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The Chinese Chess Association with the patronage and support of the Ningbo Municipal Government and Ningbo Sports Bureau is staging the 2011 World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China. The event is being held from July 15 2011 (arrival) to July 26 2011 (Departure) at the playing venue in the five-star New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo.
The playing hall two minutes after the start of round eight
Although the eighth round provided few surprises, contrary to most of the topsy-turvy event, it did provide the first and only 4-0 whitewash of the event. One might expect the victim to be Egypt as they were easily the weakest team overall, but they always managed to score at least a half point no matter how tough the opposition. No, the John Doe of the round was Israel versus Russia. The Israeli team may not be the highest rated either, but their track record in the Olympiads shows that they are singularly successful in team events. Still, deprived of Gelfand, who may already be dedicating himself to preparing for his forthcoming World Championship against Anand, they were run over by the Russians, desperate to keep their chances for a medal alive.
Li Chao on board three is greeted by Yu Yangyi, sitting out that round
The Chinese won their match against India, their third in a row, keeping a lock on silver, while another set of statistics began to manifest itself, a change in the best scoring players. In the final sprint, the top Chinese players, Wang Hao on board one, and Wang Yue on board two, began a winning streak that was truly heroic, with Li Chao on board three outdoing himself as well.
Armenia in the meantime drew against Azerbaijan, though not without a fight, and kept their grip on the gold.
Bd |
10 |
Russia | Rtg |
4 : 0 |
9 |
Israel | Rtg |
1.1 |
GM |
Grischuk Alexander | 2746 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Roiz Michael | 2669 |
1.2 |
GM |
Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2711 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Smirin Ilya | 2676 |
1.3 |
GM |
Svidler Peter | 2739 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Postny Evgeny | 2618 |
1.4 |
GM |
Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Nabaty Tamir | 2584 |
Bd |
1 |
USA | Rtg |
1½:2½ |
8 |
Ukraine | Rtg |
2.1 |
GM |
Kamsky Gata | 2741 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2768 |
2.2 |
GM |
Onischuk Alexander | 2675 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Efimenko Zahar | 2706 |
2.3 |
GM |
Seirawan Yasser | 2635 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Moiseenko Alexander | 2715 |
2.4 |
GM |
Hess Robert | 2609 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Areshchenko Alexander | 2682 |
Bd |
2 |
Armenia | Rtg |
2 : 2 |
7 |
Azerbaijan | Rtg |
3.1 |
GM |
Aronian Levon | 2805 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Radjabov Teimur | 2744 |
3.2 |
GM |
Movsesian Sergei | 2700 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Gashimov Vugar | 2760 |
3.3 |
GM |
Akopian Vladimir | 2667 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Mamedov Rauf | 2679 |
3.4 |
GM |
Sargissian Gabriel | 2663 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 |
Bd |
3 |
Egypt | Rtg |
1 : 3 |
6 |
Hungary | Rtg |
4.1 |
GM |
Amin Bassem | 2609 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Leko Peter | 2717 |
4.2 |
GM |
El Gindy Essam | 2510 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Almasi Zoltan | 2726 |
4.3 |
IM |
Shoker Samy | 2475 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Polgar Judit | 2699 |
4.4 |
IM |
Ezat Mohamed | 2430 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Erdos Viktor | 2613 |
Bd |
4 |
China | Rtg |
3 : 1 |
5 |
India | Rtg |
5.1 |
GM |
Wang Hao | 2718 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Harikrishna Pentala | 2669 |
5.2 |
GM |
Wang Yue | 2709 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Sasikiran Krishnan | 2681 |
5.3 |
GM |
Li Chao B | 2669 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2627 |
5.4 |
GM |
Ding Liren | 2654 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Negi Parimarjan | 2642 |
Crunch time, and the real scramble was for silver and bronze. China faced Hungary and both teams came with their heaviest hitters. whereas a slip might give Ukraine a chance to snatch silver if they somehow managed to beat Armenia. Just below, Russia desperately needed a win over India, while hoping Ukraine screwed up enough to let them snatch the bronze instead. A veritable dog-eat-dog round.
Nikita Vitiugov (2733) playing board four for Russia
Armenia took no chances and held Ukraine to a draw securing the gold, a deserved conclusion to their brilliant campaign, with a 2826 performance by Aronian on board one, a no less impressive Movsesian with a 2824 performance, and Akopian who also overperformed with a 2784 performance on board three.
Russia soon had their issues laid clear after Svidler, clearly out of sorts, came crashing to resignation in just 24 moves against Ganguly. This placed extreme pressure on the rest of the team, and Nepomniachtchi bit the bullet and took inordinate risks in his game to try and make up for it. The Russians needed 2.5/3 in the other three boards to win the match. Though he cannot be blamed under the circumstances, it did not work out, and as often the case when trying to force chances the position does not justify, he also ended up losing, and the Russians chances were ended.
