UK - China Match Liverpool. Malcolm Pein Reports

Round 5-6 September 8th-9th 2007

A classic King’s Indian carve up. White was better but it only takes one error in a game where the battle is a race to invade on opposite wings.

The UK - China Summit ended in a comfortable victory for the visitors as they won rounds five and six to emerge victorious by a score of 28-20 at St Georges Hall in Liverpool. One the final day the UK only managed to win their ‘banker’ as Michael Adams efficiently dismantled the Sicilian Defence of 13 year old Hou Yifan.

The UK sorely missed Luke McShane who has taken a job in the City of London and although Nick Pert, Gawain Jones and David Howell battled hard they were significantly out-rated. Howell showed great promise and it was pure inexperience that lost him his last round game when after having outplayed Wang Yue he went wrong in a favourable endgame. Jones played extremely well and missed wins in a couple of games yet his tournament rating performance was near 2600.

The match might have been close had the UK taken their chances in round five which I will look at tomorrow, two wins were missed while Howell became another victim of the idiotic time limit.

Round 5 (September 8, 2007)

Zhang Pengxiang           -  Short, Nigel D            1/2   52  C45  Scotch Game
Wang Hao                  -  Adams, Michael            1/2   26  C78  Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Rowson, Jonathan          -  Hou Yifan                 1/2   35  E15  Queens Indian
Ni Hua                    -  Pert, Nicholas            1-0   58  C08  French Tarrasch
Jones, Gawain C B         -  Wang Yue                  1/2   77  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Howell, David W L         -  Bu Xiangzhi               0-1   62  B22  Sicilian Alapin
Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan  -  Shen Yang                 1/2   31  C92  Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Houska, Jovanka           -  Ding Yixin                0-1   57  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation

Round 6 (September 9, 2007)

Adams, Michael            -  Hou Yifan                 1-0   39  B84  Sicilian Scheveningen
Short, Nigel D            -  Ni Hua                    1/2   44  B13  Caro Kann Exchange
Bu Xiangzhi               -  Rowson, Jonathan          1/2   22  D36  QGD Exchange
Pert, Nicholas            -  Wang Hao                  1/2   30  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Zhang Pengxiang           -  Jones, Gawain C B         1/2   50  A45  Trompowsky
Wang Yue                  -  Howell, David W L         1-0   57  A16  English Opening
Shen Yang                 -  Houska, Jovanka           1/2   31  B12  Caro Kann Advanced
Ding Yixin                -  Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan  1-0   52  B59  Sicilian Boleslavsky

Final Round 6 Standings: 
UK-CHN Match Liverpool ENG (ENG), 4-9 ix 2007
---------------------------------------------------
Chinese Men
 1 Wang Hao                  g CHN 2624   4.0  2722
 2 Zhang Pengxiang           g CHN 2649   4.0  2722
 3 Wang Yue                  g CHN 2696   4.0  2722
 4 Ni Hua                    g CHN 2681   4.0  2722
 5 Bu Xiangzhi               g CHN 2685   3.5  2654
 6 Hou Yifan                wg CHN 2523   2.5  2540
                                         22.0
Chinese Women
 1 Ding Yixin               wf CHN 2278   3.5  2466
 2 Shen Yang                wg CHN 2439   2.5  2352
                                          6.0
                                         28.0
UK Men
 1 Adams, Michael            g ENG 2724   3.5  2700
 2 Short, Nigel D            g ENG 2683   3.0  2643
 3 Jones, Gawain C B         m ENG 2526   2.5  2586
 4 Howell, David W L         g ENG 2519   2.0  2518
 5 Pert, Nicholas            g ENG 2536   1.5  2450
 6 Rowson, Jonathan          g SCO 2599   1.5  2450
                                         14.0
UK Women
 1 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan  m GEO 2418   4.0  2483
 2 Houska, Jovanka           m ENG 2401   2.0  2233
                                          6.0
                                         20.0
---------------------------------------------------

Round five: China 5.5-2.5 UK

Round six: China 4.5-3.5 UK

Final score China 28-20 UK

The Chinese proved almost infinitely resourceful in difficult positions and one could highlight at least one or two games every round where the result could have gone the other way.

