Wang Hao leads Asian bets for WC

The Asian Continental Championship was held in  Chengdu, China, simultaneously with the Grand Prix joust. The open section had 72 participants with 29 GMs. The 26-year-old Chinese reliable Wang Hao went undefeated, taking first with 7.0 out of a possible 9.0. Although tied with compatriot Bu Xiangzhi, Wang was declared winner via a better tiebreak score. The young Indian Vidit Santosh Guirathi (23) and local bet Yu Yangi finished in a tie for third-fourth at 6.5 apiece, with the nod going to Vidit on a higher S.B. points. Other scores are Batchuluun (Mongolia), Sadorra (Philipines), Wei Yi (China), Adhiban (India) and Gunguly (India) at 6.0 each. The top five finishers qualified for the 2017 World Cup, slated in September in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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Ding Liren’s third win in Moscow is a stimulating positional gem, delivered in the final round. He caps his performance with a beautiful  35-move title-clinching victory.

2nd FIDE Grand Prix

W) B. Gelfand  (Israel)

B) D. Liren (China)

Catalan System

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. g3 d5, 4. Bg2 Bb4ch

A standard move in the Closed Catalan.

5. Bd2 Be7, 6. Nf3 O-O, 7. O-O Nbd7

So far, both players followed the Rd. 4 Gelfand-Tomashevsky game from the same tournament.

8. a4 a5, 9. Qc2 c6, 10. Na3!? ...

An interesting new system of development, but as early chess writers wrote, “many a game has  been lost when the Knights wandered away from their best defensive posts (c3 and f3) in the opening.”

10...      Ne4!?

And here’s Liren’s improvement from the  above-mentioned game, that went 10...Bd6 11. Ne1 Qc7 12. Nd3 e5 (12...Re8) 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Nb5 and White’s idle Knight at a3 suddenly comes to life.

11. Bf4  ...

Also playable is 11. Be3.

11... g5, 12. Be3 f5, 13. Rad1 ...

Preparing to open up the game. The immediate 13. Ne5 leads to dangerous possibilities with unclear consequences.

13... Bf6, 14. Nb1 ...

White is so intense in activating his Knight on a3, but he may do better with the computer’s 14. Ne1, with these possibilities. 14...Qe7 15. f3 Nd6 16. Bf2 b6 17. e4 fxe4 18. fxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Qxe4 Bb7, with probably a slight edge for White.

14... Qe7, 15. Nc3 b6

15...Nd6 is more solid.

16. Ne5!?           ...

Embarking on some  interesting complications. A safer alternative, however, is 16. Qc1.

16... Nxe5, 17. dxe5 Bxe5, 18. Bxb6 Qb4

There are other alternatives, but the text seems more direct to the point.

19. Nxe4 fxe4, 20. cxd5? ...

White’s last is a premature action. It creates sharp  complications, but to his detriment. Most natural is  20. Bd4, and the game still hangs in the balance.

20... Qxb6, 21. Qxe4 Qxb2, 22. dxc6 ...

White has no continuation with any immediate effect and should have tried 22. dxe6.

22... Bc7, 23. Rd7? ...

Another poor move which concedes Black with a huge material advantage. 23. Rb1 is forced to keep White in  the game, but Black retains winning  chances after 23...Qf6.

23... Bxd7, 24. cxd7 Qf6

24...Ra6 is stronger. E.g. 25. Qc4 Qb6 26. Bf3 Bd8 27. Rd1 Ra7 28. Qe4 Rf7. and Black’s material advantage should win.

25. Bh3 Rab8, 26. Qxe6ch Qxe6, 27. Bxe6ch Kg7, 28. Rc1 Kf6

We draw the curtain here as Black’s material advantage will prevail in the long run.

29. Bg4 Bd8, 30. Rc6ch Kg7, 31. Bh5 Rb2, 32. Rc8            Rd2, 33. Be8 Bb6, 34. Rb8 Rf6, 35. e3 g4, 0-1

White is helpless against the coming double-Rook invasion.

Solution to last week’s puzzle:

Black to play and win.

White-Kh3, Qd4, Rd8, Pa2, Pb3, Pe4, Pg3, Ph2

Black=Kh7, Qf2, Re7, Pa7, Pb3, Pf7, Pg6, Ph6

1...       Qf1ch

0:1

If  2. Kg4 f5ch 3. exf5 (3. Kh4 g5ch 4. Kh5 Qh3 mate) 3...Qxf5ch 

4. Kh4 Qh5 mate. Or. 2. Kh4 g5ch 3. Kg4 (3. Kh5 Qh3 mate) 3...f5ch 4. exf5 Qe2ch 5. Kh3 Qh5ch 6. Kg2 Re2ch

7. Kf1 (or. 7. Kg1 Qxh2ch) 7...Qf3ch and mate next move.