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Chess: sport, art and culture A Report on the 11th World University Chess Championship, by Richard Forster Final Report Wang Yue and Batkhuyag Munguntuul win World University Chess Championship The 11th World University Championships in Zurich finished with an incredibly combative 9th round. “Grandmaster draws” seemed to be forbidden and almost every game finished in a decisive result. In the men’s tournament GM Wang Yue led the way. Although he had secured a decisive 1½ point lead already before the final game, he showed up in a fighting mood. Against GM Pavel Ponkratov (Russia) he quickly seized space and the initiative, winning first a pawn on the queenside and then quickly following up with a decisive attack on the kingside. Again it all seemed incredibly easy! With 8½ points out of 9 games and a rating performance of 2957 Wang Yue clearly overfilled the high expectations he and his fans had set before the tournament. With the 15,5 rating points won in Zurich, he makes a substantial step in direction of the top ten again, reaching place 13 or 14 of the “live rating” list. Second place went to GM Anuar Ismagambetov (Kazakhstan) and third place to IM Davit Benidze (Georgia), both on 6,5 points. In the women’s tournament the outcome was far less clear-cut than in the men’s. In the end, however, top seed IM (and WGM) Batkhuyag Munguntuul prevailed. Going into the final round, the 23-year-old Mongolian had a half-point lead. As she did not have a good tie-break score and was chased by no less than seven players, she knew she had to win this last game in order to become champion. And win she did in excellent style. In an Open Spanish she went for an all-out attack against which WGM Irine Kharisma Sukandar (Indonesia) found no recipe. Silver and bronze medals go to Ljilja Drljevic (Serbia) and Sopiko Guramishvili (Georgia) who both won their last round games as White too. In fact the first five boards of the women’s tournament all saw the first player succeed! In the combined nations’ ranking (one man and two women or vice versa) the race was even closer. At the end of the day the calculations gave the following result: 1 Mongolia 19; 2 Georgia 18½ (113) and 3 Russia 18½ (101). A number of players fulfilled title norms. Grandmaster norms were achieved by Davit Benidze (Georgia) and by Lijlja Drljevic (Serbia, women’s grandmaster norm). International Master norms were achieved by Andika Pitra (Indonesia), Jonas Wyss (Switzerland), Peiman Mohajerin (Iran), Peter Poobalasingam (England) and Marco Gähler (Switzerland). Final standings Men: 1. GM Wang Yue (China) 8,5. 2. GM Anuar Ismagambetov (Kaz) 6,5 (38,5). 3. IM Davit Benidze (Geo) 6,5 (38,0, GM norm). 4. Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa (Mgl) 6,5 (37,5). 5. IM Vasily Papin (Rus) 6,5 (32,5) - 57 participants. Women: 1. WGM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (Mgl) 7,0. 2. WIM Ljilja Drljevic (Srb, WGM norm) 6,5 (37,5). 3. WGM Sopiko Guramishvili (Geo) 6,5 (37,0). 4. WIM Judith Fuchs (Ger) 6,5 (36,0). 5. Tamara Cheremnova (Rus) 6,0 (32,0) - 39 participants. Nations' ranking: 1. Mongolia 19. 2. Georgia 18,5 (113). 3. Russia 18,5 (101). 4. Kazakhstan 18. 5. China 17. - 10. Switzerland 14,5. - 17 nations. Pictures: the medalists
Wang Yue secures title with one round to go
Against Nikolov he had to work especially hard: having obtained a large advantage from the opening, he let most of it go again. After almost all pieces were traded an endgame with rooks and bishops of opposite colours arose. All remaining pawns standing on the same wing, everything but a draw was expected. Unperturbed, Wang Yue kept pressing and in the end converted his pawn advantage with apparently incredible ease. The many spectators surrounding his board in the afternoon were not disappointed either. Again an endgame arose where Wang seemed to have only the tiniest of advantages, but with an unexpected pawn sacrifice he developed a dangerous long-term initiative. Although there were no direct threats – or perhaps exactly because there were none – defending Black’s position required utmost attention. Jumbayev was up to the task until suddenly, at move 39, he succumbed under the great pressure. A fatal rook move immediately cost him a piece. One round before the end Wang Yue has a fantastic 7,5/8 points and a rating performance of almost 2950. On second place, IM David Benidze from Georgia is 1,5 points behind. He can no longer win the tournament but is about to score a GM norm, at least.
