Wang Yue : Past and Present

In the past i have wrote an article containing cute photo of China strong GM's which include the recent leader of the FIDE Grand Prix in Baku, GM - Wang Yue. See his photo below : past and present.

Past: Wang Yue in red circle

Present: Wang Yue (right) against Cheparinov

Highest Trafiic Ever!

Hi guys!

Sorry for being inactive for quite some time. As usual, my main excuse is work commitment and some short courses and assignment that have to be complete. And thanks god, I managed to that recently.

However the good news for me is this blog has reaches the highest traffic ever this month.

This achievement is still far from others chess blog such as The Closet GM and Susan Polgar Blog and local chess blog like gilachess and stonemaster but for my personal satisfaction, I’m quite proud of it.

I hope that I can have more time to do the thing I love the most (chess) and improve my blog with more interesting articles and better features. Thanks all for supporting me.

Wesley So Won The Match but Megaranto Stop The Curse!

GM Megaranto (left) and GM Wesley So (right) in post mortem session.
Photo from potretcatur.blogspot.com

Yes, that’s is my headline. Pinoy GM Wesley So have already won the 6 game match against GM Susanto Megaranto by drawing their 4^th game but his opponent Megaranto finally stop the curse of losing every single game against Wesley So. Before their current match, Wesley have a stunning record 3-0 against Megaranto although his opponent have better rating. To make thing worse. Megaranto lost the first three game of this match. However on the 4^th game, Megaranto managed to break the physiological barrier and after that he managed to beat Wesley on the 5^th game.

Below are their 4^th and 5^th games.

Megaranto,Susanto (2561) - So,Wesley (2540) [B30]
JAPFA, Match, Jakarta Round 4, 19.04.2008 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0–0 Nge7 5.Re1 Nd4 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.d3 a6 8.Ba4 Nc6 9.Nd2 Be7 10.Qh5 0–0 11.Nf3 b5 12.Bb3 Qb6 13.Bg5 f6 14.Bd2 Bb7 15.Nh4 Qc5 16.Qg4 Kh8 17.Qh3 Qh5 18.g4 Qe8 19.f4 g5 20.fxg5 fxg5 21.Nf3 Qg6 22.Rf1 Qg7 23.Qg3 Bf6 24.Rf2 Be5 25.Nxe5 Rxf2 26.Kxf2 Nxe5 27.Ke2 Rf8 28.Rf1 Rxf1 29.Kxf1 Qf6+ 30.Ke2 d5 31.exd5 Bxd5 32.Bxd5 exd5 33.h3 Kg7 34.Qf2 Qxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Kf6 36.Bb4 Kg6 37.Bc5 Nc6 38.b4 h6 39.a3 Kf7 40.Kg3 Kg7 41.h4 Kf7 42.h5 Ke8 43.Kf3 Ne5+ 44.Kg3 Nc6 45.Kf3 ½–½

So,Wesley (2540) - Megaranto,Susanto (3561) [B00]
JAPFA, Match, Jakarta Round 5, 19.04.2008 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Nc3 e6 5.Be3 Nf6 6.h3 Bh5 7.d5 exd5 8.exd5 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Ne5 10.Qe2 h5 11.0–0–0 Be7 12.f4 Ned7 13.g3 c5 14.Bg2 0–0 15.g4 b5 16.g5 Nh7 17.Qxh5 b4 18.Ne4 Qa5 19.Kb1 Rab8 20.f5 Rfe8 21.Bf4 c4 22.Bxd6 Nhf6 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24.Qh4 Nxe4 25.Bxe7 Nc3+ 26.Kc1 b3 27.cxb3 cxb3 28.axb3 Qa1+ 0-1

Source potretcatur.blogspot.com

Interdepartment Team Tournament

Today I played a team tournament in my office. It is actually a inter department tournament . I won all my three games but unfortunately my other teammates lost almost half of their games . We finished third place. Below are one of my deadly sacrifice in round three.

Hairulov - BTP A [D02]
Interdepartment, Round 3, 19.4.2008

This position arise after black 19. moves

20.Qh7+ actually there is quicker force checkmate that I missed, it’s mate in 2! 20.Qh8+ Kxh8 21.Ng6+ Kg8 22.Rh8# or 20.Nf5 f6 21.Qh7+ Kf7 22.Qxg7# 20...Kf8 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Ng6+ fxg6 23.Qxg7# 1–0

GM Wesley So - GM Megaranto: 3-0!

GM Susanto Megaranto (2561)-GM Wesley So (2540).
Photo from Indochess

World youngest GM from Philippines - GM Wesley So shows no mercy to his opponent Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto in their 6 game of the JAPFA Match which is being held in Indonesia from 15-20 April 2008. After 3 game , Wesley who are lower rated that Megaranto has won all the first three game so far.

