World Juniors 2011 - Day 0

"Left is on the left, right is the left

right is on the right, left is on the right"

Unknown source

The highlight of the day is the picture below: we were all hoping for a certain chess superstar to be a guest of honour at the 50th World Juniors (U/20) and 29th Girls' Championships opening ceremony in his hometown of Chennai, but as we sat down and the starting time of the ceremony grew closer and closer, the prospects didn't look good. But minutes later the 15th World Champion of chess, Viswanathan Anand, did arrive in the auditorium!

Anand: What's happened to the World Juniors since I played in it?

Going back a bit in time...

Moulthun and Junta arrived to Chennai in the early hours of the 31st. An episode in their Hi-Speed train trip from Amsterdam to Brussels occurred when they passed a flag. As Junta remarked it was the Belgian flag, Moulthun declared it was the German flag. As Junta pointed out that the train is moving through Brussels, which is in Belgium, Moulthun declared Brussels was a German city. Moulthun sounded so confident Junta was unnerved, but a while later, after making a deal that the loser would pay for dinner (and have their failure posted about), the Belgian theory was confirmed. Junta 1-0 Moulthun.

After being picked up at Chennai Airport after a 10-hour flight, the ride through the majestic city of Chennai was a heartstopping experience for Junta and Fedja (though it was nothing compared to the taxi ride in New York 4 weeks earlier which had Junta sweating) as busses and trucks, cars and rickshaws, motorbikes and bicycles, and pedestrians all converged on the dark roads, and there were beeping of horns every few seconds.

Moulthun was unmoved, as it seemed to be just like other parts of South-East Asia he was well acquainted with (in fact, he has driven a rickshaw in Cambodia where conditions are apparently worse!). Later, we were all a bit too excited for the tournament to start, so much that there was some blitz beginning at 3:30 am, after attempts to go to sleep were futile.

We spent the day relaxing today, to get ready for the gruelling 13 rounds starting tomorrow, but around 4:30pm we were taken by bus to an auditorium in the city where the opening ceremony was held. As the program commenced, the audience was dazzled with a diverse range of Indian cultural dances and performances by 87 children from a local school. Although the volume of the music was deafening (maybe 2 months' worth of sound in the 2 hours) and we felt thirsty in the humid, full-capacity auditorium, the children were splendid as each and every one of them had smiles on their faces during the performances.

Of course, for us players, the highlights of the ceremony were Anand arriving, Anand executing a move on a large chessboard for the tournament inaugaration and Anand giving a speech near the end - you do not get many opportunities to see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears the world champion in the game we all love. His presence and words have given the three of us extra motivation for the tournament, though the other countries' players must have also gained some inspiration.

Round 1 begins tomorrow, with games at 2pm daily (6:30pm AEST) and a rest day on the 8th between Rounds 6 & 7. When we had a look at the playing hall this morning, it seems that live boards are...on every board!

The field for the Juniors has 126 players, with no less than 18 GMs and just as many IMs! The top three seeds are GMs Matlakov (2632) and Sjugirov (2629) of Russia, and Salgado Lopez (2626) of Spain. Moulthun and Junta are up against 2050's, while Fedja faces Indian IM Priyadharshan (2376).

The field for the Girls has 69 players, with 5 WGMs and 13 WIMs.

The top seeds here are WGMs Paikidze (2416) of Georgia, Savina (2398) of Russia and Cori (2376) of Peru. Emma Guo (ACT) and Savithri Narenthran (VIC) will be flying the Australian flag.

Excitement, nerves and motivation - we can only try and turn these emotions into good moves on the board.

Results: are on chess-results.com here (Open) and here (Girls). In the Open, Only 10 of the 18 GMs won their first round!