The last day will also bring about the decision in the nations’ ranking. Before round 9 the team from Georgia is leading ahead of Mongolia, but only by a minuscule advantage (1 Buchholz point). The current titleholder, Russia, is one point behind on 16 points. Kazakhstan and China are trailing by a further point, but still have good chances of a medal too. The tournament is rich in entertaining battles. Nevertheless, the events unfolding in the game Yanjindulan - Tsereteli in round 7 were in a class of its own. Rarely have we seen such a spectacular game with so many unusual manoeuvres. The point of culmination was reached after move 37: with queen and rook against knight and rook (plus several pawns each), Black seemed to be totally winning, but the incredible 38.Nb6-a8 enabled White to escape in truly study-like fashion. If you play over just one game this year, this has to be the one. Men Round 7: GM Nikolov (Bul) - GM Wang Yue (China) 0:1. GM Ismagambetov (Kas) - IM Khmelniker (Isr) drawn. IM Benidze (Geo) - GM Popovic (Srb) 1:0. etc. Round 8: GM Wang Yue (China) - GM Jumabayev (Kaz) 1:0. GM Ismagambetov (Kaz) - IM Benidze (Geo) drawn. IM Papin (Rus) - IM Khmelniker (Isr) 1:0. etc. Top standings: 1. GM Wang Yue (China) 7,5. 2. IM Benidze (Geo) 6. 3. IM Khmelniker (Isr), GM Ismagambetov (Kas), Gundavaa (Mgl), GM Nikolov (Bul), GM Ponkratow (Rus), IM Papin (Rus) and GM Lysyj (Rus), 5,5 (57 participants). Women Round 7: WGM Guramishvili (Geo) - WIM Drljevic (Srb) drawn. WGM Munguntuul (Mgl) - WGM Tuvshintugs (Mgl) 1:0. WIM Yanjindulam (Mgl) - WGM Tsereteli (Geo) drawn. Round 8: WIM Drljevic (Srb) - WGM Munguntuul (Mgl) 0:1. WIM Borosova (Svk) - WGM Guramishvili (Geo) drawn. WGM Tsereteli (Geo) - WIM Seps (Sui) 1:0. Top standings: 1. WGM Munguntuul (Mgl) 6. 2. WGM
Guramischwili (Geo), WIM Drljevic (Srb), WIM Fuchs (De), WGM Tsereteli
(Geo), WGM Tuvshintugs (Mgl), WIM Borosova (Svk) and WGM Sukandar (Indo),
5,5 (39 participants).
Wang Yue learns fast and takes the lead
It is difficult to tell where his opponent then went wrong, but probably the exchange on move 24 was too simplistic. The rook endgame arising a few moves later still looked fine for White, but his temporary initiative proved to be worthless. Slowly unwinding, Wang purposefully took aim at White’s advanced pawn on e5. Unable to adapt to the sudden need of careful defence, the Mongolian lost the thread, then his pawn and eventually the game. Despite the positive outcome, Wang had obviously been caught in a dubious opening variation. How quickly a world class grandmaster can absorb new insights was shown in the afternoon. In the fight between the two top seeds of the men’s tournament, facing the Russian grandmaster Igor Lysyj (23, Elo 2638), the Chinese employed the very same weapon that had caused him such headaches in the morning. Up to move 12 the games were identical. Lysyj deviated but also had to cede the bishop pair soon. In a fine display of positional artistry Wang used his trumps to gain a decisive advantage very quickly. Three rounds before the end Wang leads by half a point ahead of Israel’s Ilya Khmelniker who is the only player so far to have withstood the Chinese’s onslaught. While so far the men’s tournament has developed as expected, the women’s contest took a surprising turn on day 4. In the fifth round the two top board pairings resulted in quick draws, while on board three the home player Monika Seps only narrowly failed to crown a great attacking game which would have put her in the joint lead.
