Tuesday 2 August 2022

Chennai, round four

Both Malaysia teams lost again today in the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. The going has become very tough for them. Please don't tell me that the burn-out has set in early. No no, this has to be only a momentary lapse in their forms. The men's team went down to a Madagascar team by 1½-2½ whereas the women's team lost by 1-3 to England. 

Did I say Madagascar, a team seeded 104th? I'm quite surprised they lost to this team. Madagascar was a match that shouldn't have been lost. Early in the match, I thought they had by far the better chances on all four boards. From afar, their positions looked quite alright initially. But I felt uncomfortable with the Bishop+Queen lining up on the diagonal towards Wong Yinn Long's kingside but the danger disappeared after a while. It was much later that he went wrong (but where?) and I was aghast when he was suddenly saddled with two knights against his opponent's double bishops! I didn't quite expect Lim Zhuo Ren to lose. Neither did I expect Tan Jun Ying to struggle into an endgame where he had to defend his draw. Luckily, it was textbook And what can I say about Poh Yu Tian? He had a very commanding position and then he took the rather unexplainable decision to sacrifice his rook for his opponent's knight and two pawns. His advantage vanished and for a long time his game looked even. It took a lot of effort for him to regain it bit by bit. I only wish for him not to take such a devil-may-care approach in his games. 

Our women's team had a good start against the England ladies. I quite liked the way Sim Jia Ru built up her game but then it all came tumbling down. Puteri Munajjah had a bad game and got her position all tangled up. On the fourth board, Agnes Chong scored her first half point which should be psychologically important for her. And on first board, I saw a fearless Siti Zulaikha confronting her England opponent although by the end of their game, her opponent had the upperhand and was winning. Thankfully, she was short of time and preferred to go for a perpetual check rather than to risk pressing her win. Interesting game, actually, by our Siti. She read the position well enough.

After four rounds, it is time for me to take stock of our players' performances and for that, I shall have to reproduce these tables from chess-results.com below. This may also be my last posting on the chess for a while as I doubt that I shall have much time tomorrow to say anything about the fifth round before my mid-week travel out of Penang. I shall have to do my catch-up of the Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Saturday.

So far, the men's team have played against US Virgin Islands (4-0), Slovakia (2-2), Croatia (½-3½) and Madagascar (1½-2½) while the women's team played with Eswatini (4-0), Spain (0-4), Uganda (2½-1½) and England (1-3). There are positives and negatives. The negatives are, of course, the inability to beat teams that are weaker and seeded below Malaysia, like Madagascar. And our men's team is sorely lacking a fifth player ever since Lye Lik Zang was forced out after testing positive for Covid-19. It's unfortunate but the other team members will have to live with playing every game. They have the talent. Only, they have to pace themselves well till the end (but don't forget the Bermuda party, okay?). And oh yes, Yu Tian is in fine form and performing beyond anyone's expectations. But don't expect him to carry the men's team forward forever by himself.  

  121. Malaysia (MAS / RtgAvg:2261, Captain: Subramaniam, Sumant / TB1: 3 / TB2: 24,5)
Bo.NameRtgFED12345Pts.GamesRtgAvgRpKrtg+/-
1FMLim Zhuo Ren2318MAS10½01,5423302243200,8
2FMWong Yinn Long2381MAS1½001,542189210220-15,0
3CMTan Jun Ying2191MAS1½0½2,0421322132201,4
4Poh Yu Tian2118MAS11013,04209722904046,0


  76. Malaysia (MAS / RtgAvg:2038, Captain: Mok, Tze-Meng / TB1: 4 / TB2: 16)
Bo.NameRtgFED12345Pts.GamesRtgAvgRpKrtg+/-
1WIMFoudzi Siti Zulaikha2188MAS10½½2,041947194720-8,0
2WIMPuteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa2018MAS10½01,541868178120-13,2
3WFMPuteri Rifqah Fahada1940MAS+0½1,531884020-11,6
4WCMSim Jia Ru2005MAS1102,031631175640-4,4
5WFMChong Kai Ni Agnes1909MAS0½0,5221110400,0


Meanwhile, the details of the fourth round results are here:

