Queenstown International 2012 - Day 6

Day 6 of the Queenstown International saw the leading group reduced to 3. The top 3 boards saw GM v GM match ups, and they all ended decisively. Top seed Li Chao defeated compatriot Xue Zhao, and Rozentalis beat Bojkov. In one of the last games to finish GM Jun Zhao found a sacrifice in a knight ending to score a nice win over GM Darryl Johansen. FM Chris Wallis, who had a 2600+ performance up to the previous round, was beaten by GM Sune Berg Hansen, but he is still performing at IM level. Canberra FM Junta Ikeda drew with IM Herman Van Riemsdijk to keep his chances of an IM norm alive. There is also the New Zealand Championship, which is running as a tournament within a tournament. The highest scoring New Zealand player(s) will win the title, although it is obviously hard to predict a winner, as standings will change depending on pairings. IM Paul Garbett had a chance to take a big lead in this event after going up a piece against GM Ganguly, but he was unable to withstand the pressure Ganguly put on his position and lost. This means that after 6 rounds there is currently a 7 way tie for the title. Following on from yesterdays observation about play on the lower boards, here is a game I felt I had to share. Getting close to move 40 White had managed to generate enough play to threaten a repetition, and indeed warned the arbiters that this was likely to happen. However just at the point he could claim, he instead played a move, and Black found a queen sac to avoid a mate, while still leaving him with a material advantage. When I wandered past later, Black had even gained another queen through promotion. However one move changed the whole game, and suddenly White had a chance for another repetition. This he duly grabbed and the game ended in a draw which was appreciated by both players.

Yeten,Huseyin - Shierlaw,Hamish [D05]
Queenstown International Queenstown (6.67), 20.01.2012

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. c3 Nc6 7. e4 dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 Bd7 10. O-O h6 11. c4 Rb8 12. a3 a6 13. b4 Na7 14. c5 Be7 15. Ne5 Bf6 16. a4 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Bc6 18. Bd3 Qd5 19. f3 Qd4+ 20. Kh1 Qxa1 21. Qe2 Qd4 22. b5 axb5 23. axb5 Bd5 24. Rd1 Qh4 25. Be3 Qe7 26. Bc2 h5 27. Rd4 Rfc8 28. Qd3 g6 29. h4 Kf8 30. Ra4 Ra8 31. Bc1 Qd7 32. c6 bxc6 33. Ba3+ Ke8 34. Qe3 Nxb5 35. Bc5 Rxa4 36. Qh6 Ra1+ 37. Kh2 Kd8 38. Qg5+ Ke8 39. Qh6 Kd8 40. Qg5+ Ke8 41. Qh6 Qe7 42. Bxe7 Kxe7 43. Qg7 Rf8 44. Bxg6 Raa8 45. Kh3 c5 46. Bxh5 c4 47. Bg6 Ke8 48. Bh7 c3 49. h5 Na3 50. h6 c2 51. Qg5 Rb8 52. Qf4 c6 53. Qc1 Rb1 54. Qxa3 c1Q 55. Qa8+ Ke7 56. Qa7+ Kd8 57. Qa8+ Kc7 58. Qxf8 Rb8 59. Qd6+ Kb7 60. Qb4+ Ka7 61. Qa5+ Kb7 62. Qb4+ Ka6 63. Qa4+ Kb6 64. Qb4+ Kc7 65. Qd6+ Kb7 1/2-1/2