China's match against Hungary was no less bloody, with Yu Yangyi losing on board four, but both Wang Yue and Li Chao beating Zoltan Almasi and Judit Polgar respectively.
Wang Yue was an absolute star with a huge 7.0/9 and a 2916 performance
[Event "8th World Teams"] [Site "Ningbo CHN"] [Date "2011.07.26"] [Round "9"] [White "Wang, Yue"] [Black "Almasi, Zoltan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2726"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2011.07.17"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. a4 Rc8 (9... a6 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Rd1 Qa5 12. d3 Be7 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Rdc1 O-O 15. Qb3 Qb6 16. Be3 Qd8 17. Nd2 Ng4 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ba7 Nc5 20. Qd1 Ra8 21. Bxc5 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 Bxc5 23. Nce4 Bb6 24. h3 Nf6 25. Qb3 Nd5 26. Nf3 f5 27. Nc3 Qd6 28. d4 $14 {1/2-1/2 (64) Wang Yue (2756)-Ghaem Maghami,E (2593)/ Guangzhou 2010/CB00_2011 (64)}) 10. d4 Be7 11. Bg5 O-O 12. Ne5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Rd1 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Qe7 16. Nc3 Nxe5 17. Ne4 $1 {Wang Yue's positional ability is unique among his Chinese colleagues.} Rcd8 ({White is planning on exchanging queens and gaining a magnificent outpost for his knight, and if Black tries to thwart him with} 17... c5 $6 {he can then play} 18. Nd6 Bxg2 19. Nxc8 Rxc8 20. Kxg2 $14) 18. Qc5 Qxc5 19. Nxc5 Bc8 20. a5 g5 21. h3 Kg7 22. e3 Kf6 23. b3 Ke7 24. f4 Nd7 25. Nd3 gxf4 26. exf4 Rg8 27. Kf2 Nb8 28. Rac1 Rd6 29. Bf3 Rgd8 30. Ke3 f6 31. g4 Na6 $6 (31... Bd7 32. Nc5 {and White must still show how he improves on his position.}) 32. Bxc6 {Wang Yue wins back his pawn while still retaining his edge. In other words he is considerably better now.} Nc7 33. b4 Na6 34. Ke2 {Otherwise Black could play Nxb4, exploiting the pin.} Rd4 35. Bxb5 Re4+ 36. Kf3 Red4 37. Ke2 Re4+ 38. Kf3 Red4 39. Rxc8 Rxc8 40. Bxa6 Rc6 41. Ke3 Rdd6 42. Bb7 Rc4 43. b5 Ra4 44. a6 Ra3 45. Bc6 Rd8 46. Rd2 Kd6 47. Ke2 Kc7 48. Nc5 Rxd2+ 49. Kxd2 e5 50. fxe5 fxe5 51. Nd3 Kd6 52. Ke3 Ra4 53. Kf3 1-0
With their fourth straight victory, the Chinese not only managed to take silver, but Wang Hao won the gold medal for board one with 6.0/9 and a 2854 performance, while Wang Yue scored 7.0/9 with a 2916 performance, the highest of the event. In spite of the last-round loss, in which he tired eveyrthing for his team, Ian Nepomniachtchi still won gold for third board with 6.0/9 and a 2808 performance while Ukraine's Alexander Moiseenko scored 6.0/8 on board four with a 2818 performance.
Gata Kamsky fulfilled his obligations as US champion on board one, and was
undefeated with 5.5/9 and a 2807 TPR.
Yasser Seirawan surprised many with his strong showing including wins over Judit Polgar
and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and a 2773 performance.
On a side note, those following the reports may recall a shock win by Egyptian IM Samy Shoker in round one, after benefiting from a blunder, but his tale did not end there. The young IM rated 2475 proceeded to take full advantage of his opportunity against so many top players, and despite not playing a single player below 2609, scored 4.0/9 for a 2632 performance and GM norm, including a superb win over Mamedyarov (2765) in the last round.
Egyptian IM Samy Shoker arrived as the second lowest rating
of the event but scored a healthy GM norm in the end.
