Chengdu GP 03+04: Humpy wins third consecutive game
The Chengdu Grand Prix is being hosted by China from 1-15th July 2016. In a range of stars, two Indians are in the fray, and not surprisingly, both of them have always been there for the nation in the Grand Prix cycle for quite some years now. Harika had begun with two consecutive victories putting her in the lead with 2.0/2. Humpy, who was at the second spot, then one-upped Harika by winning three consecutive games. At the end of four rounds, Humpy leads with 3.5/4, followed by Harika with 3.0/4. Our illustrated report.
Chengdu GP 03+04: Humpy wins third consecutive game
The Chengdu Grand Prix is being hosted by China from 1-15th July 2016. The organizer of the tournament is the Chinese Chess Association, in partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE). This is the fourth stage of the 2015-16 FIDE grand Prix cycle.
In a range of stars, two Indians are in the fray, and not surprisingly, both of them have always been there for the nation in the Grand Prix cycle for quite some years now.
In the Chebanenko Slav White seized a space advantage, but she didn't make much of it, and after black managed to push 21...a5 the play was roughly equal.
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.07.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ju, Wenjun"]
[Black "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2578"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:10"]
[BlackClock "0:01:22"]
29} 5. e3 {31} a6 {30} 6. c5 {33} Nbd7 {34} 7. b4 {43} Qe7 {35} 8. Bb2 {32} g6
{31} 9. Bd3 {31} Bg7 {30} 10. O-O {31} O-O {30} 11. Na4 Rb8 12. Qd2 Ne8 13. e4
dxe4 14. Bxe4 Nef6 15. Bd3 Nd5 16. a3 Qd8 17. Rfe1 Qc7 18. g3 Ra8 19. Rac1 Rd8
20. Re2 Ra7 21. h4 a5 22. b5 cxb5 23. Bxb5 Nb8 24. Nc3 Nxc3 25. Qxc3 (25. Rxc3
a4 26. Rd3 Qa5 27. Bc4 Qxd2 28. Rexd2 Nc6 $11) 25... Bd7 26. a4 Nc6 27. Qc4
Raa8 28. Rd1 Ne7 29. Bc1 Bc6 30. Bf4 Qd7 31. Ne5 Qd5 32. Qxd5 Rxd5 33. Bc4 Rdd8
34. Bg5 Bxe5 35. Rxe5 Rd7 36. Bxe7 Rxe7 37. Bb5 Rd7 38. Re3 Rad8 39. Bxc6 bxc6
40. Rb3 Rxd4 41. Rxd4 Rxd4 42. Rb6 Rxa4 43. Rxc6 Rc4 44. Rc8+ Kg7 45. c6 Kf6
46. Ra8 Rxc6 47. Rxa5 Rc4 48. Kg2 h5 49. Ra7 Rc8 50. Rb7 Re8 51. Ra7 Re7 52.
Ra6 Rb7 53. Rc6 Kf5 54. Rc5+ e5 55. Ra5 f6 56. Rc5 Rd7 57. Ra5 Rd2 58. Rb5 Ke6
59. Rb6+ Rd6 60. Rb4 Ra6 61. Rc4 Kd5 62. Rb4 e4 63. Rb8 Rc6 64. Rg8 f5 65. Ra8
Rd6 66. Ra4 Ke5 67. Kf1 Rc6 68. Kg2 Rd6 69. Kf1 Rf6 70. Ra5+ Kd4 71. Ra4+ Kd3
72. Ra3+ Kd2 73. Ra2+ Kc3 74. Ke2 Rd6 75. Ke3 Rd3+ 76. Ke2 Rd6 77. Ke3 Rd3+ 78.
Ke2 Rd6 1/2-1/2
After the regular Nimzo-Indian opening white got into certain trouble with two pawn weaknesses. She got that covered but at the cost of weakening the complex of light squares.
Opposite coloured bishops often favour the attacker, and this position is a classic case. Black is able to combine threats across the board. White could not sustain the pressure and her position collapsed before the time control.