Below are the 3rd round game.

GM Wesley So (2540) - GM Susanto Megaranto (2561) [B01]
JAPFA Match , Game 3, 18.04.2008

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6 8.Nd5 Qd8 9.Nxf6+ gxf6 10.c3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Bg6 12.Qf3 Qc7 13.0–0 Bd6 14.g3 0–0–0 15.a4 f5 16.a5 a6 17.Rfe1 Nf6 18.Bg5 Be7 19.Ng2 Ne4 20.Bxe7 Qxe7 21.Nf4 e5 22.dxe5 Rd2 23.Re2 Rhd8 24.h4 h5 25.e6 Rxe2 26.Bxe2 Qf6 27.exf7 Bxf7 28.Qe3 Re8 29.Qa7 Rg8 30.Kh2 Rd8 31.Bd3 Nd2 32.Rd1 Ne4 33.Re1 Bd5 34.Re2 Qf7 35.f3 Nd6 36.Nxd5 Qxd5 37.Qe3 Qxa5 38.Qe5 Qxe5 39.Rxe5 b5 40.b4 Rf8 41.Re7 Rh8 42.Kg2 Rh6 43.Kf2 Kd8 44.Ra7 Kc8 45.Ke3 Re6+ 46.Kf4 Re1 47.Rxa6 Kb7 48.Ra2 Kb6 49.Rc2 c5 50.Bxf5 c4 51.Bg6 Kc6 52.Bxh5 Nc8 53.Bg6 Kd6 54.h5 Ne7 55.Be4 Rh1 56.g4 Ke6 57.Kg5 1–0

Testing Chesspublisher

JAPFA Chess Festival 2008 – GM Susanto Megaranto vs GM Wesley So !

JAPFA Chess Festival 2008 – GM Susanto Megaranto vs GM Wesley So !

Indonesia host the JAPFA Chess Festival which start from 15-20 April 2008. The tournament consist two categories – the Women Grandmaster tournament and Match between the world youngest GM and recent Dubai Open champion Wesley So photo right (2540) from Philipines against Indonesia new no.1 – GM Susanto Megaranto photo left (2561). Past result shows that Wesley So have the physiological advantage . In three meeting , Wesley won all of it!

A Disappointing Finish For Mashafizul in Dubai Open 2008.

IM Mashafizul will try his best next time

photo from setiachess.blogspot.com

IM Mashafizul (2396) ended his campaign in the Dubai Open 2008 with 41/2 points from 9 rounds after losing unexpectedly to untitle Indian Shiven Khosla (2086) . After an excellent start holding GMs and higher rated player from the first 7 rounds, Mas lost to Azerbaijan - GM Safarli proved to be the turning point of his disappointing overall result.

I think it will be a great idea if Mas could have assistance from second or trainer for his tournament preparation. As we all know, Mas is traveling and competing on his own without any help of second, trainer or even he doesn’t have at least a countrymen who compete together in the same tournament to help each others like players from the Philippines, India and others are doing. Well guys, we should continue patiently for Mas to continue his quest for the GM title. Let’s continue to give him the him full support and encouragement for his next tournaments.

Below is his final game:-

IM Mas,Hafizulhelmi (2396) - Shiven,Khosla (2086) [B70]
10th Dubai Open 2008 Dubai Chess & Culture Club (9.9), 14.04.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bc4 6.Be3 and later Qd2-Bc4 and castle long 0–0–0 is the Yugoslav Attack which is the main line of the Sicilian Dragon. However Mas could still transpose to the main line later 6...Bg7 7.0–0

