British GM Nigel Short has won the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012 with a last-round draw against IM Nguyen Duc Hoa, whose outstanding performance has earned the Vietnamese player a GM norm.
From the beginning of the tournament, Short demonstrated his great fighting spirit. Having won the Gibraltar Chess Festival in January, it was apparent that he had come to Bangkok with a high confidence level and the mission to become the sole champion. Mission accomplished!
GM Nigel Short has played with passion and expertise in his fourth consecutive BCC Open tournament and has finally won it. While defending champion GM Jan Gustafsson and Women’s World Champion GM Hou Yifan underperformed, other predominantly Asian participants played very well and often surpassed expectations.
Nigel Short
Here are the top results of the final round:
IM Nguyen Duc Hoa ½ – ½ GM Short Nigel
GM Amonatov Farrukh 1 – 0 IM Nguyen Van Huy
Liu Chang ½ – ½ IM Venkatesh M.R.
GM Xiu Deshun 0 – 1 GM Sriram Jha
GM Neelotpal Das ½ – ½ IM Saptarshi Roy
GM Gustafsson Jan 1 – 0 GM Rantanen Yrjo A.
Sander Severino ½ – ½ GM Hou Yifan
The final standings after 9 rounds are as follows:
GM Short Nigel (ENG) 7.5
GM Amonatov Farrukh (TJK) 7
IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (VIE) 7
GM Sriram Jha (IND) 7
IM Liu Qingnan (CHN) 6.5
IM Venkatesh M.R. (IND) 6.5
IM Saptarshi Roy (IND) 6.5
Wan Yunguo (CHN) 6.5
GM Gustafsson Jan (GER) 6.5
Liu Chang (CHN) 6.5
Nguyen Van Huy (VIE) 6.5
GM Schebler Gerhard (GER) 6.5
GM Neelotpal Das (IND) 6.5
GM Hou Yifan 6
(135 players)
In the Challenger category, Tint Swe Win (MYA) is the sole winner with 6.5 points after having defeated Filipino front-runner Arnulfo Gavilan Jr. in the final round. Tint Swe Win is followed by a pack of six players from the Philippines!
Challenger Round 7 top results:
Gavilan Jr. Arnulfo 0 – 1 Tint Swe Win
Vitithum Issara ½ – ½ Ting Marvin
Gutierrez Jaymarc 1 – 0 De Leon Haince Patrick
Challenger final standings:
Tint Swe Win 6½
Gavilan Jr. Arnulfo 6
Gutierrez Jaymarc 6
Viernes Tucker Howear Elstein 6
(95 players)
The very competitive and well-attended blitz tournament was won by GM Farrukh Amonatov. IM Nguyen Van Huy was the runner-up, and Wan Yunguo finished third.
Here’s an exciting attacking game from the last round:
GM Xiu Deshun – GM Sriram Jha
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5 12.Ne3 gxf4 13.Nxf5 0-0-0 14.Qc2 Kb8 15.0-0 fxg3 16.hxg3 h5 17.Rfc1 Nf6 18.a5 h4 19.Nxh4 Rxh4 20.gxh4 Neg4 21.Qf5 Qh2+ 22.Kf1 Bh6 23.Ne4? Rg8 24.Ng5 Qxh4 25.Nh3?? This misses black’s crushing move:
25…Qxh3! 0-1 The black queen cannot be taken because of the knight check on h2 and a quick checkmate. After 26.Qc8+ Rxc8 27.Bxh3 Bxc1 28.Rxc1 Rh8 black would be a piece up.
While GM Jan Gustafsson was not always happy with his play, the following game from Round 6 is instructive in how to exploit an opponent’s weak pawn structure.
WGM Nadig Kruttika – GM Gustafsson Jan
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 b5 6.Bd3 Qb6 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.0-0 Bb7 9.Re1 Bc5 10.e5 f5 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Bxe4 14.Rxe4 0-0 15.Qd3 Nc6 16.Rh4 Rf5 17.Be3 Be7 18.Rh3 g6 19.Qe4 Bf6 20.g4 Rd5 21.c3 White’s last two moves have created several weak pawns. 21…Rf8 22.Rg3 Ne5 23.Nxe5 Bxe5 24.Rh3 Bf4 25.Kg2 Bxe3 26.Qxe3 Black’s pieces are more active. This alone is not enough for a win, but Gustafsson increases his positional advantage. 26…Re5 27.Qd2 Rf7 (27…Qc4 would have been even stronger.) 28.Re3 Qc6+ 29.Kg1 Re4 30.h3 Rxe3 31.Qxe3 Black’s pieces are active and ready to attack white’s weak pawns. White cannot defend them all.
