Wild attack

Would you give an arm and a leg to even play half as well as the winner of this game? I would. From the Chinese chess championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China earlier this month comes this fantastic game. 

Xiu Deshun is not to be scoffed at. Although he is still without any international chess title, not even that of an international master, Xiu’s rating of 2508 points ranks him in China’s current list of their top 20 players. Besides, he had won the Thailand open chess championship two years ago.

However, Xiu came undone while playing against Zhao Jun who is one of China’s chess grandmasters. This game is the stuff which gets shown again and again anywhere in the world as an example of brilliancy. Just bring out your chess set and enjoy it.

Zhao Jun (rated 2580) - Xiu Deshun (rated 2508)

Chinese chess championship, Xinghua, China, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Ne2 Ba6 9.e4 0-0 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 d6 13.f4 Na5 14.fxg5 hxg5 15.0-0 Nh5 (From this point onwards, the game gets interesting. But first, before we continue with the game, it is to be noted that two of Black’s minor pieces are basically out of play on the queenside and his kingside pawns have been irreversibly weakened.)

16.Bxd6!! (See Diagram One. This piece sacrifice comes right out of the blue. It works not because of White’s bravado but because of great inspiration. His instinct tells him to go completely for broke in this game.)  (Diagram One)

16...Qxd6 17.e5 Qe7 18.Ng3 (This move would be a bit more difficult to see. Usually, a player would be quite loathe to exchange off pieces during an attack. Piece exchanges can only help the defender. And yet, here is White offering to swap knights.)

18...Nxg3 19.Rf6!! (See Diagram Two. This position deserves a diagram. Now we know why White was willing to exchange the knights: he wanted to remove Black’s last defending piece, especially its defence of the f6 square. Once the knight was gone, this rook move drives a wedge into Black’s position. The black king is stranded. Since it’s almost impossible to find safety, there is no escape route.)  (Diagram Two)

19...Kg7 (Black tries to create a flight square for the king after he moves away the rook from the f8 square. However, as the game shows, this plan doesn’t work. Another alternative for Black is to exchange off more pieces and hope to relieve the pressure with 19...Bxc4 20.hxg3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 but unfortunately, it doesn’t work too.)

20.Qg4 (The rest of the game basically plays by itself. Again, do note that Black’s bishop and knight on the queenside are still offside and incapable of doing anything much. Black’s priority is to protect his king but his rook is a poor defender. White simply needs to throw all his remaining big pieces – the queen and the other rook – into the attack.)

20...Rg8 21.hxg3 Nb7 (Black’s next few moves see him trying to defend the f7 pawn and simultaneously open an escape route for the king to the queenside. However, White ignores everything that Black does and continues with his game plan to build up the pressure. Double the rooks on the f-file, totally seize the d3-h7 diagonal. White doesn’t even need to capture the g5 pawn yet.)

22.Raf1 Nd8 23.Qe4 Qb7 24.d5 (Great move, in my opinion.) 24…Rh8 25.Qg6+! fxg6  (25...Kf8 26.dxe6 and 27.Rxf7+ follows next. No escape for Black.) 26.Rxg6+ Kh7 27.Rxg5+ Kh6 28.Rg6+ Kh7 (28…Kh5 29.g4+ Kh4 30.Rf3 and it’s checkmate next.) 29.Rg4+ Kh6 30.Rf6+ Kh5 31.Rh4+ 1-0 (The net is complete: 31…Kg5 32.Rg6 mate.)

Up next

YAB chess open

The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will organize the YAB chess open at their campus in Kedah later this month. There will be two events: a Chinese chess tournament on Apr 22 and a chess tournament one day later on Apr 23. Each event, limited to 100 participants, shall consist of four categories: open, under-18, under-12 and UUM students. Entry fee: RM18. Accommodation is available at RM7 per person per night. Closing date: Apr 17. Registration forms available from Neoh Shi Ling (017.4762906, shil_neoh@hotmail.com), Yoong Kah Eng (017.6204688, kahengyoong@yahoo.com) or Yen Yee Kiat (012.5998347).

 

Chess powerhouse

Forty years ago, if I were to mention that chess was a popular game in China, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be thinking of any other type of chess than xiangqi, better known to many of us as Chinese Chess.

