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Round 3 of the Bangkok Chess Club Open witnessed several closely contested battles as the Elo gap between opponents continued to shrink. Of particular interest to local observers was the encounter on board 5 between Indian GM Lalit and the young Thai candidate master Jonathan Bodemar. Agreed, it is a rather odd name around these parts, so please bear with us for a moment.

Born in 2006 of a Swedish father and a Thai mother, Jonathan already has the recent Budapest Olympiad under his belt and will also take part in the Sea Games at the end of this year.

Unlike many young chess talents in this day and age, he has multiple interests including swimming and basketball. The busy school curriculum in Thailand as well as his Swedish lessons have so far left him with relatively few opportunities to delve in chess, but this could change as he plans to enlist in a university in Sweden next year.

Although his game today went in favour of his grandmaster opponent, Jonathan will likely continue to challenge his compatriot IM Prin Laohawirapap for the tournament’s first prize rewarding a representative of the Thailand Chess Association.

On a neighbouring board, former World Championship contender GM Short bounced right back from his disappointing game of yesterday with a spectacular sacrificial attack. Playing against Andersen must have conjured up shades of another, much more ancient Anderssen, straight out of a romantic game of the mid-19th century…

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 The Grand Prix attack, a favourite of the British chess circuit back when Nigel Short was a young man. 3… g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bc4 Nc6 7. O-O e6 8. Kh1 Nf6 9. d3 O-O 10. a3 a6 11. Ba2 b5 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Ng4 14. Bg5 Qc7 15. Ne4 Ncxe5 16. Bf4 Qb6?! Right piece, wrong square. Moving the Queen to c6 instead would grant Black a good position. 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Be3 Rfc8 19. b4 Bc6 20. Nxc5 Qd8 21. Qe2 Nd7? Allows White to ignite some serious Songkran fireworks; … a5 was indicated.

2.Rxf7!! Bxa1?! (…Nxc5 was best but also insufficient: 23. Raf1 Rc7 24. Rxg7+ Rxg7 25. Bxc5 Bd7 26. Bxe6+ Bxe6 27. Qxe6+ Kh8 28. Rf8+). 23. Nxe6 Qh4 24. Rxd7 Bxd7 25. Bg5 Rxc2 (or 25… Bxe6 26. Bxe6+ Kh8 27. Bxh4 Re8 28. Bg3 Bf6 29. Qf3 Bg7 30. h4 Ra7 31. Qc6) 26. Nd4+ Rxa2 27. Qxa2+ Kg7 28. Qxa1 28… Qf2? (28… Qxg5 29. Ne6+ Kh6 30. Qg7+ Kh5 31. Nxg5 Kxg5 32. Qxd7 Kh6 33. Qe7 a5 34. bxa5 would have prolonged the game somewhat) 29. Nf5+ Kf7 30. Qf6+ and checkmate. 1-0

The sensation of the round came from board number one, with top seed Jan Gustafsson committing hara kiri in a balanced position, all while his nearby rivals had a relatively quiet day at the office.

Games: https://www.chess.com/events/2025-bangkok-open/games
Open section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137279.aspx?lan=1
Challenger section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137307.aspx?lan=1

Games: https://www.chess.com/events/2025-bangkok-open/games
Open section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137279.aspx?lan=1
Challenger section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137307.aspx?lan=1

After a not overly eventful first day, has come the moment when experienced amateurs get to make an appearance on the top ten boards. As fate would have it, three of Bangkok Chess Club’s finest blitzers were paired with some of the field’s most illustrious contenders in this second round. Indefectible optimist Ron Hoffman from the Netherlands faced two-time BCC Open winner GM Surya Ganguly while the cunning evergreen FM Ko Ko Ohn from Myanmar challenged GM Stephen Gordon, as Belgian Tom Barbé sat across IM Paulo Bersamina from the Philippines.

All three were crushed mercilessly. Well, actually no. While Ron went behind early on, Tom offered commendable resistance and Ko Ko can be credited with surviving well past the time control.

Earlier, an intense battle had unfolded between the 3rd seed GM Evgeny Romanov and untitled Vietnamese player Tran Vo Quoc Bao, whose energetic play could have led to a major upset.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. h3 7. Nf3 Be7 8. g4 h6 9. Rg1 b5 10. g5 hxg5 11. Nxg5 Bb7 12. Be3 Qa5?! Inferior to … Nc6, with an equal position. 13. Qf3? White returns the favour. Instead 13 a4 would have been better for White. 13… Nbd7 14. Bd2 Qc7 15. a3 Rc8 16. Be2 Nc5 17. h4 Rxh4 18. Qg3 Rxe4 19. Ngxe4 Ncxe4 20. Qxg7 Nxd2 21. Qh8+?! An innacuracy. Kxd2 was best. 21… Kd7 22. Qh3+

…Ke8? Black could have capitalised on his enterprising play with …Kc6, when the King finds shelter on the queenside with a clear advantage resulting. 23. Kxd2 Ne4+? 24. Nxe4 Although the position remains messy at first sight, the grandmaster has no difficulty wrapping up the win from here. 24… Qxc2+ 25. Ke1 Qxe4 26. Rg4 Qc2?! 27. Rg8+ Bf8 28. Rd1 d5? 29. Qh8 Qc5 30. Qxe5+ Qe7 31. Rxf8+ 1-0.