Dutch Open 2011 - Days 8 & 9

"I play honest and I play to win. If I lose, I take my medicine."
Bobby Fischer

"Do you have all your norms now? You do? Well then, everyone, we have a new International Master: Moulthun Ly! (Applause)"
The host at the Dutch Open Closing Ceremony

by Junta

Round 8

Junta-Andrew: I surprised him a little in the opening, but didn't play so accurately and was outplayed. It can be a depressing experience, losing to a travelling mate in an overseas tournament, but whoever plays better on the day wins. The chess world is waiting for Andrew to hurry up and get his rating up to where it should be so you don't lose as many points when you lose to him...

A few boards above us, Moulthun was playing a tense game against GM Deepan Chakkravarthy.

Before the game which Moulthun achieved his IM title through

The game began with an intense opening battle in the King's Indian Defence, with both players striving for the initiative - in the end, White pushed a bit too hard for the win and Black capitalised.

The position where White played 27.e5? losing a pawn to ...c6

40...h5-h4+ 0-1, from Black's point of view

This took Moulthun's live rating above 2400 for the first time, and with his three IM norms already achieved, he will officially be IM Ly from September when the title is ratified. If he scores a double norm in his next tournament, he will have 6 norms at the time of ratification - overkill?

Although we ate healthy and well in Amsterdam , cooking dinner most nights (once we got started), during a tournament a chess player's diet can be rather unbalanced, and the main staples in our cabin rooms here were Yakult drinks, boysenberries, mini Magnum icecreams and instant noodles (a brilliant invention).

Eating out at dinner, we exclusively went to a popular food house and an Italian restaurant, both right next to the venue - sadly, our search for eating places at the start of our stay in Dieren, at a radius of 50 metres from the playing venue, resulted in utter disappointment, and we concluded that these two places were serving everyone in town.

On our first visit to the Italian place, Moulthun and Andrew ordered lemonade (perfectly audibly) but was served fig juice instead, giving us a good laugh. The last couple of times we ate there, we all had the feeling that the cheerful and talkative waitress was a bit tired of seeing our faces, but I digress.

Round 9

Physical preparation

Mental preparation

The final day of the Dutch Open. I repeated the same result as at the World Open a few weeks earlier, finishing with a swindle to score 5/9 with 5 wins and 4 losses (Rounds 4-9: all 0-1). Interestingly, in this tournament I was the only player in the 60-strong field to have no draws.

I thought I have an unusually low drawing % in my games, until Andrew shattered the record by telling us that he had a 70-game no-draw streak from September last year to May this year!

Andrew was up against GM Friso Nijboer as White on Board 7 - unfortunately he blundered a bishop in the queenless middlegame, and he also finished on 5/9, gaining several points also.

Moulthun was amidst the tournament leaders on Board 2, playing White against GM Maxim Turov who was performing at 2700. From an equal position, Turov was too strong, outplaying from the middlegame, and he became champion on 7/9 with the best tiebreaks, after the sole leader Fier faltered against Georgiev on the top board.


Leading final scores:
1-3. Turov, Y.Vovk, Georgiev 7/9
4-5. E.L'Ami, Fier 6.5
6-11. Nijboer, A.Vovk, Lenderman, Arnaudov, Brandenburg, Petrov 6
12-17. Radulski, Milov, Ly, Neverov, Kuipers, Odendahl 5.5

The three pictures below were taken by Andrew on his morning walk(s), and also selected by him for this post.

"Wat zit jete kijken?" or "What are you looking at?"

Not a pretty picture (an orange slug), but Andrew was fascinated

Beware.

We leave Dieren tomorrow morning, and go back to Amsterdam Central. Andrew stays in Amsterdam for one night, before taking part in the Hogeschool Zeeland tournament in Vlissingen, a seaside town in Holland, from the day after (!). It is a big open with 6 players over 2600, and Andrew is seeded 51st in the nearly 250-strong field. Hopefully he will have some time to post on the tournament while he is there.