The Swiss representatives made up ground: in rounds 5 and 6 the five men scored 7/10 and have all 3 points now. In the women’s section Monika Seps is still placed very well with 3½ points, whereas Maria Heinatz has advanced to 2½ points.
Men Round 5: Gundavaa (Mgl) - GM Wang Yue (China) 0:1. IM Khmelniker (Isr) - GM Jumabayev (Kas) 1:0. GM Lysyj (Rus) - Pitra (Indo) 1:0. IM Jurcik (Svk) - GM Nikolov (Bul) remis. (etc.) Round 6: GM Wang Yue (China) - GM Lysyj (Rus) 1:0. IM
Khmelniker (Isr) - IM Benidze (Geo) remis. GM Ponkratov (Rus) - GM
Ismagambetov (Kas) remis. GM Nikolov (Bul) - Gundavaa (Mgl) 1:0. (etc.) Women Round 5: WIM Severyukhina (Rus) - WGM Tsereteli (Geo) remis. WGM Stojanovic (Srb) - WIM Borosova (Svk) remis. WIM Seps (Sz) - WGM Guramishvili (Sz) remis. WIM Yanjindulam (Mgl) - WIM Drljevic (Srb) 0:1. (etc.) Round 6: WIM Drljevic (Srb) - WIM Borosova (Svk) 1:0. WGM Tuvshintugs (Mgl) - WIM Severyukhina (Rus) 1:0. WGM Stojanovic (Srb) - IM Munguntuul (Mgl) remis. WGM Tsereteli (Geo) - WIM Melekhina (USA) remis. (etc.) Standings at the top: 1. Drljevic (Srb) 5. 2. Guramishvili and Tuvshintugs 4,5 (39 participants). Live games: www.wucc2010.ch.
World University Chess Championships: Status Quo maintained
Ilya Khmelniker from Israel had been the surprise of the first third of the men’s tournament. However, before round 4 his chances to hold his own against the great tournament favourite Wang Yue were not considered too high, given that the Chinese boasted a 250 points advantage in Elo rating and had the White pieces. Unimpressed, Khmel¬niker chose a sharp variation of the Grünfeld Defence, sacrificing his b7-pawn early on. Despite an immediate exchange of queens, Wang Yue remained in the defensive for a long time. Nevertheless, step by step he managed with careful play to neutralise the opponent’s initiative. The game reached a turning point at move 25. Just when he was about to finally complete his development, Wang Yue oversaw a very simple tactical combination based on a knight fork. Within three moves the game turned completely: suddenly Khmelniker was a pawn up instead of a pawn down. As material was reduced to one wing, though, Wang Yue just managed to save himself into a draw. The two leaders were joined by the untitled Mongolian Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa, who beat his second grandmaster in a row, Susanto Megaranto. The trio on 3.5 points is followed by nine players with half a point less. The top game in the women’s tournament was less dramatic but no less interesting. The Slovak Zuzana Borosova put her opponent from Russia under strong pressure. Zoja Severiukhina tenaciously fought back. In order to fend off a worse fate, she eventually had to cede a pawn on the kingside for which she obtained some counter-chances on the queenside, especially as White’s knight was caught in an offside position. When the two players agreed a draw on move 33, Borosova was still a pawn up but evidently unhappy with the recent development of the game. Fearing that she might even get in danger, she preferred to split the point. Since the closest rivals did not win either, Borosova and Severiukhina keep the lead. They are followed by a group of six players, among them the local star Monika Seps who won a beautiful counter-attacking game against the German Sarah Hoolt. The tournament, which is unusually rich in attractive tactical games, is daily followed by many dozens of chess aficionados from the greater Zurich area. But also in the countries of the participants the progress of the tournament is watched closely. During each round up to two thousand spectators are counted who follow the games online at www.wucc2010.ch. Men Top boards of round 4: GM Wang Yue (China) - IM Khmelniker (Rus) draw. GM Jumabayev (Kaz) - GM Ismagambetov (Kaz) draw. GM Megaranto (Indo) - Gundavaa (Mgl) 0:1. IM Miljkovic (Srb) - IM Jurcik (Svk) draw. GM Nikolov (Bul) - Mohajerin (Iran) 1:0. Top standings: 1. Khmelniker, Wang Yue and Gundavaa, 3. 