And you wouldn’t be wrong. Yes, down the centuries, xiangqi was the most popular board game in China and really, nothing has changed till today. It will always remain their most popular board game.

But there was a small section of people in China that decided on the big step to cross over and play what is known to you and I as international chess. It wasn’t that they (that is, those players) were abandoning the game that was their heritage but more that they were the innovators that decided to explore beyond their cultural boundaries.

In the years since then, there is no denying that China has become a very significant player on the international chess stage. 

At the last Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk for example, the Chinese national chess team finished fifth among 145 countries in the open event. That was no mean feat. Ahead of China were only the Ukraine, the Russian first team, Israel and Hungary, all very high-powered teams

Plus, breathing down the Chinese necks were the Russian second team, Armenia, Spain, the United States and France. These teams finished with the same points as China but they lost out on the tie-breaks.

And in the Women’s Chess Olympiad, the Chinese women were second behind the first Russian women’s team. All in all, there is no denying that as a chess-playing nation, the Chinese are very strong indeed.

But what about their individual chess players? For this, there are two reference points: one is the static World Chess Federation’s rating list that is published every two months, and the other is the rarified chess live rating list that ranks the chess players in the world who have an international rating of at least 2700.

 

The live rating list is dynamically changing all the time and presently, there are only 39 chess players on it. If a player gets onto this list, he is among the crème de la crème. China can claim to have two players there: Wang Yue is ranked 13th in the world and Wang Hao is joint 15th. 

Lately, China have also been making their mark as an international chess organizer. In July, they organized the Asian youth invitational chess championships over various age groups. 

And it was only last month that China organized the elite third Nanjing Pearl Spring chess tournament.

How high calibre was this double round-robin event? Well, in the first instance, only six players were invited. In the second instance, the organizers wanted only the best players and who would be among the best players in the world if not for Magnus Carlsen, Veselin Topalov and world chess champion Viswanathan Anand? Yes, indeed. In the third instance, it was the first time that a chess tournament anywhere would feature three players whose ratings were 2800 or higher. 

For 10 days then, all chess eyes were focussed on Nanjing. There were only three games played every round but they were three games of the highest profile. Not that the games were free of errors but on the contrary, the errors contributed to the tension and made this event one of the finest ever organised.

Carlsen’s form was superb and he practically ran away with the first prize of 80,000 euros. That was equivalent to earning about RM34,400 per game. Not bad for a player who was just a month shy of his 20th birthday. 

Anand also turned in a strong performance but it was not enough to challenge Carlsen for the first prize. In fact, at one stage of the tournament, Anand was in danger of finishing third after losing to Etienne Bacrot but a combination of luck and hard work landed him the second prize of 55,000 euros (about RM236,000).

Bacrot was delighted with his third placing and I suppose, Vugar Gashimov too, who finished fourth. An off-form Topalov found himself in fifth place while a most disappointed Wang Yue finished last. He had the home support but this was just not his tournament.

This game is a typical example of the high tension in this event. If Carlsen had won this game, he would have pulled far, far ahead of his rivals and if Anand had lost this game, who knows what psychological damage it would have inflicted on him. But a draw, well, it allowed him to fight on for another day.

White: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)

Black: Viswanathan Anand (India)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nf5 8.Nf3 0-0 9.d4 d5 10.c3 Bd6 11.Bd3 Nce7 12.Nbd2 c6 13.Nf1 Ng6 14.Qc2 Nfh4 15.Nxh4 Qxh4 16.g3 Qd8 17.Ne3 Re8 18.Bd2 Nf8 19.Nf5 Bc7 20.Rxe8 Qxe8 21.Re1 Be6 22.Qc1 f6 23.Qd1 Qd7 24.Qf3 Re8 25.h4 (Undeniably, White has the better game here.) 

25...Bf7 26.Rf1 Bg6 27.h5 Bxf5 28.Bxf5 Qf7 29.Kg2 g6 30.Bd3 f5 31.Rh1 Ne6 32.hxg6 hxg6 33.g4 (The first sign of tension) 33…Bf4 34.Be3 (34.Bxf4 is answered by 34...fxg4) 34...fxg4? (The second sign of tension. 34...Bxe3 would have been correct. Now, White increases his pressure on Black.)