This show that Mas is not planning to play the main line 7.Be3. As i mentioned before, 7.Be3 would transpose to the main line but Mas probably want to avoid a prepared variation because the Yugoslav variation is very dangerous and losing one tempo could prove fatal. 7...0–0 8.Re1 Nc6 9.Bb3 Bd7 9...Bg4; 9...a6 is the theoreticaly line. 10.Bg5 Rc8 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.Rad1 Threatening 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.e5!? Bxe5 16.Rxe5!?dxe5 17 Qxd7 and black will have many weak pawns 13...Rfd8 Black safeguard his bishop on d7. 14.Bh6 Bxh6 15.Qxh6 Be6!? Black took a gamble by weakening his kingside pawns in compensation for his strong pawn centre. 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17.e5!? A positional sacrifice by Mas. He try to gain the initiative in an equal position. Further more black triple pawns on e file will probably drop later. 17...dxe5 18.Qh3 Kf7 19.Rd3 White threaten to double rook on e file and gain back the sacrifice pawn. 19...Rxd3 20.cxd3 Qa5?! 20...h5! with the idea of ...Ng4 eying the h2 square is probably better. 21.d4 e4 22.f3?! A risky move by Mas. 22.Qe3!?= regaining the pawn later is safer. 22...Qb4 White have serious weakness in d4 and b2. 23.Kh1 Rd8 23...h5 24.fxe4 Qxd4; 23...Qxd4?! 24.Nxe4 Nxe4 25.Qxh7+! 24.fxe4 24.a3 Qxd4 (24...Qxb2 25.Nxe4 black has weakness on e6 and h7.) 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Qxh7+ Qg7 27.Qxg7+ Kxg7 28.fxe4 Rd2= 24...Rxd4 25.e5 Rh4 26.Qf3?? strolling merrily down the path to disaster- this is the word use by my best friend-Mr Fritz! 26.Qg3 Nd5 27.a3 Qf4

26...Rxh2+!!–+ Double attack: e1/h2 27.Kg1 27.Kxh2 Qh4+ Double attack 27...Rh1+! Double attack: e1/h1 28.Kxh1 Qh4+ 29.Kg1 Qxe1+ 29...Qxe1+ 30.Qf1 Qxe5–+ 30.Kh2 30.Qf1 doesn't do any good 30...Qxe5 31.Qf2–+ 30...Qxe5+ Mas is three pawns down! 31.Kg1 g5 32.Qf2 Kg7 33.Qf3 g4 33...Qd4+ seems even better 34.Kh1–+ 34.Qxc6?! Practically Mas should sit tide and hope for the best with 34.Qe2 Qxe2 35.Nxe2 e5–+ 34...g3! Black is creating a mating net. 35.Kf1 Nd5 36.Ne2 Qe3 36...Qe4 makes it even easier for Black 37.Qc1 Ne3+ 38.Ke1 Nxg2+ 39.Kd2 Qd5+ 40.Kc2–+ 37.Ke1 Qf2+ 38.Kd2 Qe3+ 38...Qxg2?! 39.Qxe6 h5 40.b4 39.Kd1?? White loses the upper hand 39.Ke1 h5 40.Qa4 Qf2+ 41.Kd2 Qxg2 42.Qh4–+ 39...Qe4–+ 40.Kd2 Qe3+ 41.Kd1 Qd3+ 42.Ke1 Kf7 43.Qc1 e5 44.a3 44.Qd1 Qe4 45.Qb3–+ 44...Qe4 45.Qc6 Qxg2 45...h5–+ might be the shorter path 46.Qb7 46.Qc4–+ there is nothing else anyway 46...Qf2+ 47.Kd2 Nf4 48.Qb3+ Kf6

possible continuation could be 49.Qe3 (49.Qxg3 Qxe2+ 50.Kc3 Nd5+ 51.Kb3 Qe3+ 52.Qxe3 Nxe3–+) 49...Qxe2+ 50.Qxe2 Nxe2 51.Kxe2 e4 52.b4 Kf5 0–1

GM Safarli Eltaj (2524) vs IM Mashafizul (2396) LIVE –Round 8, Dubai Open 2008

IM Mashafizul is playing against 16 years old Azerbaijan- GM Eltaj Safarli (left) in the 8^th round of Dubai Open 2008. I'll update the move from time to time. Hope that i'm not fell asleep :)

GM Eltaj Safarli (2524) - IM Mashafizul (2396) [B40]
2008 Dubai Open , Round 8, 13.04.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.d3 e6 6.Nf3 d6 7.0–0 Nd7 8.Ng5

