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