35.Qxg4 Kg7 36.Rh5 (The threat of 37.Rf5 would be winning.) 36...Bxe3 37.fxe3 Nf8 38.Rh3 Kg8 39.Rf3 Qe6 40.Qf4 Kg7 41.b3 Qe7 42.c4 Rd8 43.Rh3 Rd6 44.Qh6+ Kg8 45.cxd5 cxd5 46.e4 Qg7 47.Qe3 Qe7 48.e5 Rc6 49.Qh6 Qg7 50.Qh4 a6 51.Rf3 Qd7 52.b4 b5 53.a3 Qc7 54.Kg3 Kg7 55.Bb1 Nh7 56.Ba2 Qd7 57.Bb3 Rc1 58.Kh2 Rb1 59.Bc2 Rb2 60.Rc3 Qf7 (see diagram)

61.Kg3 (The third sign of growing tension. After 61.e6, Black’s overworked queen cannot defend both his second rank and the g6 pawn.) 61...Nf8 62.Rf3 Qe6 63.Qd8?? (The fourth sign of tension. White throws the win away, having missed 63.Rf6 Qe8 64.Rf2 Ra2 65.Qf6+ Kg8 66.Bb3 Rxa3 67.Rf3. The game heads to a draw.) 63...Nd7 64.Rf2 Ra2 65.Kh2 Qg4 66.Qe7+ Kh6 67.Qd8 Qh5+ 68.Kg2 Qg4+ ½-½ 

Up next  

SJKC Jln Davidson open

The Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur will organize an open chess tournament for under-16 players at the school this Sunday. Six rounds, 30-minute time control games. Entry fees are RM10 (players from SJKC Jalan Davidson) and RM12 (all other players). Entries close on Nov 12. More details from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

November rating tournament

The Cheras Chess Academy will hold a Fide-rated open tournament, limited to players with Fide ratings of 1950 and below, at the Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan Cochrane in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur on Nov 20-24. Seven rounds, two-hour play-to-finish time control games. Entry fees are RM50 (Fide-rated players) and RM80 (non-Fide-rated players). More details from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578, geodat@yahoo.com).

Perak closed

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) together with the Majlis Sukan Negeri Perak and KLK Berhad will jointly organize the Perak closed chess championship at the Dewan MSN in Ipoh on Nov 27-28. Only players born, residing and working in the state are eligible to take part. Nine rounds, 45-minute time control games. Entry fees are RM15 (PICA members and players below the age of 16) and RM20 (others). Contact Yunus (013.3908129) to register.

Chess camp

A fun and informative Kids For Chess camp for beginners, intermediate-level and aspiring tournament players will be held at the Pandan Lake Club in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur on Dec 1-2. Entry fees are RM90 per participant. Closing date is Nov 30. More details available from http://www.kids4chess.com.

Penang Chess League

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organize the annual Penang Chess League at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Kheng Thean in Jalan Van Praagh, George Town on Dec 4-5. Seven rounds, one-hour time control games. The event is open to teams from the public sector, business community, factories, institutions of learning and registered societies and clubs. Entry fees per team are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams) and RM60 (under-12 teams). Entries close on Dec 1. More information from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517)

Penang open

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organize the Penang Heritage City international open chess championship at the Penang City Hall in George Town, Penang on Dec 8-12. This will be a FIDE-rated event with a RM5,000 first prize. Nine rounds, full time control games. Entry fees for the open tournament are RM50 (Fide-rated player), RM150 (PCA member) and RM180 (others), while for the challengers section, they are RM30 (Fide-rated player), RM50 (PCA member) and RM80 (others). Contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@streamyx.com) for more details.

Sarawak open

The Lanang Chess Association and Sarawak Chess Association will jointly organize the Universal Chinese Sports Sarawak open chess championship at the Premier Hotel in Jalan Kampung Nyabor, Sibu, Sarawak on Dec 17-19. This will be a FIDE-rated event with a RM2,500 first prize. Eight rounds, full time control. Entry fees are RM50 (adults) and RM25 (ladies and players below 18 years old). Contact Joseph Ting (016.8893185, fax: 084.331451) or Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, lkhwa@tm.net.my) for more details.