[Event "8th World Teams"] [Site "Ningbo CHN"] [Date "2011.07.26"] [Round "9"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Shoker, Samy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2475"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2011.07.17"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "Egypt"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "EGY"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. h3 Nbd7 6. f4 b5 7. Qf3 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. O-O-O Qe7 10. g4 b4 11. Nb1 exf4 12. Bxf4 Ne5 13. Qg3 Bg7 14. Nd2 Nfd7 15. Ngf3 O-O 16. Nc4 Nxf3 17. Qxf3 Ne5 18. Qe3 Re8 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Bg2 a5 21. Bxe5 Qxe5 22. Qd4 Qg5+ 23. Qd2 Qxd2+ 24. Kxd2 Be6 25. a4 Rad8+ 26. Ke3 Kg7 27. Rd3 Kf6 28. Rhd1 Rxd3+ 29. cxd3 c5 30. Rc1 Rc8 31. Bf3 g5 32. Bd1 Ke5 33. Rxc5+ Rxc5 34. d4+ Kd6 35. dxc5+ Kxc5 36. b3 f6 37. Bc2 h6 38. Bd1 Bf7 39. Kd3 Be6 40. Ke3 Bd7 41. Be2 Be8 42. Bd1 Bf7 43. Kd3 Bg6 $1 {It might seem as if the players are just shuffling the pieces around, but Shoker shows great ability in exploiting his advantage here and has now achieved decisive timing.} 44. Ke3 (44. Be2 {Also fails to hold.} Be8 45. Bf3 Kd6 46. Bd1 Bf7 47. Kd4 Bg8 48. Bc2 Be6 49. Bd1 Bf7 50. Bc2 h5 $1 {and White's position collapses.}) 44... Kd6 45. Kd4 Bf7 46. Kd3 ({White can no longer hold his position together. For example if} 46. Bc2 h5 $1 47. Bd1 (47. gxh5 Bxh5 48. Bd3 Bd1 49. Bc4 Bc2 50. Bg8 f5 51. e5+ (51. exf5 Bxf5 {and h3 falls.}) 51... Ke7) 47... hxg4 48. hxg4 Be6 {and White cannot avoid zugzwang.} 49. Kd3 Ke5 50. Ke3 Bg8 51. Bc2 Bf7 52. Bd1 Be6 { Zugzwang!}) 46... Ke5 47. Ke3 Bg6 48. Bf3 Bh7 49. Kd3 Kf4 0-1
Pictures by Gu Xiaobing, Fan Lulu, Wang Liang and FIDE
Bd |
5 |
India | Rtg |
2½:1½ |
10 |
Russia | Rtg |
1.1 |
GM |
Harikrishna Pentala | 2669 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Grischuk Alexander | 2746 |
1.2 |
GM |
Sasikiran Krishnan | 2681 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2711 |
1.3 |
GM |
Ganguly Surya Shekhar | 2627 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Svidler Peter | 2739 |
1.4 |
GM |
Negi Parimarjan | 2642 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 |
Bd |
6 |
Hungary | Rtg |
1½:2½ |
4 |
China | Rtg |
2.1 |
GM |
Leko Peter | 2717 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Wang Hao | 2718 |
2.2 |
GM |
Almasi Zoltan | 2726 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Wang Yue | 2709 |
2.3 |
GM |
Polgar Judit | 2699 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Li Chao B | 2669 |
2.4 |
GM |
Balogh Csaba | 2643 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Yu Yangyi | 2672 |
Bd |
7 |
Azerbaijan | Rtg |
2½:1½ |
3 |
Egypt | Rtg |
3.1 |
GM |
Radjabov Teimur | 2744 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Adly Ahmed | 2631 |
3.2 |
GM |
Gashimov Vugar | 2760 |
1 - 0 |
GM |
Amin Bassem | 2609 |
3.3 |
GM |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 |
0 - 1 |
IM |
Shoker Samy | 2475 |
3.4 |
GM |
Guseinov Gadir | 2625 |
½ - ½ |
IM |
Ezat Mohamed | 2430 |
Bd |
8 |
Ukraine | Rtg |
2 : 2 |
2 |
Armenia | Rtg |
4.1 |
GM |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2768 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Aronian Levon | 2805 |
4.2 |
GM |
Eljanov Pavel | 2697 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Movsesian Sergei | 2700 |
4.3 |
GM |
Efimenko Zahar | 2706 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Akopian Vladimir | 2667 |
4.4 |
GM |
Moiseenko Alexander | 2715 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Sargissian Gabriel | 2663 |
Bd |
9 |
Israel | Rtg |
1½:2½ |
1 |
USA | Rtg |
5.1 |
GM |
Sutovsky Emil | 2700 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Kamsky Gata | 2741 |
5.2 |
GM |
Roiz Michael | 2669 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Onischuk Alexander | 2675 |
5.3 |
GM |
Smirin Ilya | 2676 |
½ - ½ |
GM |
Seirawan Yasser | 2635 |
5.4 |
GM |
Postny Evgeny | 2618 |
0 - 1 |
GM |
Hess Robert | 2609 |
Rk. |
Team | Gms | + | = | - | Pts | BPts | TB3 |
1 |
Armenia | 9 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
14 |
22.5 |
0 |
2 |
China | 9 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
22.5 |
0 |
3 |
Ukraine | 9 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
19.5 |
0 |
4 |
Russia | 9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
21.0 |
0 |
5 |
Hungary | 9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
19.5 |
0 |
6 |
USA | 9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
18.5 |
0 |
7 |
Azerbaijan | 9 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
19.0 |
0 |
8 |
India | 9 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
15.5 |
0 |
9 |
Israel | 9 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
13.0 |
0 |
10 |
Egypt | 9 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
9.0 |
0 |
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