8...Ngf6 9.f4 Qc7 10.a4 b4 11.Ne2 c4 12.h3 Qb6+ 13.Kh1 a5 14.b3 cxb3 15.cxb3 Be7 16.Bb2 0–0 17.g4 Nc5 18.Nf3 Qa6 19.Ne1 Nfd7 20.Ng3 Bh4 21.Kh2 g6 22.Bd4 f5 23.exf5 exf5 24.Ra2 Nf6 25.Bxc5 dxc5 26.Bxb7 Qxb7 27.Rg2 fxg4 28.hxg4 Nd5 29.Qd2 Rae8 30.Re2 Qd7 31.Rxe8 Rxe8 32.Ne4 Qxg4 33.Ng2 Rf8 34.Qd1 Qxd1 35.Rxd1 Be7 36.Kg3 Kf7 37.Rc1 Rd8 38.Ne1 Bf8 39.Nf3 Ne3 40.Nfg5+ Ke8 41.Nf6+ Ke7 42.Ng8+ Kd7 43.Nf6+ Kc6 44.Nfxh7 Be7 45.Nf7 Nf5+ 46.Kg4 Rd4 47.Ne5+ Kd6 48.Re1 Nh4 49.Nc4+ Kd7 50.Re4 Nf5 51.Ne5+ Kd6 52.Re2 Nh6+ 53.Kf3 Kd5 54.Re4 Nf5 55.Re2 Nh6 56.Rd2 Nf5 57.Nxg6 Bd6 58.Nf6+ Ke6 59.Ne4 Rd5 60.Kg4 Nd4 61.Rb2 Nf5 62.Nxd6 Nxd6 63.Ne5 Nf7 64.Nxf7 Kxf7 65.Rd2 Kf6 66.Kf3 Rd8 67.Ke4 Rd4+ 68.Ke3 Rd8 69.Rc2 Re8+ 70.Kd2 Rc8 71.Rc4 Kf5 72.Ke3 Kg4 73.Re4 Rf8 74.Re5 Rxf4 75.Re4 Rxe4+ 76.Kxe4 Kg3 77.Kd5 Kf3 78.Kxc5 Ke3 79.Kc4 1–0

Mas will meet India Shiven Khosla (2086) in the final round today.

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2396) draw against GM Negi Parimarjan (2514) in Round 7, Dubai Open 2008 !

IM Mas Hafizul (left) comfortably draw his 7th round game against Indian prodigy- GM Negi Parimarjan in the Dubai open 2008. So far Mas have show a solid and safe performance by achieving draws against strong and higher rated players including GMs and beat the lesser rated players. He has only lost one in 2nd round against GM Levan Panstulaia.

Back to his 7th round game, his opponent- GM Negi Parimarjan (left) probaly have the slight advantage in the game but considering that Mas has beat him in their last meeting last year, he probaly didn't want to underestimated Mas and ready to split the point. So far Mas has a steady performance with 4 1/2 points from 7 round. He has two more rounds to achieve his target - his first GM norm. All the best Mas !!!

Mas Hafizulhelmi (2396) - Negi Parimarjan (2514) [C28]
10th Dubai Open Dubai (7), 12.04.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 A Bishop Opening !? Mas another surprise weapon. He usually played his beloved Ruy Lopez Exchange when facing the king pawn openings. Mas has really widen his opening repertoire. (Correction! Mas did played this opening and win against GM Eugene Torre in ASEAN 1st Chess Circuit in Tarakan Indonesia held in January 2008) 2…Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Na5 5.Qf3 Mas used the 5.Nf3 when he beat Torre 5...d6 6.h3 Nxc4 7.dxc4 Be6 8.b3 g6 8...c6 9.Nge2 a6 10.a4 Be7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Rd1 b5 13.axb5 axb5 14.Rxa8 Qxa8 15.cxb5 9.Bg5 Bg7 Breaking the pin with 9...Be7 is a logical alternative. 10.Nb5 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.cxd5 is an alternative. White pawn formation in the center will give him more space.10...Ke7?!

A weird position . Black king is in terrible square but fortunately white didn't have any significant moves to grab a clear advantage. Probably black should not have to be worry about losing a pawn with 10...0–0 because after 11.Bxf6 (11.Nxc7 Qxc7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Qxf6 b5! Black will have a strong attack and white is too far behind in development ) 11...Bxf6 12.Nxc7 Qxc7 13.Qxf6 b5! As mentioned before – white is too far behind in development 11.Rd1 a6 12.Nc3 h6 13.Bxf6+ Bxf6 14.c5 Qc8 15.Nd5+ Bxd5 16.Rxd5 dxc5 17.Rxc5 c6 18.Qc3 Re8 19.Nf3 Kf8 20.0–0 Qe6 21.Qd2 Kg7 22.Rc3 Rad8 23.Qc1 Rd6 24.Rd1 Red8 25.Rcd3 ½–½

Mashafizul GM Norms Requirement

As we all know, IM Mashafizul Helmi is having another shot for his first GM norm at The 2008 Dubai Open. So far he has achieve a good result by collecting 4 1/2 points

Round	Name	Rating	Federation	Points	Result
1	Arellano Robert	2023	Philipines	1	1
2	GMPantsulaia Levan	2617	Georgia	0	0
3	FMSaed Ishaq	2174	UAE	2	1
4	Jobanne Tabada	2333	Philipines	3	1
5	Zhou Weiqi	2560	China	3.5	0.5
6	GM Rasul Ibrahimov	2535	Azerbajan	4	0.5
7	GM Negi Parimarjan	2514	India	4.5	0.5
8
9

However i'm not really sure how to calculate his GM requirements. Let looks what can we get from FIDE Website. (unfortunately at the present time of writing this article, FIDE website hd a problem with it server). So i search for other source and get this one from Internet Chess Club (ICC) the online playing server.

