc4 Bc7 204.Nc1 Bd8 205.Nb3 Bc7 206.Kd3 Bd8 207.Ke2 Bc7 208.Kf1 Bd8 209.Kg2 Bc7 210.Kh1 Bd8 211.Kh2 Bc7 212.Kg1 Bd8 213.Kf2 Bc7 214.Ke1 Bd8 215.Kd2 Bc7 216.Kc1 Bd8 217.Kb2 Bc7 218.Ka1 Bd8 219.Ka2 Bc7 220.Kb1 Bd8 221.Kc2 Bc7 222.Kd1 Bd8 223.Ke2 Bc7 224.Kd3 Bd8 225.Kc4 Bc7 226.Nc1 Bd8 227.Nd3 Bc7 228.Kb3 Bb8 229.Ka2 Bc7 230.Ka1 Bb8 231.Ka2 Bc7 232.Kb1 Bb8 233.Kc2 Bc7 234.Kb2 Bb8 235.Kc1 Bc7 236.Kd1 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Howell,D2701Harikrishna,P2731½–½2019B5135th ECC Open 20193.2

Howell, wasn't too happy with the conduct of the arbiters and tweeted after the game:

The team of Mednyi Vsadnik led by Leinier Dominguez finished third

Top board of team Alkaloid was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

Team Alkaloid, the top seeds, had a forgettable event as they lost two matches against Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova and Mednyi Vsadnik. But both the losses were by a margin of just 2½:3½. The positive news for team Alkaloid was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov winning the gold on board no. 1. Here's one tremendous game by Mamedyarov:

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Bg2 d5 8.Nc2 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 has been the mainline for the ages. 8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Nb4 An interesting pawn sac Qxc3+ This pawn sacrifice had earned Yu Yangyi the shared victory of Qatar Masters Open in 2015. 11...Nxb4 12.cxb4 Rd8 13.Qb3 Nc6 14.0-0 Nd4 15.Qb2 e5 16.Be3 Bg4 17.Rac1 Qd7 18.f3 Bh3 19.Rfd1 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Qe6 21.Rc7 1-0 (77) Yu Yangyi (2736)-So,W (2775) Doha QAT 2015 12.Bd2 Qc5 12...Qd4 is more accurate. Qc5 allows White to develop with tempi 13.Rc1 Qb5 14.a4 Qd7 15.0-0 Re8 16.Qb3 A very Mamedyarov-esque decision! I am sure, most of the players would have gone for a stable edge with Nd5. Mamed goes for a second pawn sacrifice! Sometimes, I wonder if he counts the pawns at all? :) 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Bc3 Nc6 18.Bxd5 With a solid advantage 16...Nb6 17.Rfd1 Qxa4 18.Qb1 Objectively, the pawn sacrifice is incorrect, but it did pose Pono some practical problems which he couldn't solve at the board. N8d7 Natural move, trying to develop. Engines suggest grabbing the third pawn with Qb5-e2! and h6. Please don't expect me to rationalise such bizzare moves! 19.Bc3 19.Na2 With a very strong threat of Nc3-b5 19...a5 20.Na2 Nd5 21.Bb2 Qg4 21...h6 The computer again suggests h6 as one of the top moves! I guess you can now understand that practically Black's position is quite hard to play. 22.Rd4 Qg6 23.e4 Nb4 This throws away the game. 23...N5f6! I wonder why Pono didn't play this. Black keeps the material advantage. White still has to prove his compensation 24.Nxb4 axb4 25.Rxc8 Raxc8 26.Rxd7 Red8 27.Qd1 Qg5 28.h4 Rxd7 29.Qxd7 Rd8 30.Qc7 Qd2 31.Bf3 Can you guess the top choice of the engine? Yes it's h6! (Again!):) 31.Qe5 f6 32.Qxe6+ Kh8 33.Qb6 I am sure Mamed missed this strong resource. 31...Kh8 32.Kg2 Rg8 33.Ba1 b3 34.Qxb7 Qa5 35.Bb2 Qa2 36.Bd4 There are some practical problems in converting the advatage. But, I feel sooner or later White should be able to win. f6 36...Qd2 37.Qb6 Qd3 was more resilient. 37.e5 f5 38.Qb6 Qd2 39.Bc6 f4 40.g4 Qd1 41.Bf3 Qd3 42.h5 h6 43.Bb2 Qc4 44.Ba3 Rc8 45.Qd6 Kg8 46.Bb7 Re8 47.Bc6 Rc8 48.Bd7 Qe4+ 49.Kh2 Qe2 50.Bc5 Although, Mamedyarov's sacrifices in the game were incorrect, it posed a lot of practical problems and eventually it was rewarded, as it usually does, if you put persistent pressure on your opponent. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2772Ponomariov,R26481–0201935th ECC Open 20196.1

