
Thailand Open 2011
The Bangkok Chess Club and Thailand Chess Association staged this event from
11th to 17th April 2011 in Pattaya, Thailand.
In a final round Nigel Short outplayed Indian Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte and
looked like the tournament winner. But both Jan Gustafsson and Paco Vallejo
managed to win difficult endings (against Kjetil Stokke and Niaz Murshed respectively).
This meant that third seed Gustafsson, Germany, tied with top seeds Vallejo,
Spain, and Short, England, each player having scored 7.5/9 points.

The winner Jan Gustafsson at the start of his game against Kjetil Stokke,
Norway
Final top standings
Full
standings of 141 players
Gustafsson won the tiebreak for having played the stronger opposition and took
the 2011 Thai Chess Open trophy. Short, who lost to Gustafsson in round seven,
was placed second. The prize money of 220,000 Baht (= €5000 or US $7300)
was shared equally amongst the three. A quick check with ChessBase 11 (running
on an incomplete PGN file) reveals the following performances – compared
to the official ones displayed when you click the names on the above list:
Rnk |
Player |
Rating |
Off. perf |
CB Perf. |
+/– |
Score |
1 |
Gustafsson,Jan |
2647 |
2661 |
2667 |
+5 |
7.5/9 |
2 |
Short,Nigel D |
2676 |
2687 |
2693 |
+5 |
7.5/9 |
3 |
Vallejo,Francisco |
2707 |
2692 |
2699 |
+3 |
7.5/9 |

The winners: Nigel Short, Jan Gustafsson, Francisco Vallejo

Nigel Short with his trophy and tournament officials

"Beauty v. brains", says the official web site: Nina Tuorila challenges
Nigel

The winner with his trophy in front of the Pattaya seaside front

The hallway outside the tournament hall

Thai tournament arbiter Panupan Vitchuprapa taking a meal break

Cakes for dessert

A Thai dance recital at the closing ceremony

Goodbye Pattaya, see you next year!
Links
A few 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 the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009! |
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