A golden finish

Golden finish
Published : Wednesday, July 17, 2013 00:00
Written by : Ed Andaya

Final standings:

Men

6.5 points — W. So (Philippines), Z. Andriasian (Armenia), Li Chao (China), Ma Qun (China), M. Matlakov (Russia), Zhou Jianchao (China), E. Alekseev (Russia), J. Tomczak (Poland), S. Sugirov (Russia)

6 — R. Hovhannisyan (Armenia), B. Amin (Egypt), M.Georgescu (Romania), V. Durarbayli (Azerbaijan), D. Andeikin (Russia), Yu Yangyi (China).

KAZAN, Russia — Finally, a gold for GM Wesley So, a gold for the Philippines in the 27th SummerUniversiade.

And So did it the hard way.

So defeated former world junior champion GM Zaven Andriasian of Armenia in the tensely-fought, Armageddon-style playoff match to determine the rightful winner of the coveted Universiadegold at the Kazan Equestrian Complex here Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).

So and Andriasian, who battled to a draw in the ninth and final round earlier in the day, finished in a heavy nine-way tie for first place with 6.5 points at the end of the prestigious, nine-round competition held in this popular Tatarstan city now billed as the ‘Sports Capital’ of Russia.

The two players again finished in a tie after three tiebreaks, forcing the Armageddon game.

Andriasian, who won the world junior championship in Yerevan in 2006, won the toss coin and chose to play white against So.

The rest is chess history.

“I really did my best, especially in the Armageddon game, to win the Universaide gold medal for our country. It was not easy because there were many good players here,” said the 19-year-old Filipino champion, whose campaign here is being supported by the Federation of SchoolSports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP) and sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, Agri-Nurture, Inc. (ANI), Bestank, Healthy Options and Cobra Energy Drinks.

Overall, So finished with four wins and five draws for 6.5 points, the same score of Andriasian, GM Li Chao of China, GM Ma Qun of China, GM Maxim Matlakov of Russia, GM Zhou Jianchao of China, GM Evgeny Alekseev of Russia, GM Jacek Tomczak of Poland and GM Sanan Sugirov of Russia.

So, Adriasian and Li finished tied in the first tiebreak — Buchholz — with 47.5.

Then, So and Andriasian tied after the second BH tiebreak, 43.0, and sent Li Chao out with only 42.5. In the third tiebreak, SB, they tied again at 35.5, forcing the Armageddon.

Initially, tournament officials wanted to give two golds — one for So and Andriasian — but decided to hold an Armageddon game that lasted late into the night since FISU rules state that there should only be one gold medal.

The 24-year-old Andriasian, who finished fourth in the Shezhen Univesiade in China two years ago, opened with Nf3 and So replied with c5, the same opening moves of their ninth-round encounter. But this time, Andriasian chose to attack on the queenside while So pushed forward on the kingside.

When the end came, So was threatening Adriasian with a mate in one after 51…Rb1+.

“The Armageddon game was not easy. It all came down to nerve,” said five-time women’s world champion and SPICE founder Susan Polgar.

“Wesley had an unlucky break by being the third seed, which means he had five black and only four white. Wesley is significantly stronger with white than black,” explained Polgar, who is widely credited for the vast improvement in So’s overall game since taking him in under her wings at the SPICE-Webster University in Missouri.

Earlier, Andriasian battled So on even terms, took a slight positional lead and offered a draw to So.

The Armenian player later admitted to So during their post-game analysis that he offered the draw since he knew he was way ahead in the tiebreaks.

“At that point, I knew he was ahead (in position) and I can’t force the issue with black,” said So, who also battled Andriasian to a draw during the 2009 Aeroflot Open — the same year the then 15-year-old Filipino bagged the top junior award.

Polgar agreed with So’s decision in the ninth-round draw.

“I don’t like Wesley’s final position at all. After white’s c5 push, Wesley will have issues with the d6 and g6 pawn. I am surprised that white offered a draw. I would have definitely played on if I’m white. A draw is good here for black,” Polgar wrote in chessgames.com.

Davao pride Mary Palero agreed to a draw with No.35 seed WFM Monica Motycakva of Slovakia to finish with 3.5 points on two wins, three draws and four losses.

The 20-year-old graduating student of Holy Cross of Davao College finished in a tie for 52nd to 61st places in the 71-player tournament.

GM Zhao Xue of China finished with 7.5 points to lead another 1-2-3 finish for China.

WGM Ju Wenjun and WGM Tan Zhingyi, both of China, finished second and third with seven points apiece.

IM Anastasia Savina of Russia finished fourth with 6.5 points, edging three other players with the same score.

China also captured the team championship with 21 points behind its top three scorers — Zhao, Ju and Li.

Russia finished runner-up with 19.5 points and Poland wound up third with 18 points.

In 2011 Shenzhen Universiade, China swept all three gold medals — men (Li Chao), women (Tan Zhongyi) and team.

Not this time.

The moves:

Round 9

Z. Andriasian (Armenia) vs. W.So (Philippines)

Closed Sicilian

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Qe2 d6 5. g3 g6 6.h4 Bg7 7. d3 h6 8. Bg2 Nge7 9. Be3 e5 10. Qd2 Be6 11. 0-0 b6 12. a3 a5 13. Nh2 Qd7 14. Rae1 h5 15. f4 0-0 16. Qd1 exf4 17. gxf4 f5 18. Nd5 Rab8 19. c3 b5 20. Nxe7 Nxe7 21.Nf3 b4 22. axb4 axb4 23.e5 Bxc3 24. bxc3 Bd5 25. c4 Ba8 26. d4 cxd4 27.Qxd4 d5 28. Qd2 Rfc8 1/2-1/2

Playoff (Armageddon)

Andriasian-So

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.d3 Bg7 5.O-O e5 6.e4 Nge7 7.h4 h6 8.Be3 d6 9.Qd2 Be6 10.Nc3 Qd7 11.a3 Bh3 12.Nh2 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 f5 14.b4 Nd4 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Qf7 17.bxc5 Qxd5+ 18.Kg1 dxc5 19.Rab1 O-O-O 20.Bxd4 exd4 21.Qa5 Kb8 22.Rb5 Rc8 23.Rfb1 Rc7 24.Nf1 f4 25.gxf4 g5 26.fxg5 hxg5 27.h5 Be5 28.Qa4 b6 29.Nd2 Bh2+ 30.Kxh2 Rxh5+ 31.Kg3 Qe6 32.Rxb6+ axb6 33.Rxb6+ Qxb6 34.Qe8+ Kb7 35.Qxh5 Qd6+ 36.Kg2 Qd5+ 37.Ne4 c4 38.Qf3 cxd3 39.cxd3 Kb6 40.Qf8 Ka7 41.a4 g4 42.Qf4 Rh7 43.Qd2 Qh5 44.Ng3 Qd5+ 45.Kg1 Rb7 46.Qh6 Rb1+ 47.Kh2 Rb7 48.Ne4 Qe5+ 49.Kg2 Qf5 50.Qd2 Qf3+ 51.Kg1 Rb1+ 0-1

Source: http://www.journal.com.ph