Thai Open: Gustafsson ahead of Vallejo and Short on tiebreak
4/17/2011 – All three top seeds entered the final round with 6.5/8 points. English GM Nigel Short smoothly outplayed his opponent, while GMs Jan Gustafsson (Germany) and Paco Vallejo (Spain) had to navigate through tricky endings. But with all three winning their games they ended on 7.5/9 in tie for first. Gustafsson was awarded the trophy on tiebreak. Final report.
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
| Rk. | Title | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. |
TB1 |
TB2 |
TB3 |
| 1 | GM | Gustafsson Jan | GER | 2647 | 7.5 |
55.0 |
45.00 |
6 |
| 2 | GM | Short Nigel D | ENG | 2676 | 7.5 |
54.0 |
42.75 |
7 |
| 3 | GM | Vallejo Francisco | ESP | 2707 | 7.5 |
53.5 |
43.00 |
6 |
| 4 | FM | Voigt Martin | GER | 2325 | 7.0 |
47.5 |
35.25 |
5 |
| 5 | IM | Yang Kaiqi | CHN | 2399 | 7.0 |
47.5 |
34.50 |
7 |
| 6 | GM | Sriram Jha | IND | 2442 | 6.5 |
52.5 |
35.50 |
5 |
| 7 | GM | Hansen Sune Berg | DEN | 2603 | 6.5 |
49.0 |
34.25 |
5 |
| 8 | FM | Illingworth Max | AUS | 2345 | 6.5 |
48.5 |
33.00 |
5 |
| 9 | IM | Saptarshi Roy | IND | 2395 | 6.5 |
46.0 |
31.25 |
6 |
| 10 | IM | Palit Somak | IND | 2378 | 6.5 |
43.0 |
30.50 |
6 |
| 11 | GM | Murshed Niaz | BAN | 2455 | 6.0 |
53.5 |
33.75 |
4 |
| 12 | GM | Kunte Abhijit | IND | 2526 | 6.0 |
53.5 |
33.25 |
4 |
| 13 | Mariano Nelson III | PHI | 2197 | 6.0 |
52.5 |
34.25 |
5 |
|
| 14 | GM | Zaw Win Lay | MYA | 2382 | 6.0 |
50.5 |
31.50 |
4 |
| 15 | FM | Stokke Kjetil | NOR | 2407 | 6.0 |
50.0 |
31.50 |
5 |
| 16 | FM | Illner Achim | GER | 2353 | 6.0 |
50.0 |
29.75 |
5 |
| 17 | WGM | L'Ami Alina | ROU | 2297 | 6.0 |
48.5 |
30.50 |
5 |
| 18 | FM | Sklyarov Dmitry V. | RUS | 2415 | 6.0 |
48.5 |
30.50 |
5 |
| 19 | GM | Bakre Tejas | IND | 2530 | 6.0 |
48.0 |
31.50 |
3 |
| 20 | IM | Lahiri Atanu | IND | 2350 | 6.0 |
47.5 |
29.50 |
5 |
| 21 | IM | Willemze Thomas | NED | 2390 | 6.0 |
47.5 |
29.00 |
6 |
| 22 | IM | Aung Aung | MYA | 2324 | 6.0 |
46.0 |
28.75 |
4 |
| 23 | IM | Myo Naing | MYA | 2317 | 6.0 |
45.5 |
27.50 |
5 |
| 24 | FM | Sauravh Khherdekar | IND | 2325 | 6.0 |
44.0 |
25.75 |
5 |
| 25 | Sanjay N. | IND | 2335 | 6.0 |
43.0 |
25.50 |
5 |
|
| 26 | IM | Contin Daniel | ITA | 2316 | 6.0 |
41.0 |
25.50 |
5 |
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!
LinksA 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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