Bo.80
  Malaysia (MAS)
Rtg-104
  Madagascar (MAD)
Rtg1½:2½
46.1FM
Lim, Zhuo Ren
2318-IM
Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina
24900 - 1
46.2FM
Wong, Yinn Long
2381-CM
Andrianiaina, Heritiana
20950 - 1
46.3CM
Tan, Jun Ying
2191-
Rakotomaharavo, Dylan
1948½ - ½
46.4
Poh, Yu Tian
2118-
Rajerison, Mananihaja Charly
19121 - 0

Bo.52
  Malaysia (MAS)
Rtg-21
  England (ENG)
Rtg1 : 3
14.1WIM
Foudzi, Siti Zulaikha
2188-IM
Houska, Jovanka
2360½ - ½
14.2WIM
Azhar, Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa
2018-WIM
Yao, Lan
22740 - 1
14.3WCM
Sim, Jia Ru
2005-FM
Kalaiyalahan, Akshaya
21580 - 1
14.4WFM
Chong, Kai Ni Agnes
1909-WCM
Varney, Zoe
2045½ - ½


[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.46"]
[Board "1"]
[White "Lim, Zhuo Ren"]
[Black "Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteTitle "FM"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[WhiteElo "2318"]
[BlackElo "2490"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Opening "Catalan"]
[Variation "closed, 5.Nf3"]
[WhiteTeam "Malaysia"]
[BlackTeam "Madagascar"]
[WhiteFideId "5702488"]
[BlackFideId "13100050"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O a5 7. Qc2 Nc6 8. a3
dxc4 9. Qxc4 a4 10. Bg5 Bd7 11. Nbd2 Na5 12. Qc2 c5 13. dxc5 Rc8 14. Bxf6 gxf6
15. Rac1 Rxc5 16. Qd3 Bc6 17. Qe3 Qd5 18. Ne1 Qe5 19. Nd3 Qxe3 20. fxe3 Rb5 21.
Bxc6 Nxc6 22. Ne4 f5 23. Nec5 Ne5 24. Nxa4 Bg5 25. Nf4 Ng4 26. Rc5 Rb3 27. Rf3
b5 28. h3 bxa4 29. hxg4 Be7 30. Ra5 fxg4 31. Rf1 Rxe3 32. Kf2 Re4 33. Rc1 Rb8
34. Nd3 Bd8 35. Ra6 Bb6+ 36. Kf1 Be3 37. Rcc6 Rb5 38. Rc8+ Kg7 39. Rca8 Rf5+ 40.
Ke1 Rh5 41. Kf1 Bd4 42. Nf4 Rh2 43. Rxa4 e5 44. Re8 exf4 45. Rxe4 Rh1+ 46. Kg2
Rg1+ 47. Kh2 fxg3# 0-1