31…Rf3 32.Qh6 Qd5 33.Qh4 Qd2 34.Rf1 Rf7 35.Qd8+ Kg7
Nothing can stop the black queen now. 36.Qb6 Qxb2 37.Qxa6 Qxc3 38.Kg2 Qf3+ 39.Kh2 Qd3 40.Kg2 Qd5+ 41.Kh2 Rf3 42.Qa7 Qd6+ 43.Kg2 Ra3 44.Qb7 Qd3 45.Rh1 Rxa2 46.Qc7 Qd5+ 0-1 White will lose more material.
Final standings (Open):
1. GM Short Nigel D ENG 2697 – 8
2. GM Amonatov Farrukh TJK 2604 – 7
3. IM Nguyen Duc Hoa VIE 2453 – 7
4. GM Sriram Jha IND 2406 – 7
5. IM Liu Qingnan CHN 2461 – 6.5
6. IM Venkatesh M R IND 2509 – 6.5
7. IM Saptarshi Roy IND 2384 – 6.5
8. Wan Yunguo CHN 2441 – 6.5
9. GM Gustafsson Jan GER 2642 – 6.5
10. Liu Chang CHN 2262 – 6.5
11. IM Nguyen Van Huy VIE 2485 – 6.5
12. GM Schebler Gerhard GER 2449 – 6.5
13. GM Neelotpal Das IND 2462 – 6.5
14. GM Hou Yifan CHN 2639 – 6
15. Severino Sander PHI 2344 – 6
16. GM Ghane Shojaat IRI 2339 – 6
17. GM Xiu Deshun CHN 2492 – 6
18. IM Contin Daniel ITA 2331 – 6
19. Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh IND 2119 – 6
20. IM Myo Naing MYA 2321 – 6
21. IM Lammers Markus GER 2384 – 6
22. WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen VIE 2351 – 6
23. FM Teerapabpaisit Wisuwat THA 2278 – 5.5
24. Stany G A IND 2376 – 5.5
25. IM Mohota Nisha IND 2312 – 5.5
26. FM Voigt Martin GER 2364 – 5.5
27. GM Rantanen Yrjo A FIN 2383 – 5.5
28. Sie Thu MYA 2243 – 5.5
29. Xiao Yiyi CHN 2103 – 5.5
30. FM Pitirotjirathon Jirapak THA 2252 – 5.5
31. Nishant Malhotra IND 1977 – 5.5
32. CM Neubronner Jarred SIN 2312 – 5.5
33. Akshat Chandra IND 2130 – 5.5
34. Pranav Vijay IND 2116 – 5.5
35. FM Daly Colm IRL 2285 – 5.5
36. GM Pogorelov Ruslan UKR 2426 – 5.5
37. Kananub Warot THA 2120 – 5.5
38. Kulpruthanon Thanadon THA 1989 – 5.5
39. WFM Zhai Mo CHN 2262 – 5.5
40. GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2343 – 5.5
41. Cai Jiaying CHN 2064 – 5.5
42. IM Wynn Zaw Htun MYA 2414 – 5
43. WIM Wang Xiaohui CHN 2209 – 5
44. Cox Tristan A ENG 2096 – 5
45. Ni Shiqun CHN 2157 – 5
46. FM Reilly Tim AUS 2256 – 5
47. Zhao Zhouqiao Chn CHN 2141 – 5
48. Chen Yang CHN 2084 – 5
49. Anasrullah INA 2127 – 5
50. Lee Kai Jie Edward SIN 2093 – 5
51. Portugalera Ric PHI 2176 – 5
52. FM Lamorelle Julien FRA 2301 – 5
53. Zhou Guijue CHN 2205 – 5
54. FM Aschenbrenner Robert AUT 2254 – 5
55. FM Kyaw Lin Naing MYA 2252 – 5
56. Steinbrecht Ralf GER 2194 – 5
57. Rom Jasper B USA 2208 – 5
58. Soyeur Alain FRA 2133 – 5
59. Aung Kyaw Moe MYA 2161 – 5
60. Ilmoni Tommy FIN 2113 – 5
61. FM Van Rijn Wouter NED 2201 – 4.5
62. Abanco Ernie PHI 0 – 4.5
63. WGM Nadig Kruttika IND 2238 – 4.5