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.07.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Girya, Olga"]
[Black "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2444"]
[BlackElo "2575"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:24"]
[BlackClock "0:01:17"]
{30} 5. e4 {29} d5 {33} 6. e5 {30} Ne4 {30} 7. Bd3 {30} c5 {30} 8. Nf3 {30}
cxd4 {33} 9. Nxd4 {30} Nd7 {30} 10. Bf4 {30} Ndc5 {30} 11. O-O {32} Bxc3 {31}
12. bxc3 {30} Bd7 {30} 13. Be2 {30} Na4 {33} 14. cxd5 {34} exd5 {31} 15. Bd3 {
29} (15. c4 Rc8 16. Rac1 Nec3 17. Bd3 dxc4 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Bd2 Qh4 20. Bxc3
Qxh7 21. Qe2 b5 22. Bb4 Rfe8 $11) 15... Nac5 {33} 16. f3 {33} Nxd3 17. Qxd3 {
the light squares stand weakened.} Nc5 18. Qe3 Ne6 19. Rab1 b6 20. Bg3 Nxd4 21.
Qxd4 Rc8 22. Rfd1 Be6 23. Rb4 Rc5 24. Qd3 Qc7 25. Rc1 Rc8 26. Ra4 b5 27. Rb4
Qa5 28. Qb1 a6 29. Be1 Qc7 30. f4 Qd7 31. Rd4 Bf5 32. Qb2 Be4 33. Bf2 R5c6 34.
Rd2 Qg4 35. Be3 h5 36. Rf2 Rc4 37. a3 a5 38. Qe2 d4 39. Bd2 Qxe2 40. Rxe2 Bd3
41. Ree1 dxc3 42. Be3 b4 0-1
Mariya mentioned that she was disappointed with her play against the Sveshnikov. Harika was even better due to the lever on the a-file.
It is possible that black may have missed better continuations—probably the doubling of rooks on the a-file or timely knight jump to d4. In the game, though, after massive exchanges, the queenside was cleared of pawns and the players agreed to a draw on move 31.
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.07.05"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Muzychuk, Mariya"]
[Black "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:21"]
[BlackClock "0:00:52"]
Nf6 {30} 5. Nc3 {29} e5 {29} 6. Ndb5 {30} d6 {30} 7. Bg5 {29} a6 {30} 8. Na3 {
30} b5 {29} 9. Nd5 {30} Be7 {30} 10. Bxf6 {29} Bxf6 {30} 11. c4 {30} b4 {29}
12. Nc2 {30} O-O {31} 13. g3 {30} a5 {30} 14. h4 {32} a4 {34} 15. b3 {47} Be6 {
39} 16. Nxf6+ {36} (16. Bh3 Bxd5 17. cxd5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. O-O $11) 16...
Qxf6 {31} 17. Bg2 {30} Qd8 {45} 18. O-O {36} Qb6 {31} 19. Qd3 {32} Qc5 {30} 20.
Rfd1 {37} Rfd8 {30} 21. Rd2 {31} axb3 {36} 22. axb3 {29} Rxa1+ {30} 23. Nxa1 {
30} Qd4 {31} 24. Nc2 {36} Qxd3 {30} 25. Rxd3 {29} Kf8 {30} 26. Rd1 {30} Na5 {31
} 27. Nxb4 {42} Rb8 {32} 28. Nc2 {43} Rxb3 {31} 29. Rxd6 {30} Nxc4 {30} 30. Rd1
{31} Rb2 {30} 31. Ne1 {32} f6 {30} 1/2-1/2
The game was a Nimzo-Indian and black gave up the bishop pair and attempted to break in the centre. Humpy was more than happy to open the game, giving scope to her bishop pair.
After the exchange of the queens white started rolling the passed pawn forward. The two powerful bishops supported the advance and white duly collected a full point.
[Site "Chengdu CHN"]
[Date "2016.07.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Black "Tan, Zhongyi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
Queen's Gambit Declined to reach Nimzo-Indian structures.} 4. e3 Nf6 5. a3
Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c6 ({More popular is} 6... O-O {e.g.} 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 b6 9.
Ne2 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. O-O c5 12. f3 Nc7 13. Ng3 Re8 14. Ra2 Nb5 15. Qd3 Nd6
16. Re2 Qd7 17. e4 Qb5 18. Qxb5 Nxb5 19. Bb2 Nd6 20. e5 Nc4 21. exf6 Rxe2 22.
Nxe2 Nxb2 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. Nf4 d4 25. cxd4 cxd4 26. Rb1 Nc4 27. Rb4 Nxa3 28.
Rxd4 Nb5 29. Rb4 Nc7 30. Rc4 Ne8 31. fxg7 Kxg7 32. Nd5 {1/2-1/2 (32) Jones, G
(2625)-Wojtaszek,R (2727) Gibraltar 2016}) 7. a4 $5 ({The main moves are} 7.