[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.46"]
[Board "2"]
[White "Andrianiaina, Heritiana"]
[Black "Wong, Yinn Long"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "CM"]
[BlackTitle "FM"]
[WhiteElo "2095"]
[BlackElo "2381"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian"]
[Variation "classical variation"]
[WhiteTeam "Madagascar"]
[BlackTeam "Malaysia"]
[WhiteFideId "13101048"]
[BlackFideId "5707684"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d6 7. Nf3 Re8 8. b4
a5 9. Bb2 axb4 10. axb4 Rxa1+ 11. Bxa1 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. e3 c5 14. Be2 cxb4
15. Qxb4 Nc6 16. Qd2 Qe7 17. O-O Bg4 18. h3 Bh5 19. Rb1 Rd8 20. Qe1 Ne4 21. Nxe5
Nxe5 22. Bxh5 Nd3 23. Qa5 Rf8 24. Qd5 Qh4 25. g3 Nxg3 26. fxg3 Qxg3+ 27. Qg2
Qxe3+ 28. Kh1 Qh6 29. Rg1 g6 30. Qg5 Qxg5 31. Rxg5 Ra8 32. Bd4 Ra4 33. Rd5 f5
34. Bd1 Ra2 35. Be3 Nf2+ 36. Bxf2 Rxf2 37. Kg1 Rb2 38. Rd7 b6 39. Bf3 g5 40. Rd5
g4 41. hxg4 fxg4 42. Bxg4 Rb1+ 43. Kf2 Rh1 44. Rg5+ Kf8 45. Rh5 Rc1 46. Be6 Ke7
47. Bg8 Kd6 48. Ke3 Kc6 49. Bd5+ Kc5 50. Bf7+ Kc6 51. Rxh7 Re1+ 52. Kd4 Rd1+ 53.
Kc3 Rc1+ 54. Kd2 Rg1 55. Rh6+ Kc5 56. Rh5+ Kd6 57. Kc3 Rc1+ 58. Kb2 Rg1 59. Be8
Rg3 60. Ba4 Kc7 61. Bb3 Kc6 62. Ka3 Rg1 63. Kb4 Rb1 64. Rh6+ Kb7 65. Ka4 Rb2 66.
Rf6 Kc7 67. Kb4 Rb1 68. Kc3 Rg1 69. Bc2 Rc1 70. Kd2 Ra1 71. Be4 Ra3 72. Rc6+ Kb7
73. Rf6+ Kc7 74. Bd3 Kb7 75. Ke3 Ra1 76. Be4+ Kc7 77. Kd4 Rd1+ 78. Ke5 Re1 79.
Rf7+ Kc8 80. Kd5 Rc1 81. Bf5+ Kb8 82. Be6 Re1 83. Re7 Ka8 84. Kc6 Rb1 85. Rb7
Re1 86. Bd5 Rg1 87. Rxb6 Rg6+ 88. Kc7+ Ka7 89. Rb1 Rg7+ 90. Kc6 Ka8 91. Ra1+ Kb8
92. c5 Rc7+ 93. Kb5 Rc8 94. Ra8+ Kc7 95. Rxc8+ 1-0

[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.46"]
[Board "3"]
[White "Tan, Jun Ying"]
[Black "Rakotomaharavo, Dylan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "CM"]
[WhiteElo "2191"]
[BlackElo "1948"]
[ECO "E52"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian"]
[Variation "4.e3, main line with ...b6"]
[WhiteTeam "Malaysia"]
[BlackTeam "Madagascar"]
[WhiteFideId "5710413"]
[BlackFideId "13102761"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4
Ba6 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qa4 Qc8 11. Bd2 Qb7 12. Rfc1 Rfc8 13. Nb5 Bf8 14. b4 c6 15.
Na3 b5 16. Qb3 Bd6 17. Nc2 Nb8 18. a4 Nbd7 19. a5 e5 20. Ng5 Nf8 21. dxe5 Bxe5
22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. exd4 h6 24. Nf3 Ne6 25. Be3 Qd7 26. Ne5 Qd6 27. Qb2 Rc7 28. Rc2
Rac8 29. Rac1 Nd5 30. Nd3 Ne7 31. Rd2 Nd5 32. Qb1 f5 33. g3 Nxe3 34. fxe3 Ng5
35. Qb3+ Kh7 36. Ne5 Qd5 37. Qxd5 cxd5 38. Rf1 g6 39. g4 fxg4 40. Nxg4 Kg7 41.
h4 Ne4 42. Rg2 Rc1 43. Ne5 g5 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. Nd3 Rxf1+ 46. Kxf1 Rc3 47. Nc5
Kg6 48. Ke2 Kf5 49. Nxe4 Kxe4 50. Rxg5 Rxe3+ 51. Kd2 Rd3+ 52. Kc2 Rxd4 53. Rg7
Rc4+ 54. Kd2 Kd4 55. Rg4+ Ke5 56. Rg7 Rxb4 57. Rxa7 Ra4 58. a6 Kd4 59. Ra8 Ra2+
60. Kc1 Kc3 61. Kb1 Ra4 62. a7 Kb3 63. Rd8 Rxa7 64. Rxd5 b4 65. Rd3+ Kc4 66. Rh3
Rg7 67. Kb2 Rg2+ 68. Kb1 Kb5 69. Rh5+ Ka4 70. Rh3 Re2 71. Rg3 Kb5 72. Rg5+ Kc4
73. Rg3 Rd2 74. Rh3 Rd8 75. Kb2 Rf8 76. Rh4+ Kb5 77. Rh5+ Ka4 78. Rh3 Rf4 79.
Rg3 Rh4 80. Rf3 Rh2+ 81. Kb1 Rh1+ 82. Kb2 Rh2+ 83. Kb1 Rh1+ 84. Kb2 Rh2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.46"]
[Board "4"]
[White "Rajerison, Mananihaja Charly"]
[Black "Poh, Yu Tian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1912"]
[BlackElo "2118"]
[ECO "B87"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Sozin with ...a6 and ...b5"]
[WhiteTeam "Madagascar"]
[BlackTeam "Malaysia"]
[WhiteFideId "13101226"]
[BlackFideId "5734088"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O
Be7 9. f4 O-O 10. a3 Bb7 11. f5 e5 12. Nde2 Nbd7 13. Ng3 Rc8 14. Kh1 Nb6 15. Bd5
Nbxd5 16. exd5 Rxc3 17. bxc3 Nxd5 18. f6 Nxf6 19. Nf5 Be4 20. Bg5 Qd7 21. Nxe7+
Qxe7 22. Qe2 d5 23. a4 Qe6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Ra5 Nd7 26. Rfa1 h6 27. Ra6 Qf5 28.
Be7 Re8 29. Rf1 Qh7 30. Qxb5 Bxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Qe4+ 32. Kg1 Rxe7 33. Ra8+ Kh7 34.
Qd3 Nc5 35. Qxe4+ Nxe4 36. Rc8 f5 37. Rc6 f4 38. Kg2 Nd2 39. Ra1 e4 40. Kf2 e3+
41. Ke1 f3 42. Rd1 f2+ 43. Ke2 Rf7 44. Kxe3 f1=Q 45. Rxf1 Nxf1+ 46. Kd4 Nxh2 47.
Kxd5 g5 48. Re6 g4 49. Re2 g3 50. Rg2 Nf1 51. Rg1 Rf2 52. c4 g2 53. Kd4 Rxc2 54.
Kd3 Rd2+ 55. Ke4 Ng3+ 56. Ke3 Rc2 57. Kd3 Ra2 58. Rb1 Nf1 59. Rb7+ Kg6 60. Rb8
Kh5 61. Rg8 Ng3 0-1