More good defence from a Chinese player. After being confronted with a dangerous novelty in the opening Ni Hua converts his trapped rook on h8 into an asset. Short was very critical of his play afterwards and he did miss a couple of wins.

Short,N (2683) - Ni Hua (2681) [B13]
UK-CHN Match Liverpool ENG (6), 09.09.2007

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 e6 10.Qxb7 Nxd4 11.Bb5+ Nxb5 12.Qc6+ Ke7 13.Qxb5 Qd7 14.Nxd5+ [14.Qxd7+ Kxd7 15.Nxd5 exd5 16.Be3] 14...exd5 15.Qe2+ [15.Qxd7+ Kxd7 16.Be3 has been played many times over the years but Black holds the draw easily enough nowadays after 16...Ke6 and Bb4+] 15...Kf6 [15...Qe6 1/2-1/2 Solomaha,A (2384)-Stratulat,S (2187)/Kiev UKR 2005/The Week in Chess 535 (54)] 16.Rg1 [A dangerous new idea. Previously 16.0-0 had been played without particular success 16...Bd6 17.Rd1 Qh3 18.Bg5+ Kg6 19.Qd3+ f5 20.f4 Qxd3 21.Rxd3 h6 22.Rxd5 Bb8 23.Be7 Bxf4 24.Kh1 Rhe8 25.Rg1+ Kh7 26.Bc5 Re5 27.Rgd1 a6 28.b4 g5 29.Rd6 Re2 30.Rc6 Bd2 31.Kg2 Rae8 32.Rd6 Be3 33.Bxe3 R8xe3 34.Rxa6 g4 35.Rd7+ Re7 36.Rxe7+ Rxe7 37.b5 Re2 38.a4 f4 39.Rf6 Re4 40.a5 Rb4 41.b6 Kg7 42.Rc6 h5 43.h3 Rb2 44.hxg4 hxg4 45.Rc4 Rb5 46.Rxf4 Rxa5 47.Rxg4+ Kf6 48.Rb4 Ra8 49.b7 Rb8 50.f4 Ke6 51.Kf3 1-0 Benko,P-Addison,W/San Francisco 1961] 16...g6 [16...Re8 17.Bg5+ Kf5 18.Be3 Kf6 19.Kf1!] 17.Bg5+ Kg7 18.Qe5+ Kg8 19.0-0-0 Bg7 20.Qxd5 Qc7+ 21.Kb1 Rb8 An unbalanced position. White is a pawn up and the Rh8 is trapped but the h2 pawn is en prise and the white king potentially vulnerable 22.b3 [22.Rd2 would keep the a1-h8 diagonal closed] 22...h5! [22...Qxh2 23.Be3 Qc7 24.Rg4 Qc3 25.Rgd4 is better for White] 23.Rc1 [23.h4 Qc3 wins] 23...Qxh2 24.Be3 Qe5 25.Qxe5 Bxe5 26.f4 Bf6 27.Bxa7 Ra8 28.Be3 [28.Rc7!?] 28...h4 29.f5 [29.a4 h3 30.Rg3 h2 31.Rh1 Rb8 32.Ka2 Rc8 with sufficient counterplay] 29...h3 30.Rg3 [30.fxg6 looks better 30...h2 31.Rh1 threatens Bf4 31...Rh4 32.gxf7+ Kxf7 33.Rc4 should give winning chances after 33...Rh3 34.a4] 30...Rh5!

31.fxg6? [31.Rh1! Rxf5 (31...h2 32.Rg2 Rxf5 33.Rgxh2 Rfa5 34.a4) 32.Rgxh3 should win] 31...h2 32.gxf7+ Kxf7 33.Rh1 Rxa2! 34.Kxa2 Ra5+ 35.Kb1 Ra1+ 36.Kc2 Rxh1 37.Rh3 Be5 38.f4 Bd6 White cannot watch over the h awn and hang on to both the f and b pawns at the same time 39.Bd2 Kg6 40.Kd3 Kf5 41.Ke2 [41.Rh4 Be7] 41...Kg4 42.Rh7 Bxf4 43.Bxf4 Kxf4 44.Kf2 Ke5 1/2-1/2