Ding Liren wins third Chinese title in four years
Ding Liren won the Chinese Championship today in Xinghua, China. It was the third national title in four years for the 19-year-old (!) grandmaster. In general the tournament was a succes for the new generation, with 17-year-old Yu Yangyi finishing clear second. In the women's section Huang Qian edged out Zhang Xiaowen on tiebreak.
Ding Liren, not even twenty yet, wins his third Chinese title | Photo © Fan Lulu, more here
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This year's Chinese Championships (Open and Women) took place from 26th March to 7th April 2012 in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China. Xinghua City is a county-level city in Taizhou, Jiangsu. It is located in the central part of Jiangsu Province. It has a long history and is the hometown of Hou Yifan.
In the 12 -player round robin, the Women's World Champion participad in the men's (or rather 'open') section, like last year. Back then she finished 5th and won a few rating points, but this time she played slightly below her rating.
Other teenagers, however, were very successful. 17-year-old Yu Yangyi finished in clear second place with 7/11, behind 19-year-old Ding Liren who finished on 8/11. It was already the third title in four years for Ding!
You might remember the remarkable story of 2009, when a 16-year-old chess player named Ding Liren, and not Wang Hao, took the title despite not making a single move in the final round - his opponent Zhou Jianchao was forfeited for not sitting behind the board at the start of the round. In 2010 Wang Hao got his revanche and won the title, but the next year Ding Liren was clearly the strongest, also in Xinghua, with an undefeated 9/11 score and a 2867 performance.
This year Ding Liren scored one point less (and a 2760 TPR) but still finished a point clear. He was already paired against the highest rated player, Wang Yue, in round 1, and won this important game with some nice manoeuvres in an ending.
[Event "ch-CHN 2012"]
[Site "Xinghua CHN"]
[Date "2012.03.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Wang Yue"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rbb1nk1/pp4pp/4pp2/4N3/2N2P2/P4BP1/1P3P1P/2R3K1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2012.03.27"]
23. Nf7 Be7 24. Ncd6 Bd7 25. Rc7 b5 26. f5 exf5 27. Rxa7 h6 28. Bd5 Kh7 29. Rc7
Kg6 30. Nb7 h5 31. b4 h4 32. f4 Ra8 33. Na5 Ra6 34. Kf2 hxg3+ 35. hxg3 Rb6 36.
Rb7 Ra6 37. Rc7 Rb6 38. Ke3 Be6 39. Nc6 Rxc6 40. Nh8+ Kh7 41. Bxc6 Bd6 42. Rb7
Kxh8 43. Rxb5 g5 44. Bd5 Kg7 45. Bxe6 Nxe6 46. Rb6 gxf4+ 47. gxf4 Bxf4+ 48. Kf3
Nc7 49. a4 Bh2 50. a5 Nd5 51. Rb5 Ne7 52. a6 Bg1 53. Rb7 Kf8 54. b5 Nd5 55. Rd7
Nc3 56. Kg2 Bb6 57. Rd6 Na4 58. Rd7 Nc3 59. Rb7 Nd5 60. Kf1 Ke8 61. Ke2 f4 62.
Kd3 f3 63. a7 Bxa7 64. Rxa7 f2 65. Ra1 Kd7 66. Rf1 Nf4+ 67. Kc4 Nh3 68. Kc5 Kc7
69. b6+ Kb7 70. Kb5 f5 71. Ka5 f4 72. Kb5 Ng5 73. Rxf2 Ne6 74. Rd2 f3 75. Rd7+
Kc8 76. Rf7 Kb8 77. Rf6 Nd4+ 78. Ka6 1-0
Hou Yifan ended 7th, while top seeds Wang Yue and Bu Xiangzhi ended 4th and 6th respectively. Some of China's top players did not participate this year, such as Wang Hao (2733), Li Chao (2703) and Zhou Weiqi (2628).
Selection of games
Chinese Championship 2012 | Final standings
The top eight players qualified for next year's championship, while the last four players will play in the B group in 2013. In the women's section Huang Qian edged out Zhang Xiaowen on tiebreak.
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms.
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