[Event "Olympiad Women 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.14"]
[Board "1"]
[White "Foudzi, Siti Zulaikha"]
[Black "Houska, Jovanka"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "WIM"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[WhiteElo "2188"]
[BlackElo "2360"]
[ECO "B13"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "exchange variation"]
[WhiteTeam "Malaysia"]
[BlackTeam "England"]
[WhiteFideId "5700965"]
[BlackFideId "405094"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Qc7 6. Ne2 Bg4 7. f3 Bd7 8. Na3
a6 9. Qb3 Nf6 10. O-O Na5 11. Qc2 e6 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. b4 b5 15. Qd2
Nb7 16. Rae1 Qc7 17. g4 h6 18. Ng3 Nd6 19. Qf4 Kf8 20. h4 a5 21. Nc2 Nfe8 22.
Ne2 Kg8 23. Rf2 g6 24. Rg2 Kg7 25. Qe5+ f6 26. Qg3 g5 27. f4 Nf7 28. Rh2 axb4
29. Nxb4 Ra3 30. Bb1 gxh4 31. Qd3 Kf8 32. Rxh4 Rg8 33. Kf2 Ned6 34. Qf3 Bc8 35.
Rc1 Bb7 36. Ng3 Ke7 37. Qe3 Nc4 38. Qf3 Nd2 39. Qe3 Nxb1 40. Rxb1 Rxc3 41. Nd3
Qc4 42. Rb3 Rc2+ 43. Kf3 e5 44. Nf5+ Kd8 45. fxe5 fxe5 46. Nxh6 Ng5+ 47. Kg3
Ne4+ 48. Kh3 Ng5+ 49. Kg3 Ne4+ 50. Kh3 Ng5+ 51. Kg3 Ne4+ 52. Kh3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad Women 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.14"]
[Board "2"]
[White "Yao, Lan"]
[Black "Azhar, Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "WIM"]
[BlackTitle "WIM"]
[WhiteElo "2274"]
[BlackElo "2018"]
[ECO "B99"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Najdorf, 7...Be7 main line"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Malaysia"]
[WhiteFideId "8610835"]
[BlackFideId "5709040"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3
Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Be2 b5 12. Bf3 Nb6 13. e5 Nfd5 14. Nxd5 exd5
15. Bf6 g6 16. Qg5 Re8 17. h4 dxe5 18. fxe5 Bxf6 19. exf6 Qe5 20. Qxe5 Rxe5 21.
Nc6 Re6 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Nxd5 Rb8 24. Nc7 Rxf6 25. Rd8+ Ke7 26. Rhd1 Rxf3 27.
gxf3 Rb7 28. Re8+ Kf6 29. Rd6+ Kg7 30. Nxa6 Nc4 31. Rdd8 Bf5 32. b3 Na5 33. Rb8
Ra7 34. Nb4 Rc7 35. Rg8+ 1-0