64. Tan Weiliang SIN 2267 – 4.5
65. FM Frosch Erich AUT 2284 – 4.5
66. Shao Shuai CHN 2188 – 4.5
67. Frosch Ronald AUT 2241 – 4.5
68. FM Trisa-Ard Nakorn THA 2265 – 4.5
69. Eriksson Jon FIN 2152 – 4.5
70. Thanatipanonda Thotsaporn THA 2101 – 4.5
71. Li Xueyi CHN 2076 – 4.5
72. Tuorila Kai FIN 2119 – 4.5
73. Wiwatanadate Poompong THA 2080 – 4.5
74. Xu Fei CHN 1990 – 4.5
75. Hoffman Ron NED 2097 – 4.5
76. Laurain Dominique FRA 1972 – 4.5
77. Liu Hongyan CHN 1978 – 4.5
78. Kivimaki Jaakko FIN 2186 – 4
79. FM Saeheng Boonsueb THA 2207 – 4
80. Lam Daniel King-Wai HKG 2084 – 4
81. Faika Michael GER 2119 – 4
82. Atthaworadej Woradej THA 1670 – 4
83. Chong Chor Yuen HKG 2075 – 4
84. Zhu Ying CHN 1999 – 4
85. Akharaboollasez Akharin THA 1906 – 4
86. Attwood James AUS 2090 – 4
87. Frederiksen Erik DEN 1996 – 4
88. Ramirez Leyva Freddy MEX 1955 – 4
89. Darby Peter ENG 1912 – 4
90. Limono Handjojo INA 1950 – 4
91. CM Norris Damian C FIJ 2071 – 4
92. Lim Kian Hwa MAS 1891 – 4
93. Franzen Johan SWE 2111 – 4
94. Klubwong Prakarn THA 0 – 4
95. Rinquest Ted USA 2113 – 3.5
96. Sollid Stein NOR 2018 – 3.5
97. Bianchetti Raoul ITA 1948 – 3.5
98. Blasl Dietmar AUT 2103 – 3.5
99. Calacday Henry PHI 1964 – 3.5
100. Tachaplalert Suvich THA 1799 – 3.5
101. Hutzheimer Alfred AUT 2093 – 3.5
102. Yutithamnon Surapole THA 1981 – 3.5
103. Arjun Vairavan SIN 1760 – 3.5
104. Campi William USA 1789 – 3.5
105. Debbeler Adrian GER 1759 – 3.5
106. Larsen Hans Haagen DEN 1715 – 3.5
107. Kwak Junyong KOR 0 – 3
108. Holming Patrick SWE 0 – 3
109. Thanarotrung Ratchaphon THA 1858 – 3
110. Arpijuntarangkoon Jaradpong THA 1968 – 3
111. Maneeratanasak Chanavuth THA 1846 – 3
112. Jennewein Norbert GER 1851 – 3
113. Trinkl Andreas GER 1827 – 3
114. Low Zhen Yu Cyrus SIN 1722 – 3
115. Siddiqui Nida Mishraz PAK 0 – 3
116. Srivatanakul Pricha THA 1741 – 3
117. Watharow Sean AUS 1921 – 3
118. Shah Taksh IND 1571 – 2.5
119. Balasubramanian Akshaj IND 0 – 2.5
120. Nakvanich Sahapol THA 1884 – 2.5
121. Karasmaki Seppo FIN 1858 – 2.5
122. Frost Peter AUS 1897 – 2.5
123. Wuest Andreas SUI 1873 – 2.5
124. Lie Terje NOR 1653 – 2.5
125. Vinod G IND 2044 – 2
126. Greenwood Martin C ENG 1625 – 2
127. Shah Etash IND 0 – 2
128. Wongsawan Thoetsak THA 0 – 2
129. Tuamsang Sawapop THA 1968 – 1.5
130. Eldridge James AUS 0 – 1.5
131. Chua Xavier SIN 1681 – 1
132. Petchrongrusamee Pornpong THA 1786 – 1
133. FM Shrestha Bilam Lal NEP 2136 – 0
134. Mccready Mark ENG 1817 – 0
135. Khongboonkirt Hirun THA 0 – 0