Meanwhile, Moulthun and I will catch a train from Amsterdam to Brussels, and then fly to Chennai, India, arriving late on the 30th. From August 1st-15th, the 13-round World Junior (U/20) Championships will be held there, with other Australian players also joining us. It is my first time and last chance playing in the World Juniors, and am looking forward to it very much (Moulthun is perhaps a bit too excited), after my last overseas junior tournament (U/16 Olympiad, Singapore 2007) was probably the funnest tournament in my life.

Stay tuned for frequent posts from Andrew in Vlissingen and the three of us (with Fedja joining) in Chennai.

Dutch Open 2011 - Rest day, Day 6 & Day 7

"Oh, prince, sacrifice your rooks, leap with the bishop and save your Dilaram"
Dilaram uttering the words which helped her husband, Prince Murwadi, find the winning combination in a game he had wagered his wife, Dilaram, as stakes
(7th century)

A shot of our cabin

Yesterday (24th) was the rest day at the halfway point of the Dutch Open. Although we planned to take advantage of some of the sports and activities on offer at our accommodation, the weather did not comply and apart from trekking out for dinner with our umbrellas, we spent the day indoors. Compared to the two tournaments in Philadelphia with double round days, this one has been much more enjoyable chess-wise, as there is ample time to prepare (especially with the organizers being impeccably organized, e.g. posting pairings up right after all games have finished), and the atmosphere is more relaxing. 

by Moulthun

Round 6

Not a good day overall, as I drew with a 2300 FM from a position of strength while both Andrew and Junta lost to their GM opponents (Andrey Vovk and Daan Brandenburg respectively). Andrew was playing White and after reaching the very familiar Four Pawn's Attack variation of the King's Indian Defense, he dropped a pawn in a tactical finesse and went on to lose. Junta had a hard time trying to maintain the balance right from the opening and Black quickly got the upper hand going on to convert convincingly. It is unlikely, that we will see much of the double fianchetto from him again during this tournament, and the ones to follow.

I was Black this round, and after some slight move-order inaccuracies, quickly found myself with a slightly worse position from the opening. It was not until the 20th move that I finally managed to comfortably equalise. At this point I was hoping to end my solid, but rather dismal streak of 0 wins against higher rated opposition within the last 3-4 tournaments. The mentality of drawing as Black and winning with White doesn't always seem to cut it in big open tournaments, where no result is guaranteed and every half point is crucial with so little rounds. The following position was reached after the White's 40th move in the game, we both had about 2 minutes left to play our 40th move and gain an extra half hour. Shortly before this my opponent calmly offered a draw, but favouring my chances I decided to make an interesting exchange sacrifice. Objectively this seems best, but I later misplayed the attack and allowed a nice counter-sacrifice creating a rather intricate perpetual check.

Reiner Odendahl (2375) - Moulthun Ly (2369), Dutch Open (6.12), 25/7/11

40...Rxf2! 41.Kxf2 Qxd4+ 42.Kf1 Qe5 43.Kg2 h5 44.Qc2 g4 45.Be2 Bh6 46.Rd1 d4 47.Bc4 Bd5+ 48.Kf1 Kh7 49.Re1 Be3

50.Rxe3! dxe3 51.Bxd5 Qxd5 52.Qc7+ Kh6 53.Qf4+ Kg7 54.Qc7+ Kh6 55.Qf4+ Kg7 56.Qc7+ Kf8 57.Qb8+ Kf7 58.Qa7+ Kf8 59.Qb8+ Ke7 60.Qa7+ Kd6 61.Qb8+ Kd7 62.Qa7+ Kc8 63.Qa6+ Kc7 64.Qa7+ 1/2-1/2

So the run of draws continues for me, but at least I can say I didn't give this one in too early.

But the afternoon was not yet over, after our games we were lucky enough to be tagged along to play in a fun little 6-a-side soccer tournament with some Dutch chess and soccer players.

