GM Zhou Weiqi wins the 1st Qin Huangdao Open in thrilling finish

GM Zhou Weiqi wins the 1st Qin Huangdao Open in thrilling finish

The 1st Qin Huangdao Open Chess Tournament was held in Qin Huangdao, Hebei, China, from 30 September to 7 October 2011.

Goddess Caissa directed a real drama in the final round. GM Zhou Jianchao held a full point lead and had white pieces, but Vietnam’s GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son defeated him and caught up on the shared first place.

But that was not all. A third player, GM Zhou Weiqi, enters the equation as he beats the top seeded GM Liem Le Quang, also with black pieces. Weiqi also settled on 7 points and grabbed the winner’s trophy on superior tie-break score.

The 9-round event, hosted by the Hebei Provincial Sports Bureau, Qin Huangdao Municipal People’s Government, offered a generous prize fund of 87,000 USD. The winner takes 20,000 USD home.

Round 9 top results:

GM Zhou Jianchao 2628 – GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2644 0 – 1
GM Liem Le Quang 2717 – GM Zhou Weiqi 2598 0 – 1
GM Wang Yue 2716 – GM Zhao Jun 2587 ½ – ½
GM Levan Pantsulaia 2614 – GM Ding Liren 2660 0 – 1
Yu Ruiyuan 2428 – GM Negi Parimarjan 2631 0 – 1
GM Bu Xiangzhi 2666 – IM Gundavaa Bayrsaikhan 2467 1 – 0
GM Li Chao B 2710 – GM Li Shilong 2515 1 – 0
Wan Yunguo 2459 – GM Yu Yangyi 2646 ½ – ½
IM Wang Chen 2454 – GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly 2631 ½ – ½
GM David Arutinian 2577 – Lu Yijie 2370 ½ – ½
IM Yang Kaiqi 2413 – GM Sandipan Chanda 2640 0 – 1
IM Batchuluun Tsegmed 2435 – GM Wen Yang 2547 ½ – ½
GM Xiu Deshun 2540 – IM Gao Rui 2424 ½ – ½

Final standings (top 20):

1 GM Zhou Weiqi CHN 2598 – 7
2 GM Zhou Jianchao CHN 2628 – 7
3 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2644 – 7
4 GM Negi Parimarjan IND 2631 – 6.5
5 GM Ding Liren CHN 2660 – 6.5
6 GM Wang Yue CHN 2716 – 6
7 GM Li Chao B CHN 2710 – 6
8 GM Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2666 – 6
9 GM Liem Le Quang VIE 2717 – 6
10 GM Zhao Jun CHN 2587 – 6
11 IM Wang Chen CHN 2454 – 5.5
12 Yu Ruiyuan CHN 2428 – 5.5
13 GM Levan Pantsulaia GEO 2614 – 5.5
14 IM Gundavaa Bayrsaikhan MGL 2467 – 5.5
15 Lu Yijie CHN 2370 – 5.5
16 IM Zhang Ziyang CHN 2414 – 5.5
17 GM Yu Yangyi CHN 2646 – 5.5
18 GM Sandipan Chanda IND 2640 – 5.5
19 GM David Arutinian GEO 2577 – 5.5
20 GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly IND 2631 – 5.5
21 Wan Yunguo CHN 2459 – 5.5
22 Zeng Chongsheng CHN 2413 – 5.5