ICC Help: norm

This is a brief explanation of the current FIDE requirements to achieve official FIDE titles, such as GM, IM, FM, WGM, WIM and WFM.: (These titles are not awarded for online play--only face to face events with an arbiter present count.)

In order to achieve a GM norm in a 9 round tournament, you have to do the following:

1)  Play at least three GMs and five titleholders, no more than two players may
be without a FIDE-ELO rating (including yourself)

2)  Play against players from at least three federations, and no more than six from
the same federation (including yourself)

3)  Score at least 7/9 against an ELO-average of at least 2381, 6.5/9 against  
at least 2435 or 6/9 against at least 2476. Eventually, opponents without
FIDE-ELO  are counted as 2250 (previously 2000).

Players can also obtain norms of more than 9 rounds, provided that they achieve a 2601 performance rating.

The normal way of getting the GM title is by getting three of these norms, in at least 27 games, (three 9 round tournaments usually). You will also need a FIDE rating of at least 2500 on some point after the first GM norm was achieved. A GM norm (or any other norm) will be awarded if the 2500
(2400) border was passed during a tournament. This is to avoid withdrawals during the tournament, if a norm already was achieved. You can also become GM directly by winning the World Junior Championships, or by getting a GM norm based on 13 games in the Olympiad.

[EeEk, revised 03/14/05]

IM Mashafizul Helmi (top)

For FIDE GM title norm requirement, I found this rather complicated and difficult
to understand source

IM Mas draw against GM Rasul Ibrahimov (2535) in Round 7, Dubai Open 2008!

IM Mashafizul (left) produced another good result today by drawing his 6^th round game in The Dubai Open 2008 against higher rated player from Azerbaijan- GM Rasul Ibrahimov (2535). In the game Mas played and interesting exchange sacrifice on move 31 and gain a strong initiative. A couple of move later Mas managed to cracked open black defend but surprisingly the game ended in a draw. My personal guess is Mas didn’t want to risk his chance of collecting his first GM norm after a good start with two draw against 2500+ player ( including 1 GM) in two rounds before.

Below are the game. Full analysis will followed later.

Mas Hafizulhelmi (2396) – GM Rasul Ibrahimov (2535) [B92]
10th Dubai Open Dubai (6), 11.04.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.0–0 Nbd7 9.Be3 Rc8 10.f3 Be7 11.Qd2 Nb6 12.Kh1 0–0 13.Rfd1 Qc7 14.Qe1 15.Bxc4 Bxc4 16.Qf2 b5 17.Bb6 Qb8 18.Na5 Be6 19.Rd2 Nd7 20.Be3 Qc7 21.Nb3 f5 22.exf5 Rxf5 23.a3 Rff8 24.Qe2 h6 25.Re1 Qc4 26.Qd1 Nf6 27.Bf2 Qc7 28.Nc1 g5 29.Nd3 Qb7 30.Nb4! An excellent maneuver by Mas. He control the import d5 square with his pieces. 30...Rf7?! a tame move.Probaly he is planing to put his rook in g file with 31...Rg7 and later 32...g4. Actually black should exploit white slightly weak king side pawn formation immediately with 30...g4! 31.Rxd6 ! an excellent exchange sacrifice 31.. Bxd6 32.Qxd6 a5 33.Qxe6 axb4 34.axb4 Re8 35.Qf5 Nh5 ½–½ a suprising result because Mas should probably have a strong advantage with possible variation like 36.Qg6+ Ng7 37.Qxh6 g4 38.Ne4 Re6 39.Qh4 gxf3 40.Nc5 fxg2+ 41.Kg1 which should be winning for white!

In the 7^th round which will be held tomorrow, Mas will meet Indian prodigy- GM Negi Parimarjan (right) .Mas die hard fan should remembered that Mas has beat |Parimarjan in their last encounter at The Commonwealth Championship held at Delhi in 2007. See here for my previous article
on Mas beating GM Negi. Let’s hope Mas will continue his good results against Negi.

IM Mashafizul at the Dubai Open 2008 ! Updated Analysis

IM Mashafizul in Dubai Open 2008. Photo from official site

Sorry guys for being inactive for quite sometimes. I’m being terribly busy due to a 10 day course at INTAN Kiara – for promotion J. Thanks to gilachess.blog, I found that IM Mashafizul is having another shot to his GM quest. This time he is playing in the Dubai Open 2008 from 5-15 April 2008 . So far he has score 2 points from 3 rounds.