The competition was set up in a way as to include 10 teams, with some teams comprised of chess players, and a few from the host soccer club (soccer players). Each would play four games in the qualifying rounds, the games being 10-15 minutes in duration on a half-field pitch with netted goals, with the top couple from each pool qualifying to the knockout stages. Game 1 was the first indication that neither us nor our opposition could be taken lightly and this was not going to be some kick around the park. In saying that we narrowly won the game 1-0, but this was a sure sign that games would only get tougher from here on in. The rain only hours before had the field still damp, making running all the more difficult. In fact I had the hardest time staying on my feet slipping several (proofreader edit: many) times, missing some golden opportunities.

During our second game, our team quickly managed to take the lead but this was short-lived. In our half their right winger had turned me inside out and put a immaculately placed shot into the back of the net. With only a few minutes to go, they ran through our defence once again to score the winner. After only drawing our next game 1-1 and then losing our fourth game to a soccer team, our hopes of making to progress to further games was sunk.

However, to our amazement it transpired that all but one team from each pool make it to the next stage, with chess and soccer teams in their own pools, winners of each playing in the grand final. We won our chess semi-final game quite comfortably with a splendid goal (slotted into the bottom left corner with pure class) from Andrew!

One of our games in action

The finals saw us have to face the very same team from our group matches which beat us 2-1. On this occasion everyone played far more cautiously, moving up and down as a cohesive pack. With some luck and great defense we managed to keep it a scoreless game at full-time. This meant a good old-fashioned penalty shootout was in order. Junta seemed the most excited to relive his treasured childhood footballing moments from the penalty area. And it was only one week ago that we were in similar excitement, when Japan won the Women's Football World Cup from the same situation. Anyhow, after several brilliant put aways and mis-kicks under pressure, it seemed we were running low on kickers and after both Junta and Andrew (5th and 6th kickers) scored their shots and my opposing kicker missed, we were tied 4-4 with me the only one left of the field players to kick from the spot.

Andrew slotting in his penalty with his sheer class:


An excellent chance to score the winner and obtain eternal glory on the pitch. But the follow-through was far from impressive, not really troubling the keeper with a too-slow floater to the left post. After that we all began to crack, and after an epic series of hits and misses (with dozens of chanting spectators) it finally ended 7-6 with us narrowly missing out.

The team (and supporters) after the finals

Round 7

This was a very pleasant round for everyone, winning quite comfortably to add an extra point to their tally (our first 3-0 day). Andrew especially had a very nice game, sacrificing his bishop for an attack and finishing things off with his sheer class. Tomorrow I am paired with my fourth GM opponent Deepan Chakkravarthy, while both my compatriots Junta and Andrew have the really unlucky task of facing each other in the penultimate round. Not even pleads to the tournament organizers were able to change this unfortunate pairing.

(show chess board)(hide chess board)

With 2 rounds to go, the top of the table is fiercely contested, with no less than 5 GMs (Turov, L'Ami, Fier, Yuri Vovk and Georgiev) on 5.5/7, followed by Andrey Vovk on 5, 8 GMs/IMs + Moulthun on 4.5/7, and 15 players on 4/7. Moulthun's game against Deepan will be on a live board (9pm Sydney time).

Dutch Open 2011 - Day 5

The open group

                        by Moulthun

Round 5
After bouncing back from our disappointments of Round 3 it seemed good wins were all that was needed to get us back into the swing of things. Especially Junta, after consecutive defeats to GM opposition, desperately needed a steady game in which to regain his rhythm. And this is exactly what he got, paired with a 2100 player. After stumbling through the opening phase with some uncertainty, he reached his typical, rather dubious Sicilian Kan position as Black - advancing pawns on both flanks with ...h5?! and ...b5!? leaving the king "safely" in the center for the most part of the game. On this occasion he invited a healthy knight sacrifice on d5, but White failed to follow up his sacrifice and missed drawing opportunities, allowing Black time to consolidate and convert his material advantage.