[Event "Olympiad Women 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.14"]
[Board "3"]
[White "Sim, Jia Ru"]
[Black "Kalaiyalahan, Akshaya"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteTitle "WCM"]
[BlackTitle "FM"]
[WhiteElo "2005"]
[BlackElo "2158"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Opening "Sicilian defence"]
[WhiteTeam "Malaysia"]
[BlackTeam "England"]
[WhiteFideId "5716110"]
[BlackFideId "422894"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Be2 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nc6 8.
Nc3 Qd6 9. O-O Be7 10. Nb5 Qd8 11. Bf4 Nd5 12. Bg3 a6 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Rc1 Nf6
15. Qd2 Nb4 16. Ne5 Nbd5 17. Bf3 Bb4 18. Qc2 Ne7 19. Qb3 Bd6 20. Rfd1 Nf5 21.
Na4 Nxg3 22. hxg3 Rb8 23. Nb6 Bd7 24. Nec4 Bb5 25. d5 Bxc4 26. Nxc4 e5 27. Nd2
Ne8 28. g4 g6 29. Qe3 f5 30. gxf5 gxf5 31. Nc4 Qf6 32. Bh5 Ng7 33. Be2 Ne8 34.
Nxd6 Nxd6 35. Rc7 Rbe8 36. Qh3 Re7 37. Rdc1 Rff7 38. R7c2 h6 39. g3 Rg7 40. Kg2
e4 41. Rc3 Qg5 42. Qh5 f4 43. Qxg5 f3+ 44. Kg1 hxg5 45. Bxf3 exf3 46. Rxf3 Rgf7
47. Rb3 Re5 48. Rd1 Re2 49. Rb6 Rf6 50. Rc1 Rd2 51. Rc5 g4 52. Rc8+ Kf7 53. Rc7+
Ke8 54. Rcxb7 Rdxf2 55. Rb8+ Kd7 0-1

[Event "Olympiad Women 2022"]
[Site "Chennai IND"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4.14"]
[Board "4"]
[White "Varney, Zoe"]
[Black "Chong, Kai Ni Agnes"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "WCM"]
[BlackTitle "WFM"]
[WhiteElo "2045"]
[BlackElo "1909"]
[ECO "B23"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "closed"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Malaysia"]
[WhiteFideId "436135"]
[BlackFideId "5722071"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 dxe4 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Nxe4 Nf6 8.
d3 Be7 9. Ne5 Qb6 10. Nc4 Qc7 11. Qf3 Ba6 12. O-O Rd8 13. Be3 Rd5 14. Rae1 h5
15. h3 h4 16. Ne5 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Rh5 18. c4 Rd8 19. f5 Bc8 20. fxe6 Bxe6 21. Nxc6
Rd7 22. Nxe7 Rxe7 23. Bf4 Qd7 24. Qa8+ Qd8 25. Qc6+ Qd7 26. Qa8+ Qd8 27. Qc6+
Qd7 28. Qf3 Rf5 29. Qa8+ Qd8 30. Qc6+ Qd7 31. Qa8+ Qc8 32. Qe4 Qd7 33. b3 Qd4+
34. Kh1 Qxe4 35. dxe4 Rh5 36. Bd6 Rd7 37. e5 Rg5 38. Bxc5 Rd3 39. Be3 Rxe5 40.
Bxa7 Ra5 41. Bf2 Rxa2 42. Bxh4 Rxb3 43. Rf2 Rbb2 44. Rd1 f6 45. Rxb2 Rxb2 46. c5
Rc2 47. Rd6 Ke7 48. Bg3 Rxc5 1/2-1/2

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