In the first round, Mas beat Philipino Robert Arelleno (2023). In the 2nd round he were paired against Georgian heavyweight - GM Levan Pantsulaia (2617) - photo right below are the game.

GM Levan Pantsulaia (2617IM Mashafizul (2396) Round 2, Dubai Open 2008, 7.4.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 0–0 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qd3 Be6 11.0–0–0 Qb6 12.Qxd6 Qxf2 13.Nc5 Be7 14.Qxe7 Nc6 15.Qd6 Rfd8 16.Qc7 Qxc5 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Rd1 Qe3+ 19.Kb1 Rxd1+ 20.Bxd1 Qa7 21.a3 h6 22.b3 Kh7 23.Kb2 a5 24.Be2 Qf2 25.Bd3 Qxg2 26.h4 Nd4 27.Qxe5 Nxb3 28.Ne2 Nd2 29.Qd4 Nf3 30.e5+ g6 31.Qe4 Ne1 32.Qxg2 Nxg2 33.h5 Ne3 34.Nd4 Nf5 35.Kc3 Nxd4 36.Kxd4 b6 37.c4 Kg7 38.hxg6 fxg6 39.c5 bxc5+ 40.Kxc5 g5 41.Kd6 Bb3 42.Be2 Kg6 43.e6 Ba4 44.Bf3 Kf5 45.e7 Be8 46.Bc6 Bh5 47.e8Q Bxe8 48.Bxe8 g4 49.Kc5 Ke4 50.Kb5 g3 An interesting endgame position has appeared- bishop + pawn versus 3 pawns ( 1 + two connected passed pawn). General endgame theory said that with the help of its king, the bishop can usually reach a draw against two connected passed pawns. The standard method is the bishop stops the more advanced pawn ( the g pawn) and the king the backward pawn (h pawn). HOWEVER , in this particular position, there is extra pawn on both side which is the a pawns. Anyway, my friend - Fritz still "said" that the position is draw!

51.Kxa5?? Fritz said that the best defense and a draw can be achieved by playing 51.Bd7! The correct move is to hold black pawn push by controlling the short h3-f1 diagonal. 51...Ke3 threatening to push g2 (Black can't push the g pawn now because 51...g2?? because of the check 52.Bc6+ Kf4 53.Bxg2) 52.Bh3 This is the defensive idea. White bishop set a defensive blockade in the short diagonal h3-f1. Black have to spend several tempo to force white bishop to sacrifice itself. (52.Bc6? h5 53.Kxa5 h4 54.Kb5 h3 55.a4 g2 and black queen first and win the game) 52...Kf2 53.Kxa5 h5 ( 53...g2 doesn't change the outcome of the position which is still equal54.Bxg2 Kxg2 55.a4 h5 56.Kb4 h4 57.a5 h3 58.a6 h2 59.a7 h1Q 60.a8Q+= is a clear draw) 54.a4 h4 55.Kb4 Kg1 56.a5 Kh2 57.Bf1 h3 58.a6 g2 59.Bxg2 hxg2 60.a7 g1Q 61.a8Q=] 51...h5?? Pantsulaia missed the correct winning ideas which is 51...Kf4 52.Bc6 force move. Black is threatening to push the g-pawn to g2!!! 52... h5 53.Kb6 h4 54.a4 h3 55.a5 g2 and black will queen first and win the game 52.Bc6+ ?? unfortunately Mas return the favour by blundering with this check. Mas should play the blocking ideas with 52.Bd7! Ke3 (52...Kf4 53.Bh3) 53.Bh3 Kf2 54.Kb4 g2 55.Bxg2 Kxg2 56.a4 h4 57.a5 h3 58.a6 h25 9.a7 h1Q 60.a8Q+= Kf4! now black is clearly winning 53.Kb5 h4 54.Bg2 Kg4 0-1

In the 3rd round, Mas improved his result by defeating UAE-FM Ishaq Saed(2174). In the 4th round which will be held tommorow, he will face Jobanne Tabada(2333)

All the best Mas!

IM Mashafizul top at Malaysian FIDE April Rating .

IM Mashafizul (left) recaptured the top slot of Malaysian rating chart in the 1st April FIDE Rating List release recently. Mas gained 14 points to increased his rating from 2382 to 2396. Below are the list of Malaysian top ten.