Bd3) ({or} 7. Nf3) 7... O-O 8. Ba3 (8. Nf3 b6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Ba6 11. O-O
c5 12. Ne5 Re8 13. a5 Bxd3 14. Nxd3 Nc6 15. axb6 axb6 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. dxc5
bxc5 18. Nxc5 Ne5 19. Nd3 Nc4 20. Nf4 h6 21. Qd4 Re4 22. Qc5 Re5 23. f3 Qa2 24.
Qd4 Qa4 25. h4 Qb5 26. g4 Nd7 27. Nd3 Re6 28. Kg2 Ndb6 29. Nf4 Re5 30. Nh5 Qb1
31. e4 dxe4 32. f4 Rxh5 33. gxh5 Qc2+ 34. Kh1 Qe2 35. Rg1 Qf3+ 36. Rg2 g6 37.
hxg6 Qf1+ 38. Kh2 Qxc1 39. Qf6 {1-0 (39) Caruana,F (2805)-Hou,Y (2676)
Dortmund 2015}) 8... Re8 9. cxd5 (9. Nf3 b6 10. Bd3 Ba6 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. O-O c5
13. Qb3 Qc7 14. h3 Rac8 15. Rac1 Qb7 16. Rfd1 e5 17. Bf1 cxd4 18. cxd4 exd4 19.
exd4 dxc4 20. Nxc4 Qd5 21. Qb4 Qa8 22. Qb1 Rcd8 23. Qf5 Nf8 24. d5 Ng6 25. d6
Bc8 26. Qc2 Bd7 27. Bb2 Ne4 28. Ne3 Nc5 29. Nd5 Bxa4 30. Qc3 Re5 31. Ne7+ {
1-0 (31) Bocharov,D (2595)-Karavade,E (2395) Moscow 2016}) 9... cxd5 ({Also
possible is} 9... exd5 10. Nf3 Bf5 $11) 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Bd3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5
13. Nxe5 Rxe5 {Black now has an isolated pawn on d5 whereas White has a weak
pawn on c3. But the position opened and this suits the white bishops.} 14. O-O
Qc7 15. c4 {Using a tactical trick to open the position further.} Rh5 {This
seems to be a natural and active continuation but in the further course of the
game the rook is misplaced here.} ({But definitely not} 15... dxc4 16. Bd6 $1 {
and White wins.} Qxd6 $2 17. Bxh7+) 16. f4 dxc4 17. Bxc4 Qb6 (17... Qxc4 $4 {
is not possible because Black's back rank is too weak.}) 18. Qd2 Ne4 19. Qd4
Qxd4 20. exd4 Bd7 21. Rfe1 {White now is clearly better. After the exchange of
queens Black has no serious threats and the black pieces lack coordination.}
Re8 22. d5 $1 {Reminding Black that passed pawns can be strong.} Rh6 ({After}
22... Bxa4 {White plays} 23. Bb4 {and if now} b5 24. Ba2 {it is not easy to
see how Black can stop the advance of the d-pawn.}) 23. a5 Rf6 {The rook
desperately tries to find a good square.} 24. g3 h5 25. Bd3 Nd6 26. Rxe8+ Bxe8
27. Rc1 Bb5 28. Bb1 {Threatening 29.Bxd6 Rxd6 30.Rc8+.} Bd7 29. Rc7 Bg4 ({Or}
29... Be8 30. Bc2 a6 (30... Kf8 31. Rxb7) 31. Bxd6 Rxd6 32. Rc8 Kf8 33. Ba4 $18
) 30. h4 Bf5 31. Bxd6 Bxb1 32. Bb4 Rf5 33. d6 Rd5 34. d7 (34. d7 Kh7 35. Be7
$18) 1-0
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Round 05 Pairings:
| SNo. | Name | Rtg | Res. | Name | Rtg | SNo. | ||
| 3 | GM | Zhao Xue | 2510 | - | GM | Muzychuk Mariya | 2545 | 12 |
| 4 | WGM | Girya Olga | 2444 | - | GM | Khotenashvili Bela | 2454 | 2 |
| 5 | WGM | Tan Zhongyi | 2495 | - | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2512 | 1 |
| 6 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2487 | - | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2575 | 11 |
| 7 | GM | Ju Wenjun | 2578 | - | GM | Muzychuk Anna | 2545 | 10 |
| 8 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2526 | - | GM | Cramling Pia | 2463 | 9 |