Wei Yi beats Ernesto Inarkiev in friendly match

by Johannes Fischer
8/23/2018 – A twelve-game match between Wei Yi and Ernesto Inarkiev was played in Magas, the capital town of the Republic of Ingushetia. The Chinese defeated the 2016 European Champion 4:2 in the classical section and achieved a 3½:2½ victory in the rapid. Wei Yi demonstrated his tactical talent more than once. | Photo: Amruta Mokal (archive)
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Wei Yi 7½:4½ Ernesto Inarkiev

Curiously, Wei Yi started the 12-game competition with a loss, but he immediately bounced back with a convincing tactical win in a Sicilian, probably his favourite opening.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Qc7 5.0-0 Nd4 6.Re1 a6 7.Bf1 Ng4 8.g3 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 Ne5 10.Qe2 d6 11.Nd5 Qd8 12.Bg2 e6 13.Ne3 g6 14.b4!? A delayed Sicilian wing-gambit. White sacrifices a pawn to get play on the dark squares. cxb4 15.a3 bxa3 Black accepts the pawn sacrifice. It was safer to play 15...Bg7 16.Bxa3 Be7 17.d4 Nc6 18.Rad1 Qa5 The black position does not look as solid as it did before. Above all, Black has trouble keeping his king safe. 18...0-0 19.d5 exd5 Or 19...Na5 20.e5 Re8 21.Qd2 and Black loses material. 20.Nxd5 Bf6 21.Nxf6+ Qxf6 22.Rxd6 Be6 23.e5 with a clear advantage for White. 19.Nc4 Qc7 20.e5 dxe5 21.Bxc6+! An important zwischenzug. bxc6 After 21...Qxc6 22.d5 exd5 wins. Or 22...Qd7 23.Nxe5 Qa4 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.d6+ Kf8 26.d7 23.Qxe5 22.Bxe7 Qxe7 gives up material. It was tougher to continue with 22...Kxe7 23.dxe5 Kf8 24.Qf3 with a clear advantage for White. 23.Nb6 Rb8 24.Qxe5 with a double attack against the rooks on b8 and h8. White wins material and takes the victory. Rxb6 25.Qxh8+ Qf8 26.Qxh7 Rb5 27.Qh4 Qb4 28.Re5 Bd7 29.Qe4 a5 30.Rxb5 cxb5 31.Qa8+ Ke7 32.d5 Qg4 33.d6+ Kf6 34.Qh8+ Kf5 35.Rd4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match2

Another tactical skirmish gave Wei Yi a win in the third game. The final mating attack was particularly nice:

 
Game 3: Inarkiev vs. Wei Yi
Position after 34.Ka4

In this position, Wei Yi played 34...Rxb2! and Inarkiev resigned. After 35.Rxd3 Rb4 36.Ka3 Nc4# is mate.

The fourth game also went Wei Yi's way. The young Chinese drew the last two games to finish the classical section with a favourable 4:2 score.

All games - Classical

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.c3 d5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.0-0 c5 9.Ne5 Ne8 10.Bh4 Nd6 11.Qg4 Bc8 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.Rad1 Nd7 14.Nef3 Nf6 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.c4 Qc7 17.Bg3 Nh5 18.cxd5 Nxg3 19.hxg3 Bxd5 20.e4 Bxa2 21.e5 Nb7 22.b3 Na5 23.Ra1 Bxb3 24.Rxa5 Qxa5 25.Nxb3 Qb6 26.Nbd2 a5 27.Nc4 Qc7 28.Be4 Rab8 29.Ra1 Rb4 30.Qc2 Rd8 31.Kh2 h5 32.Rxa5 h4 33.Ra6 hxg3+ 34.fxg3 e6 35.Rc6 Qe7 36.Ne3 Bh6 37.Ng4 Kg7 38.Nxh6 Rh8 39.g4 Rxh6+ 40.Kg3 c4 41.Qc1 Rb3 42.g5 Rh5 43.Kg4 Kh7 44.Rxc4 Rb4 45.Qa3 Rb7 46.Qc3 Ra7 47.Qd2 Qd7 48.Qf4 Qd1 49.Kg3 Qd7 50.Qf6 Ra3 51.Rb4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y27351–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match1
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match2
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y27350–12018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match3
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match4
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y2735½–½2018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match5
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E2690½–½2018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Match6

They also played six rapid games with 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. Wei Yi won this section 3½:2½.

All games - Rapid

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 c5 3.c4 d4 4.b4 dxe3 5.fxe3 cxb4 6.d4 Nf6 7.Bd3 g6 8.a3 bxa3 9.0-0 Bg7 10.Nc3 0-0 11.Bxa3 b6 12.Kh1 Nc6 13.Rc1 Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Rc8 16.Nd5 Qd7 17.g4 Ne8 18.Bc2 Nd6 19.Ba4 Kh8 20.c5 bxc5 21.Rxc5 f5 22.Nf4 Ne4 23.Rxc6 Rxc6 24.d5 Nd2 25.Bxc6 Qc7 26.Ne6 Qa5 27.Qf2 Nxf1 28.Bb2 Ng3+ 29.Qxg3 Bxb2 30.Nxf8 Qa1+ 31.Qg1 Qa3 32.Ne6 Qd3 33.Nf4 Qe4+ 34.Qg2 Qb1+ 35.Kh2 Be5 36.g5 Qd1 37.Qg3 Kg8 38.Kg2 a5 39.Qf2 Qb1 40.Qd2 a4 41.d6 Bxd6 42.Qd5+ Kh8 43.Qd4+ e5 44.Qxd6 Qc2+ 45.Kf3 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid1
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y27351–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid2
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid3
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y2735½–½2018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid4
Wei,Y2735Inarkiev,E26901–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid5
Inarkiev,E2690Wei,Y27351–02018Inarkiev-Wei Yi Rapid6

Final results - Combined

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Translation from German: Antonio Pereira

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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