
World Mind Games: Wang Yue Wins Rapid Tournament
The rapid section of the World Mind Games in Beijing was surprisingly won by local hero Wang Yue. The 26-year-old grandmaster defeated Peter Leko and caught the Hungarian in the very last round to clinch the first prize. Valentina Gunina won the women's section with 6.0/7.
Leko was leading after the first day and continued strongly with another win against Wang Hao, who sacrificed a knight for two pawns and an attack. The Chinese GM soon gave another Exchange, but by giving back material Leko could stay on top.
In the penultimate round, Leko drew with Grischuk. Perhaps White had more at some point, but in the end with a neat queen sac he forced a perpetual:
Meanwhile, Wang Yue had reached "plus two" with the following win against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov:
In the all-decisive game, the Chinese player won with the black pieces. In a Sicilian Taimanov, his knight was as strong as White's bishop and his rooks were more active. Maybe the double rook ending was a draw, but Leko, who needed just a draw for gold, couldn't hold it. Because the first tiebreaker was the individual result, Wang won the tournament.
World Mind Games 2013 | Rapid | Final Standings
Rank | Title | Name | Rtg | Federation | Pts | vict | MBl |
1 | GM | Wang Yue | 2729 | China | 5.0 | 4 | 3 |
2 | GM | Leko Peter | 2738 | Hungary | 5.0 | 4 | 3 |
3 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2828 | Russia | 4.5 | 3 | 4 |
4 | GM | Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2758 | Cuba | 4.5 | 3 | 3 |
5 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2795 | Azerbaijan | 4.0 | 4 | 3 |
6 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2799 | Russia | 4.0 | 3 | 4 |
7 | GM | Wang Hao | 2690 | China | 4.0 | 2 | 4 |
8 | GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2787 | Russia | 3.5 | 3 | 4 |
9 | GM | Radjabov Teimour | 2749 | Azerbaijan | 3.5 | 2 | 3 |
10 | GM | Ponomariov Ruslan | 2748 | Ukraine | 3.0 | 2 | 4 |
11 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2761 | France | 3.0 | 2 | 4 |
12 | GM | Kamsky Gata | 2734 | United States of America | 3.0 | 2 | 3 |
13 | GM | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2732 | Ukraine | 3.0 | 1 | 3 |
14 | GM | Aronian Levon | 2797 | Armenia | 2.5 | 1 | 3 |
15 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2756 | Vietnam | 2.0 | 1 | 4 |
16 | GM | Giri Anish | 2700 | Netherlands | 1.5 | 1 | 4 |
You can download the full PGN file of games here via TWIC.

In the women's section Valentina Gunina had started with 4.0/4 and the first game on Friday was an important one. She faced the reigning world champion, and managed to hold this game to a draw.
After another draw, with Kateryna Lagno, Gunina finished the tournament in style with a win against Nana Dazgnidze:
World Mind Games 2013 | Rapid (women) | Final Standings
Rank | Title | Name | Rtg | Federation | Pts | vict | MBl |
1 | GM | Gunina Valentina | 2543 | Russia | 6.0 | 5 | 4 |
2 | GM | Hou Yifan | 2579 | China | 5.0 | 3 | 4 |
3 | WGM | Ju Wenjun | 2552 | China | 4.5 | 4 | 4 |
4 | GM | Lagno Kateryna | 2566 | Ukraine | 4.5 | 3 | 3 |
5 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2575 | Georgia | 4.0 | 3 | 3 |
6 | IM | Paehtz Elisabeth | 2513 | Germany | 4.0 | 4 | 4 |
7 | GM | Kosintseva Tatiana | 2503 | Russia | 3.5 | 3 | 3 |
8 | GM | Ushenina Anna | 2478 | Ukraine | 3.5 | 3 | 3 |
9 | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2626 | India | 3.5 | 2 | 3 |
10 | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2582 | Bulgaria | 3.5 | 2 | 3 |
11 | GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2588 | Russia | 3.0 | 2 | 4 |
12 | GM | Cmilyte Viktorija | 2450 | Lithuania | 3.0 | 0 | 4 |
13 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2513 | Sweden | 2.5 | 1 | 4 |
14 | GM | Zhao Xue | 2489 | China | 2.0 | 1 | 3 |
15 | GM | Sebag Marie | 2502 | France | 2.0 | 1 | 3 |
16 | GM | Muzychuk Anna | 2566 | Slovenia | 1.5 | 0 | 4 |
You can download the full PGN file of games here via TWIC.

The sixth edition of the World Mind Games takes place 12-20 December, 2013 in Beijing, China. This multi-sport event includes five mind sports: bridge, chess, draughts, go and xiangqi (Chinese chess). The players will now play a three-day blitz tournament followed by a "Basque System" tournament with games played at two boards at the same time.
Schedule
Wednesday, December 11th | Opening ceremony |
Thursday, December 12th | 14:00-19:00 Rapid Event: 1-4 rounds (men), 1-4 rounds (women) |
Friday, December 13th | 14:00-19:00 Rapid Event: 5-7 rounds (men), 5-7 rounds (women) |
Saturday, December 14th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 1-10 rounds (men), 1-10 rounds (women) |
Sunday, December 15th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 11-20 rounds (men), 11-20 rounds (women) |
Monday, December 16th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 21-30 rounds (men), 21-30 rounds (women) |
Tuesday, December 17th | 14:00-19:00 Basque System: 1-3 rounds (men), 1-3 rounds (women) |
Wednesday, December 18th | 11:00-16:00 Basque System: 4-5 rounds (men), 4-5 rounds (women) & Closing Ceremony |
Thursday, December 19th | Departure |
All photos courtesy of FIDE