  Ikeda VS Neverov (GM) Round 4

Andrew was also playing a 2100 rated opponent, after a rather dubious looking Bd3 from his opponent in the King's Indian Samisch, Black simple got the upper hand. He went on to control the game, throwing in some sacrifices (which weren't quite as brilliant as his highly blogworthy masterpiece from Round 4, but equally effective) and soon executed a back rank checkmate in two following his opponent's time trouble blunder.

This round I was paired against my third GM opponent Marijan Petrov (2534) with the white pieces. This was my best chance to play for a win, to reach a respectable score. The opening was a Pirc, whereby I played a rather strange looking g3!? with the inclusion of a knight already on f3 rather than e2. This simply allows Black to reach a rather comfortable position, but my opening could be called a success, gaining almost a 40 minutes advantage on the clock over the first 10 moves or so. I continued to push, cutting down all opportunities for him to castle to safety. However, after his ...Qb4 to desperately trade off my Qc3 for an endgame, I hesitated momentarily and then made a naive decision to allow the trade, thinking I could win one of his weak pawns on a4 or c6. In fact in almost 100% of cases I would play Qd3! without thinking, avoiding the swap and simply maintaining the onslaught, but it seems pressure can sometimes force one to play irrational moves. After the swap, winning became difficult and a draw was agreed in time trouble. This leaves us all on 3/5 which is respectable but we definitely hope to score some more decisive results in the following games.

The pairings for the Round 6 tomorrow (it is a rest day today):
Board 9: Andrew - GM Andrey Vovk (2551) [live board]
Board 10: Junta - GM Daan Brandenburg (2538) [live board]
Board 12: FM Reiner Odendahl (2375) - Moulthun

The games will be from 1pm Amsterdam time (9pm Sydney time).

Dutch Open 2011 - Days 3 & 4

The round under way

"...no one on earth has solved it unless he was taught by me. I have never learnt that there was anyone before, for if anyone had solved it, he would either have written down the solution, or have taught it to someone else.
This is the word of as-Suli."
as-Suli, the best player in the world around 900 AD, on a problem he composed

Round 3

A bad day for us, scoring just 0.5/3. Junta's opponent GM Vladimir Georgiev played a nice exchange sacrifice right after the opening which quickly developed into a crushing attack; Moulthun lost to GM Yuri Vovk after sacking the f-pawn for a single 1-move tactic which simply failed, and he was losing in each and every conceivable endgame; and Andrew sacrificed two pawns in the opening for positional compensation in his game, but he could only manage a draw in the end.

Polysport, where we are staying is a sports catering/accommodation place, and there are tennis courts, a volleyball net, hockey fields and a tennis table literally right outside our cabin, among others.

Non-chess play of the day: Ly-Brown

Round 4

Moulthun beat his younger opponent weaving a mating net, getting to 2.5/4; Junta played his third GM in a row, where he seemed to have two promising attacking moves at move 40 as White (with many observers watching in anticipation), but blundered a piece instead and lost (now on 2/4); while Andrew (also getting to 2/4) scored the chess play of the day (week), his opponent after the game sportingly telling him that he hoped the game wins a prize.

22.Qxe4!! and the next diagram is Andrew as White to play move 28:

He found a very nice forced mate in 9 - see if you can do the same (solution below can be seen by highlighting all text).

28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Rxf7+ Kh6 30.Nf5+! [30.f5+ Kh5 31.Rxh7+ Kg4 32.Re4+ Rxe4 33.h3+ Qxh3] 30...Kh5 [30...gxf5 31.Re6+ Kh5 32.Rxh7+ Kg4 33.Rg6#] 31.Rxh7+ Kg4 32.Nh6+ Kh4 33.Ng8+ Kg4 34.Nf6+ Kf5 35.g4+ Kxf6 36.Re6# 1-0

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For Round 5 tomorrow (9pm Sydney time), Moulthun's game will be shown live.