Spanish Team Championship, Round 6: Andreu Paterna leapfrogs Magic Extremadura

Silla Bosch Serinsys still in the lead

There is still a sole leader at the 2020 Spanish Team Championship, despite the fact that Silla Bosch Serinsys only drew its round-8 match with Beniaján Duochess, as the team that could have caught up with the Valencian squad, Magic Extremadura, lost against Andreu Paterna in an evenly matched encounter.

Meanwhile, Gros Xake Taldea defeated Solvay and Jaime Casas inflicted Collado Villalba’s eighth consecutive loss. 

Although it is still theoretically possible for five teams to grab first place, it is very unlikely for the squads currently placed two points behind the leader to climb up to the top of the standings — not only because Silla Bosch Serinsys has shown great stability throughout, but also due to the first tiebreak criterion, board points, in which the Valencian team has a strong lead as well.

It will all come down to the two key matchups of the final round — Silla Bosch Serinsys v Gros Xake Taldea and Andreu Paterna v Solvay. In both cases, all three results are possible, with no big favourites given how closely contested the tournament has been so far.

Beniaján Duochess

Silla Bosch Serinsys 3:3 Beniaján Duochess

Monday’s top matchup saw the leaders and the rating favourites trading wins on boards 5 and 6. Hipólito Asis (Beniaján) beat José Cuenca (Silla) while Pia Cramling (Silla) got the better of Sabrina Vega (Beniaján). The Swedish legend defeated her Spanish colleague in a sharp open position with queens and two pieces per side:

The Exciting Budapest Gambit

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Black is a pawn up and has the safer king, but given the presence of queens in an open position a blunder for either side can lead to a quick defeat. However, the one cracking under pressure first was Vega, who faltered by going active with 44.Qf7 here, when simplifying with 44.Nxe6 would have given her better chances to hold a draw. 

The game continued 44...Nxg5 45.Qb7 and Cramling started pushing her passer on the h-file while creating luft for her king with 45...h5. White resigned seven moves later.

Silla Bosch Serinsys’ Pia Cramling and José “Pepe” Cuenca

Andreu Paterna 3½:2½ Magic Extremadura

A single decisive game tipped the balance in favour of Andreu Paterna over Magic Extremadura, as Julen Arizmendi beat Antoaneta Stefanova with black on board 5. The Spaniard played enterprising chess and saw his opponent overplaying her position. In the end, it was White who fell victim to an unstoppable attack:

Black handled better the messy position that emerged from an offbeat opening. There followed 25...Ng4 26.Bxf5 Rxf5 27.Rxb7 Qd1+ and Stefanova resigned.

This was Arizmendi’s third win of the event, after playing four out of his five games with the black pieces. He also lost once for a 3½/5 score.

Magic Extremadura v Andreu Paterna

Gros Xake Taldea 3½:2½ Solvay

In a match that saw Gros Xake Taldea’s Arkadij Naiditsch losing for the first time at the event — after starting with four straight wins and a draw — the team from San Sebastián got to beat their direct rivals from Solvay with wins by Etienne Bacrot and Íñigo Argandoña.

Argandoña showed good technique to convert from a position with rook and two pieces against two rooks:

Master Class Vol.10: Mikhail Botvinnik

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Alberto Martín, playing black, went for 70...e6 here, a move that ended up creating better opportunities for White’s rook on e1 than for his own passive major pieces. The game continued 71.Nc3 exd5 72.cxd5 b5 73.Nxb5+ Kb6 74.Nd6 c4+ 75.Kxc4 Rd8 76.Rb1+ Kc7 77.Kc5:

Black is doomed — 77...Rb8 78.Nb5+ Kd8 79.Re1 and Martín resigned. 

Gros Xake Taldea v Solvay 

Jaime Casas 5½:½ Collado Villalba

The tailenders from Collado Villalba are heavily outrated on all boards and only managed to draw one game against the underperforming Jaime Casas. Jaime Casas will get a chance to finish the event with a bang though, as they will face rating favourites Beniaján Duochess on Tuesday.

Standings after Round 6

Pairings - Round 7

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 and 2

These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.

All games

Links

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