4. Jumbayev, Jurcik, Nikolov, Ismagambetov, Benidze (Geo), Miljkovic, Pruijssers (Ned), Lysyj (Rus) and Pitra (Indo), 3 (57 participants). Women Top boards of round 4: WIM Borosova (Svk) - WIM Severiukhina (Rus) draw. WGM Tsereteli (Geo) - IM Munguntuul (Mgl) draw. WGM Guramishvili (Geo) - Lkhamsuren (Mgl) 1:0 Top standings: 1. Severiukhina and Borosova, 3.5. 3. Guramishvili, Tsereteli, Yanjindulam (Mgl), Stojanovic (Srb), Drljevic (Srb) and Seps (Sui), 3 (39 participants). Live games: www.wucc2010.ch
World University Chess Championship in Zurich: Two men and two women in the lead Day two of the 11th World University Chess Championship proved that students, not especially noted for early-birdliness – in particular not if chess players –, can still be motivated to work in the morning hours. In fact, the second round was marked by such a singular determination and fighting spirit by all 96 participants that only seven draws occurred. In the men’s tournament Wang Yue easily confirmed his position on the top of the starting list. The former World number 8 from China easily crushed the Swiss IM Oliver Kurmann in a Benoni Defence with a temporary knight sacrifice. Most other grandmasters also managed to impose themselves on their opponents. Second seed Igor Lysyj, who had been struggling on the previous day, won with a beautiful attack in 24 moves. Meanwhile the women’s tournament saw a major upset. On board one Germany’s Sarah Hoolt was not impressed at all by her opponent’s higher rating. Soon after the opening she played a beautiful positional exchanged sacrifice, followed by a further pawn sacrifice. Masterfully she built up her attack afterwards and when a White pawn had reached the seventh rank it became obvious that Black was in deadly danger. Seven moves later a pretty bishop sacrifice sealed the fate of the game. In the afternoon the players acted a bit more cautious, but excitement remained high. Wang Yue again seemed to win “hands down”, although closer inspection shows that it was mainly the fault of his opponent who had miscalculated badly on the 26th move, causing an unusual piece loss two moves later. Only Ilya Khmelniker from Israel managed to keep the pace of the Chinese. In both his second and third round games he was offered a pawn sacrifice which he accepted, only to return the gift a couple of moves later, trading it for a victorious attack. In the women’s tournament Zoja Severiukhina (Russia) scored her third victory in a row in a slow manoeuvring game. She is joined in the lead by the Slovak Zuzana Borosova who beat Sarah Hoolt in a game that bore remarkable similarity to the latter’s spectacular win in the morning round. In both games White offered a long-term exchange sacrifice on the d-file, primarily intended as a means to launch an attack on the enemy king. In both games White later on managed to create a decisive passed pawn in the middle game. Some you win, some you lose. Results (overview): Men 2nd round: GM Wang Yue (China) - IM Kurmann (Sui)
1:0. GM Nikolov (Bul) - Pacher (Svk) 1:0. GM Megaranto (Indo) - Darini
(Iran) 1:0. IM Nestorovic (Srb) - IM Miljkovic (Srb) draw. etc. Women 2nd round: WIM Hoolt (Ger) - WGM Munguntuul (Mgl)
1:0. WGM Tsereteli (Geo) - WIM Fuchs (Ger) 1:0. WGM Guramishvili (Geo) - WIM
Yanjindulam draw. etc. Complete results, live games and pictures:
www.wucc2010.ch
Eleven grandmasters and nine woman grandmasters at the World University Chess Championship in Zurich. Less than a month before the start of the 11th World University Chess Championship most of the participants are known. 27 nations have entered and about 100 players of both sexes will participate in the contest which will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, from 5 to 11 September 2010.