Final standings (Open)

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova 14
2 AVE Novy Bor 12
3 Mednyi Vsadnik 11
4 Alkaloid 10
5 Moscow Chess Team 10
6 Valerenga 10
7 Molodezka 10
8 Vugar Gashimov 10
9 Koge SK 10
10 Primorsky District 10

Women's Championship

Third seeded Team Nona from Georgia won the gold medal | Photo: European Chess Union Twitter

The Georgian ladies started out slow, but as the tournament progressed, they found their footing and were able to win two crucial matches against second placed Kyiv Chess Federation and Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo. Nino Batsiashvili and Bela Khotenashvili both scored wins in both the matches against Monika Socko and Deimante Daulyte Cornette from Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo and against Abdumalik Zhansaya and Osmak Lulija.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Ba6 7.b3 0-0 8.Nc3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Bg2 c5 11.Ne5 Bb7 12.0-0 Na6 13.Rfd1 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Rac1 Qe7 16.Nd3 Ne6 17.Nf4 Nxf4 18.Qxf4 Rfd8 19.Rc2 Rac8 20.Rdc1 Bc6 21.Nd1 Bb5 22.Ne3 d4 23.Nf5 Qf8 24.b4 Nd5 25.Bxd5 Rxd5 26.Rxc5 Rdxc5 27.Rxc5 Rxc5 28.bxc5 Bxe2 29.c6 Qb4 30.h4 Ba6 31.Qe5 Qf8 32.Qxd4 g6 33.Qxa7 gxf5 34.Qxa6 Qd6 35.Qc4 Qc7 36.Qd5 f4 37.Qd7 Qa5 38.Qg4+ Kf8 39.Qxf4 Qxa2 40.Qb8+ Kg7 41.Qe5+ f6 42.Qe7+ Kg6 43.c7 Qb1+ 44.Kg2 Qb7+ 45.Kh2 Qc6 46.h5+ Kf5 47.Qd8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Khotenashvili,B2446Daulyte-Cornette,D24051–02019E1535th ECC Women 20195.1
Osmak,I2401Khotenashvili,B24460–12019C7235th ECC Women 20196.1
Socko,M2417Batsiashvili,N24220–12019E1235th ECC Women 20195.1
Batsiashvili,N2422Abdumalik,Z24721–02019A3435th ECC Women 20196.1
Name Pts.
Dzagnidze Nana 4,0
Javakhishvili Lela 4,0
Batsiashvili Nino 4,5
Khotenashvili Bela 4,0
Melia Salome 1,0

The Kyiv Chess Federation finished second | Photo: European Chess Union Twitter

Name Pts.
Muzychuk Mariya 5,0
Muzychuk Anna 4,0
Abdumalik Zhansaya 3,5
Osmak Iulija 2,5
Gaponenko Inna 1,5

The bronze medal was won by Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo.

Final standings (Women)

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 Nona 11
2 Kyiv Chess Federation 10
3 Cercle d`Echecs Monte Carlo 10
4 Odlar Yurdu 9
5 Ugra 8
6  AVE Novy Bor 8
7 SPB Chess and Draughts Sport School 8
8 ZSK Maribor 8
9 Caissa Pentole Agnelli 7
10 Jelica PEP 6

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Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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