1 IM Mas, Hafizulhelmi (2396)

2 FM Lim, Yee-Weng (2349)

3 FM Mok, Tze-Meng (2308 )

4 IM Liew, Chee-Meng-Jimmy (2306)

5 Lim, Chuing Hoong Ronnie (2276)

6 FM Bakri, Anas Nazreen (2270)

7 Leong, Mun Wan (2232)

8 Zakaria, Fairin (2220)

9 WIM Foudzi, Siti Zulaikha 2218)

10 Sabri, Mohd Saprin (2201)

4th round Bangkok Chess Open 2008

Below are rthe results of the 4th round of Bangkok Chess Open 2008

Rank after Round 4

Rk.			Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1			Xiu Deshun	CHN	2371	4,0	10,0	5,0	9,50
2		GM	Li Shilong	CHN	2512	4,0	10,0	5,0	9,00
3		GM	Akobian Varuzhan	USA	2601	3,5	9,5	6,0	10,25
4			Zhang Ziyang	CHN	2384	3,5	9,5	5,5	9,25
5			Pitirotjirathon Jirapak	THA	2267	3,5	9,0	5,0	8,25
6		FM	Daly Colm	IRL	2339	3,5	9,0	4,5	7,50
7		IM	Bitoon Richard	PHI	2420	3,0	9,0	6,0	9,00
8		FM	Nava Roderick	PHI	2345	3,0	8,5	5,0	6,25
		WFM	Su Yamin	CHN	2221	3,0	8,5	5,0	6,25
10			Hopman Pieter	NED	2302	3,0	8,0	5,0	7,00
11		FM	Teerapabpaisit Wisuwat	THA	2307	3,0	8,0	5,0	5,75
12			Yee Soon Wei	BRU	2292	3,0	8,0	4,0	6,00
13		WGM	Corke Anya	HKG	2250	3,0	8,0	4,0	5,50
14			Drummond Matthew	AUS	2235	3,0	8,0	4,0	5,25
15		FM	Reilly Tim	AUS	2271	3,0	8,0	4,0	5,00
16		FM	Ariskin Alexey	RUS	2296	3,0	8,0	3,5	4,50
17			Arroyo Christian	PHI	2162	3,0	7,5	4,0	6,25
18			Wang Qinq Wei	CHN	2202	3,0	7,0	4,5	6,50
19			Eng Andre-Jerome	SIN	1985	3,0	7,0	4,0	4,00
20			Tan Khai Boon	MAS	2137	3,0	7,0	3,5	4,50
21			Tuorila Kai	THA	2155	3,0	7,0	3,5	4,00
22			Foo Benjamin	SIN	1970	3,0	6,0	4,0	5,00
23		WIM	Gong Qianyun	CHN	2226	2,5	8,0	6,0	7,00
24			Sorensen Torben	MLT	2377	2,5	8,0	6,0	6,75
25			Kojima Shinya	JPN	2225	2,5	7,5	5,0	4,50
26			Hj Azahari Md Aliuddin	BRU	2106	2,5	7,5	4,5	4,50
27			Inoue Sho	JPN	2006	2,5	6,5	4,5	4,50
28			Shen Siyuan	CHN	2339	2,5	6,5	4,0	5,00
			Huang Siyuan	CHN	0	2,5	6,5	4,0	5,00
30			Van Steenis Joost	NED	2127	2,5	6,5	4,0	4,25
31			Wismeijer Jeroen	NED	2109	2,5	6,5	3,5	3,25
32			Watharow Sean	AUS	2117	2,5	6,5	3,5	2,25
33			Tan Eu Hong	MAS	2082	2,5	6,0	3,5	4,25
34			Wee Chu En Kelvin	SIN	1963	2,5	5,5	4,5	4,75
35			Yap Choow Tun	BRU	1771	2,5	5,5	3,5	2,50
36			Norris Damian C	FIJ	2159	2,5	5,5	3,0	3,75
37			Thong Yung Cheng	MAS	1952	2,5	5,0	4,0	2,75
38			Tuamsang Sawapop	THA	1976	2,5	5,0	3,5	3,00
39			Bohari Morsin Ahmad	MAS	0	2,5	5,0	3,0	3,75
40			Batteau Valerie	FRA	1930	2,5	4,5	3,0	3,25
41			Arpijuntarangkoon Jaradpong	THA	2000	2,0	7,0	4,5	3,00
42			Ruston Mark	ENG	2128	2,0	6,0	5,0	3,00
43			Nik Ahmad Farouqi	MAS	2110	2,0	6,0	4,5	3,00
			Hj Azahari Md Nur Arrifin	BRU	2073	2,0	6,0	4,5	3,00
