Tran Tuan Minh wins the 1st Pattaya Open 2018 in Thailand
Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan Minh is the winner of the first edition of the Thailand Pattaya Open Chess Championship which took place from 20th to 31st of October 2018. A total number of 105 players from 24 different countries took part in the open section of the event. Tran scored an unbeaten solid 8.0/9 points, a one point lead from the 1st runner-up to become the champion of the tournament. The field included 6 GM, 3 IM, 1WGM, 10 FM/WFM and 8CM/WCM. In the first part we read about the winners in different categories and also the interview with the organizer and now in this 2nd and final part of the coverage Peter Long shares with us a detailed pictorial report of the event and also announces the dates for the 2nd edition.
Thailand is one of the most visited countries in the world and is such a unique country that each visitor to Thailand leaves with a better understanding of how special the country is, with many coming back to get married in a place they fell in love with. Among the chess circuit Thailand is very popular for its Bangkok Open, an annual destination for world class players and chess fans all over the world. Recently the event successfully completed its 18th edition!
For players of any sports it is very important to get timely platform in the form of tournaments to test and hone their skills and chess is no different. For the rapid growth of chess in Thailand it is very important that more of such tournaments are conducted in regular basis. Thailand Pattaya Open Chess Championship is the new addition to the list and in the very first attempt it turned out to be a huge success.
GM Pourramezanali Amirreza from Iran was the top seed followed by GM Tran Tuan Minh from Vietnam and GM Saptarshi Roy from India were the 2nd and 3rd seed respectively. At the end of the 5th round it was the Indian GM Saptarshi Roy and Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan Minh sharing the lead with perfect 5.0/5 points each. However things changed in the 7th round as GM Saptarshi Roy went down against GM Laylo Darwin from Philippines and GM Tran Tuan Minh won his game against fellow country mate GM Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy to take the clear lead. GM Tran drew his penultimate round game against GM Laylo and went into final round with a half point lead from the rest. The fight for the title was on till the very last round until GM Tran closed the chapter by winning his last round game against fellow country mate IM Duong The Anh and thus becoming the champion by a full one point lead with 8.0/9 points.
Here are a couple of nice wins by Tran Tuan Minh in the tournament:
GM Amirreza Pourramezanali was the 1st runner-up with a better tie-break score than Laylo Darwin and Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy. All three of them scored 7.0/9 points and were placed as 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively on the basis of their tie-break score.
The chess festival had as many as six different categories: Open, Amateur, U8, U12, U16 and S55 and it attracted more than 200 participants from 24 different Nations. The organizers are expecting a 50 percent increase if not double in their next edition which will take place from 18th to 27th October 2019.
FM Kongsee Uaychai was the top player from Thailand in the event and performed very well scoring 6.0/9 points to finish in the 10th place and also increased his rating by 14 Elo rating points.
Tushar Anand of India won the Amateur category by scoring an impressive 6.5/7 points. He started as the 3rd seed and went on to register 6 wins and a draw and also increased his rating by 26 elo rating points.
The Chief Arbiter of the event was IA Patcharawee Brahmawong and he was assisted by NA Khosak Phanudom, NA Akihiro Yamada and NA Suchart Srisawat.
Final standing of the Open Category:
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
| 1 | 2 | GM | Tran Tuan Minh | VIE | 2506 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 50,5 | 43,5 | ||
| 2 | 1 | GM | Pourramezanali Amirreza | IRI | 2533 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 50,5 | 42,5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | GM | Laylo Darwin | PHI | 2427 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 41,5 | ||
| 4 | 5 | GM | Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy | VIE | 2410 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,5 | 39,5 | ||
| 5 | 6 | GM | Villamayor Buenaventura | SGP | 2403 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 50,0 | 42,0 | ||
| 6 | 3 | GM | Saptarshi Roy | IND | 2496 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 41,5 | ||
| 7 | 15 | Grafil Franz Robert | PHI | 2219 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 43,5 | 36,5 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Quizon Daniel | PHI | 2334 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 42,0 | 35,5 | |||
| 9 | 18 | FM | Habla Jony | PHI | 2170 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 45,5 | 37,5 | ||
| 10 | 13 | FM | Kongsee Uaychai | THA | 2245 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 45,0 | 38,0 |
Check the complete list of final standing
Now since the dates have been released for the 2nd edition (18th -27th October) we are really looking forward to it and wish all the best to the organizers. Also thanks to all the sponsors for being a part of this initiative which gave such a beautiful platform to the players.
About the Author:
IA Peter Long is a Fide Master and heads the Institute for Chess Excellence which is also the National Chess Academy of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) and a Regional Asian Chess Federation Academy. He is also the Press Officer for the Asian Chess Federation as well as Features Editor for American Chess Magazine.
