Nigel Short storms into sole lead in Bangkok

Nigel Short defeated M.R. Venkatesh on Monday to take over the lead at the Bangkok Chess Club Open after six rounds. The Indian IM was the surprise leader after five rounds.

The Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok, venue of the tournament  

The 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open, which takes place at the luxurious Dusit Thani Hotel, is a 9-round Swiss with 135 participants of which 41 are titled players. There is also a 7-round Challenger with over 100 players. With over 230 players from 34 countries the tournament has broken its attendance record from 2011 to confirm its ever-increasing popularity.

This year Hou Yifan plays for the first time and she obviously adds prestige to what has become one of Asia's best open events. The 18-year-old Chinese arrived in Bangkok a few days before the start of the tournament. Last Wednesday she met with a number of VIPs (including Thailand's Prime Minister) and aspiring chess talents at Shinawatra University’s city campus and in the Blue Room of Thailand’s Government House. After a photo session the champion played a chess simul against thirty children, students, and sponsors, and won all games in a mere two hours.

The Women's World Champion playing against Thailand's PM Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra

In the Bangkok Open the Women’s World Champion will battle for the top spot against strong rivals, including the tournament’s highest-ranked player, GM Nigel Short of England. Both GMs demonstrated great form at last January’s Gibraltar Chess Festival when they finished first and second in a field that included 55 GMs.

Other strong players who will have a shot at the first prize are the 2011-champion GM Jan Gustafsson of Germany, first-time participant GM Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan, as well as returning champions GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. of the Philippines (winner 2003, 2004, 2006) and GM Deshun Xiu of China (winner in 2008 and 2009). The strongest local players are FM Wisuwat Teerapabpaisit (2278), FM Nakorn Trisa-ard (2265), FM Jirapak Pitirotjirathon (2252) and FM Boonsueb Saeheng (2207).

The spacious playing hall, part of the Dusit Thani Hotel

The start of the tournament coincided with the joyous and rowdy Songkran Festival, when Thais and tourists throng in the streets and splash each other with water to cool off from the fierce summer heat. A popular location to “play Songkran” is Bangkok’s Silom District where the venue is located!

Hou Yifan joins the Songkran celebrations

The games are played between April 13th and 19th, with double rounds on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday and Saturday morning no real upsets were seen, but in the third round untitled Sander Severino (2344) held Nigel Short to a draw on board 1 and next to them, Jan Gustafsson also split the point with IM Daniel Contin (2331) of Italy. In round 4 two other GMs drew their games: Hou Yifan against IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (2453) of Vietnam and Farrukh Amonatov against IM Liu Qingnan (2461) of China.

After five rounds the surprise leader was Indian IM M.R. Venkatesh, who is the only player with a clean sheet. On Sunday afternoon he defeated last year's winner Jan Gustafsson on top board. Nigel Short was half a point behind Venkatesh and these two players would meet each other in round 6. Hou Yifan and Farrukh Amonatov again drew their games and found themselves in a group of 16 players who are on 4/5.

In round 6 the British GM showed his class and came up on top against Venkatesh. On board 2, Hou Yifan came back from a technically lost position to defeat FM Martin Voigt, and last year’s champion GM Jan Gustafsson recovered with a win against WGM Kruttika Nadig.

Selection of games rounds 1-6

PGN file

Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012 | Round 6 standings (top 30)