Simuls and Exhibitions in the Hawaii of China

Round four was an important one for the tournament standings as Germany's Arkadij Naiditsch defeated Bu Xiangzhi and took the tournament lead for himself. Yu Yangyi received a nice gift from Zhao Jun as the latter blundered in the 15th move of the game; White certainly had some pressure in that position but a bad oversight cost him a piece and Zhao Jun had to resign instantly.

A crucial game for the leaderboard: Arkadij Naiditsch (right) vs. Bu Xiangzhi

In round five Bu Xiangzhi bounced back, again against Zhao Jun. Yu Yangyi won his second game in a row by defeating Ma Qun and both Bu Xiangzhi and Yu Yangyi caught Naiditsch at the top of the standings with 3.5/5.0

Free Day

A simultaneous exhibition was held during the free day, and the turn-out was great.

A panoramic view of the exhibition

In the simul held by the organizer on the rest day after round four, the ten grandmasters participating in the event played against 200 students from local primary and middle schools.

Ponomariov and Naidtisch hard at work

Ruslan Ponomariov hosted a q&a session for local kids

Besides the simul, GM Ye Jianghuan, the head coach of China's National team and the former Women World champion GM Xu Yuhua gave a lecture with local chess kids. Like the previous year, the organizer once again set up a challenge event for Wei Yi. The winners from the Danzhou school chess league had the right to challenge him in a five-minute blitz.

Wei Yi showing his blitz skills against local champions who earned the right to challenge him

Chess in China would simply not be the same without this man: GM Ye Jiangchuan

Yu Yangyi did not have an easy time in his simul

The players posing with the local champions

Former Women's World Champion Xu Yuhua with a lecture. Can you find the answer?

We did mention Hainan was the "Hawaii of China"?

Naiditsch is pleased with his gift

Zhou Weiqi has 50% in the tournament and a crushing record in the simul

Two bastions of Chinese Chess: GMs Ye Jiangchuan and Xu Yuhua giving a lecture

Ma Qun dressed fashionably for a chess event

The tournament is still open for anyone to win it as Ding Liren and Ponomariov are only half a point behind the leaders. Naiditsch has yet to play Yu Yangyi or Ponomariov; two matches that will certainly be worth watching.

Photography and additional information provided by Mr. Liang Ziming

Standings

Replay Games of Rounds four and five

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Links Official tournament site All Games in PGN 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.