			Wee Chun-Jie Eugene	SIN	2060	2,0	6,0	4,5	3,00
46			Hoffman Ron	NED	2149	2,0	6,0	4,5	2,50
47			Hoff Terje	NOR	2009	2,0	6,0	4,0	1,50
48			Laurain Dominique	FRA	2015	2,0	6,0	3,5	2,75
49			Fong Wei Chern Gavin	MAS	0	2,0	5,0	4,5	4,00
50			Sewambar Ashwin	TPE	0	2,0	5,0	4,5	3,00
51			Lim Kian Hwa	MAS	1992	2,0	5,0	4,0	3,00
52			Tuomala Timo	FIN	2209	2,0	5,0	4,0	2,50
53			Wiwatanadate Poompong	THA	2026	2,0	5,0	3,5	2,50
54		FM	Lim Hoon-Cheng	SIN	2229	2,0	5,0	3,5	2,00
55			Joyce John	IRL	2267	2,0	4,5	5,0	3,50
56			Campi William	THA	1823	2,0	3,0	3,0	2,00
57			Thanarotrung Rachaphon	THA	1769	2,0	3,0	3,0	1,50
58			Chua Xavier	SIN	1732	2,0	3,0	2,5	1,00
59			Leong Gee Y.	USA	1732	1,5	5,0	5,5	3,00
60			Junhao Xian	CHN	0	1,5	5,0	3,5	2,25
61			O'rourke Ray	IRL	2086	1,5	4,5	4,0	1,25
62			Yahaya Ahmad Othman	MAS	0	1,5	4,5	3,5	2,75
63			Pongkiettisak Sant	THA	2029	1,5	4,5	2,5	1,75
64			Capel Evan Timothy	MAS	1910	1,5	4,0	5,0	3,25
65			Masters Christopher	HKG	0	1,5	4,0	4,5	3,25
66			Hj Azahari Siti Nur Fatimah	BRU	2093	1,5	4,0	4,0	2,25
67			Rogalski Timothy	USA	2060	1,5	4,0	4,0	1,75
68			Fung Mark Law Hiu	HKG	0	1,5	4,0	3,5	1,75
69			Khor Bean Hwa	MAS	1939	1,5	3,5	4,5	2,25
			Nakvanich Sahapol	THA	1917	1,5	3,5	4,5	2,25
			Hussain Mohd Nasir	MAS	0	1,5	3,5	4,5	2,25
72			Kwan Loo Pak	MAS	1743	1,5	3,5	3,5	1,75
73			Abang Draup	MAS	0	1,5	3,5	3,5	1,25
74			Cheng Guy Graham	CAN	1890	1,5	3,5	3,0	1,00
75			Chong Chor Yuen	HKG	2038	1,5	3,0	4,0	1,75
76			Camhi David	TPE	1630	1,5	2,5	3,5	0,75
77			Prasopchandra Surachai	THA	1604	1,5	2,5	3,0	1,25
78			Png Ren Chi	MAS	1367	1,5	2,0	2,5	1,00
79			Mok Sunny Wai Suet	HKG	0	1,5	2,0	1,5	0,75
80			Lee Kah Meng Elgin	MAS	0	1,0	3,5	3,5	1,75
81			Wolfaardt Francois	RSA	1814	1,0	3,0	4,5	1,50
82			Yothinnorratham Tepparit	THA	1821	1,0	3,0	4,5	0,50
83			Sakai Enjyu	JPN	1938	1,0	3,0	4,0	1,00
84			Parco Eladio D	PHI	0	1,0	3,0	3,5	0,50
85			Lee Andrew Quinton	HKG	0	1,0	2,5	3,5	1,25
86			Fung Cheah Cheok	MAS	1770	1,0	2,0	4,0	0,50
87			Abang Azman Draup	MAS	0	1,0	2,0	3,0	0,50
88			Dhanamitt Jerdsak	THA	1609	1,0	1,5	3,0	1,25
89			Gates David	ENG	1624	1,0	1,0	5,0	0,00
90			Darby Peter	THA	1974	1,0	1,0	3,0	0,00
91			ZZ ZZ	THA	0	0,5	2,0	4,0	1,00
92			Iu Alfred	HKG	1695	0,5	2,0	3,5	1,25
93			Brunet Patrick	FRA	1650	0,5	1,0	4,0	0,75
94			Mok Francis	HKG	0	0,5	0,5	3,5	0,25
95			Furtado Ivana Maria	IND	1834	0,5	0,5	3,0	0,25
96			Rugsit Khanan	THA	1780	0,5	0,5	2,0	0,25
			Chan Linus	HKG	0	0,5	0,5	2,0	0,25
98			Duangsasitom Panya	THA	1575	0,0	0,0	4,5	0,00
99			Tan Fischer	SIN	0	0,0	0,0	4,0	0,00