The big favourite is 23-year-old Wang Yue from China. With an Elo rating of 2716 points he is the first super grandmaster to participate in a World University Championship. He is the highest-rated Chinese player ever and in May occupied place 8 in the overall international ranking. After suffering a few set-backs since then, he will try to win again in Zurich in order to re-establish himself as one of the World’s top ten players. His most dangerous rivals are the Russian Igor Lysyj (Elo 2631) and his compatriot Pavel Ponkratev (Elo 2604). In the last championship in Novokuznetsk, two years ago, Lysyj won the silver medal. The host delegation consists of five players headed by international masters Oliver Kurmann (Elo 2449) and Julien Carron (Elo 2380).
In the women’s competition Russia, Georgia and Mongolia traditionally feature the strongest players. Top seed is the 23-year-old Mongolian Batkhuyag Munguntuul (Elo 2421) who has already played on the first board for Mongolia in the last three chess Olympiads. Among the nine women grandmasters in the field she is the only one who carries the international master title among men as well. She is studying in Russia and is the winner of the Russian women’s blitz championship 2009. Just like their male compatriots, the two Swiss entrants Monika Seps (Elo 2184) and Maria Heinatz (Elo 1923) will need a special exploit to fight for a place among the first ten. In the nations’ competition (combined results of men and women) Russia is the favourite. But Mongolia, Serbia and Iran also feature very strong delegations, and thus an exciting race is guaranteed to take place.
For more information on the World University Chess Championship, please see www.wucc2010.ch. WUCC 2010 is an event of the FISU: www.fisu.net. The 11th World University Chess Championship in Zurich will not only see a top level contest with many grandmasters, but will also present chess as an art and culture. A first highlight will be the opening ceremony on Sunday, 5 September (10 a.m.) in the Lichthof of the University of Zurich. A musical chess-piece for Accordion and Violoncello, especially composed for this event („Rules of the Game“ by Clinton Haycraft), will be performed and additionally illustrated by two dancers. The Quintetto “Inflagranti” will play and demonstrate the Swiss Alphorn in action. Following the opening ceremony, at 12 a.m., grandmaster Vadim Milov will give a simultaneous exhibition. In the Lichthof the exhibition „Senso“ by Jürg Hassler will also be shown. The well-known filmmaker and sculptor has occupied himself with chess for many years and has artistically developed the game in many different directions.
In 2008/2009 the unusual chess objects resulting from these fantasies were shown in the famous art gallery “Fondation Beyeler”. During the tournament they are shown to the public for a second time. The tournament hall itself will be adorned by the international collection of chess sets of the Zurich collector Dr. Mario Gmür, with exhibits from over 60 nations.
A tour through his treasures illustrates both the universality of the Royal game and its manifold local interpretations. Finally, the cultural part is rounded off by the “Filmstelle SOSeth” which will show three chess-related films during the tournament week: Revolver by Guy Ritchie (Tuesday, 7 September), Schachnovelle (engl. Brainwashed; Thursday, 9 September) and the recent film La Joueuse (Friday, 10 September). Guests and spectators also have plenty of occasions to engage in a game of their own:
The games of the world championship can be followed at the “Ehemalige Chemiegebäude” (Universitätsstrasse 16) or live in the Internet. Admission is free. Four of the seven Swiss participants in the World University Chess Championship:
For further information on the World University Chess
Championship, please see
www.wucc2010.ch.
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With
96 participants the 11th World University Chess Championship is a huge
success. The number of players is more than that of the two previous
editions combined; and with 17 grandmasters, 23 international masters and 21
nations it surpasses its predecessors also in every other respect.
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