Wei Yi other finalist in Leon

by Alejandro Ramirez
6/8/2014 – The Chinese prodigy Wei Yi, who turned 15 last week, is the second finalist in Leon. He vanquished Ivan Salgado in a match where the Spanish player never had any real winning chances. Setting the tone on game one Wei Yi was able to push his advantage until the end taking the match 2.5-1.5. Festivities in Leon conclude with the match between Wei Yi and Paco Vallejo.

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The XXVII Master's City of Leon has commenced. The tournament features only four players in a unique weekend tournament. A knock-out system is being used and the games are being played on a rapid time control.

The second semi-final was between Wei Yi and Ivan Salgado.

Wei Yi at the press desk

The Chinese prodigy came in as the higher rated player but not by much. He was however able to set the tone for the match as he won the first game with white. A typical 1.e4 e5 position arose and Wei Yi was able to maneuver his knights into better positions than his opponent. The pressure got to Salgado and he was forced into a rook endgame down a pawn which the Chinese player converted.

A beautiful hall to follow the action

The spectators can see simultaneously the current position and the analysis board

Salgado was simply unable to recover from the first game defeat

The action after game one mainly revolved around Salgado trying to find winning chances to even the score. In game four, in a must win situation, he blundered badly and offered a draw that was taken by his opponent as he guaranteed his spot in the finals.

With this result Wei Yi moves on to face Paco Vallejo in the finals to determine the winner of this event.

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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.

Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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