This leaves veteran GM Nigel Short as the round’s main casualty. His game against Yasseen De Herdt of Belgium was a tense affair, with the English star blundering away a half point after gaining the upper hand in the middle game.

On an unrelated note: the Thai New Year or Songkran festivities are in full swing, meaning that those players adverse to unsolicited showers may do well to avoid Bangkok’s touristy areas over the next couple of days.

As for those who prefer to stay indoors, don’t forget to avail yourself of the games at https://www.chess.com/events/2025-bangkok-open/games
Open section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137279.aspx?lan=1
Challenger section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137307.aspx?lan=1

Round one of the 22nd edition of the Bangkok Chess Club Open started right on schedule at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel in Bangkok. With an even 200 players competing in the Open section and another 100 in the Challengers group, this year’s turnout is somewhat below expectations. Some players who had initially registered likely got spooked by the recent earthquake in Myanmar, which was also felt in neighbouring areas, including Bangkok.

Nevertheless, this year’s lineup is stellar with popular favorites such as top seed Jan Gustafsson returning to his old stomping grounds, alongside fellow former winners Nigel Short and Surya Ganguly as well as the defending champion, Vitalyi Bernadskyi.

The tournament venue is located alongside the Chao Phraya, which is also known as the river of kings – probably because it is what it means in Thai. While still on the topic of Thai names, it is noteworthy that Bangkok holds the world record for the longest city denomination: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. A useful tidbit of information for those minded to discard chess for Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy, but still value theory.

Among a sea of lopsided first round pairings which typically resulted in a comfortable win for the higher rated player, the encounter between Chinese teenager Lanqin Yang and FM Alexander Chernyavsky stood out in striking fashion.

Yang, Lanqin – Chernyavsky, Alexander
Pirc Defense: Classical Variation

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. Qd2 Bg4 7. d5 Bxf3 8. gxf3 Ne5 9. Be2 c6 10. O-O-O Ned7 11. Be3 a6 12. Kb1 Qc7 13. f4 b5 14. dxc6 Qxc6
15. f3?! A move one should never play, according to GM Finegold. Qd4 instead would maintain White’s significant opening advantage.
15… Rc8 16. h4 Nb6 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 18. e5 Nh5 19. exd6 O-O?! Looking for complications, which is understandable given the difference in ratings but not necessarily wise. …Qxd6 was best.
20. dxe7 Rfe8 21. Nd5 Qc5? 22. f5 White is now winning.
22… Ng3? Strike that – very winning. 23. f6 Bh8?! 24. Rhg1?!

Already under time pressure, White misses the clincher 24. h5!
24… Qd6 25. Rxg3 Qxg3 26. Qg5 Qf2? 27. Bd3 Rc5 28. Be4 Qe2 29. Qg1?? Heartbreak. Rc1 wins instead. Now the position is equal, though not for long…
29… Rxd5 30. Rxd5 Bxf6 31. h5 Rxe7 32. hxg6 hxg6 33. Rd8+ Kg7 34. Qh1 Bh4 35. a3?? From ecstasy to agony in a matter of minutes. The seasoned FM doesn’t let his chance pass by: 35… Rxe4 0-1

In other news, local player Apichit Buakird heroically held Czech GM Kraus to a draw with the Black pieces. He promised to share his impressions of the game with the BCC press team as soon as he gets sober.

Games: https://www.chess.com/events/2025-bangkok-open/games
Open section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137279.aspx?lan=1
Challenger section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137307.aspx?lan=1

It is always a privilege and a pleasure to welcome Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson, the most entertaining chess commentator and a regular at the Bangkok Chess Club Open, to play the BCC Open. We now have five BCC Open Champions joining us again, Gustafsson boasts the highest ELO rating.

Currently we have a total of 171 players from 39 different countries registered, which is greater than usual this long before the tournament. We are expecting a record entry, and our maximum capacity is 400 players.

Please note: our Early Bird rate is available until March 15th and, unlike previous years, it is only available for advance payment. To get the early bird rate, entry fees must be paid by March 15th, after that normal rates will apply.

Links:

• Tournament regulations
• Registered players
• Registration
• Entry fees
• Hotel booking