Shortly after the 12th BCC Open, I talked with Women’s World Champion GM Hou Yifan about her performance and impressions during her first-time visit to Thailand.
AK: Let’s talk about the tournament. How did it go for you?
HY: At the beginning I played decently, but then, after half of the tournament the schedule changed from two to one game per day. Somehow that was bad for me. In round six I actually had a lost position [win with white against German FM Martin Voigt], in another game I blundered, and in my last game I also didn’t play well [draw with black against Filipino Sander Severino].
AK: Is there a game that you are very satisfied with?
HY: Maybe the third one [win with black against Iranian GM Shojaat Ghane].
AK: How did you prepare for the tournament and each game?
During the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open I met up with last year’s champion GM Jan Gustafsson from Germany to talk about chess, his hometown Hamburg, the Bangkok Open, his impressions of Thailand, and much more.
AK: Congratulations, Jan, your German team OSG Baden-Baden has just won the league title. How does that make you feel and what is the success strategy of your club?
JG: Yes, I’ve read the news online. I can’t take much of the credit but it always feels good to win something. In general, having the strongest players is a good start if you want to win the league. Because of the generous sponsoring of Grenkeleasing [a German incorporation], Baden-Baden is in a situation in which we can afford having Anand and Carlson – even though he didn’t play well – and there are more strong players such as Bacrot, Naiditsch, Svidler, Shirov, and others. So I can’t say it’s a big surprise that we have won the title, but it’s still nice. Bremen put up a fight. It was a close match two rounds ago.
AK: Based on your impressive score of 6.5 points out of 8 games in the German league, do you think your club will ask you to play more often, or is the competition within the team simply too high?
British GM Nigel Short has won the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012 by a clear point, with a last-round draw against IM Nguyen Duc Hoa, whose outstanding performance has earned the Vietnamese player a GM norm. From the beginning of the tournament, Short demonstrated his great fighting spirit. Having won the Gibraltar Chess Festival in January, it was apparent that he had come to Bangkok with a high confidence level and the mission to become the sole champion. Mission accomplished! GM Nigel Short has played with passion and expertise in his fourth consecutive BCC Open tournament and has finally won it. While defending champion GM Jan Gustafsson and Women’s World Champion GM Hou Yifan underperformed, other predominantly Asian participants played very well and often surpassed expectations.
GM Amonatov faces WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Vietnam in the final of the Blitz Championship
The final of the annual Bangkok Chess Club Championship was held in our regular Tuesday night blitz venue, Roadhouse Barbecue, which is within walking distance of the Dusit Thani. We took over the entire floor for players and spectators, with a buffet to keep the energy levels up. Clear winner was GM Amonatov, with IM Nguyen Van Huy and Wan Yunguo only half a point behind.
A barrier is needed so the Grandmasters are not crowded by the onlookers
Yesterday’s invitational dinner in the Library Room of the Dusit Thani Hotel was hosted by tournament sponsor and founder of PYN Fund Management Petri Deryng. On this occasion GM Nigel Short called the Bangkok Chess Club Open the best organised open tournament (for amateur players) that he has ever been to, and GM Jan Gustafsson confirmed that he is only playing two opens this year: Gibraltar and Bangkok!
Among the guests were also Women’s World Champion GM Hou Yifan, Her Excellency Ambassador of Finland to Thailand Sirpa Mäenpää, President of Myanmar Chess Federation Mr. Maung Maung Lwin, as well as several more players and organizers. The discussion topics swayed from chess in Asia to issues about double-rounds, from chess player’s faith to the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic. The celebratory mood hit a peak when GM Short started playing chess with filled wine glasses…
Indian IM Ventakesh is the surprise leader after 5 rounds
The third day of play at the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012 was the second but last double round. The morning round began at 9 a.m. sharp, so the maxim was “The early bird catches the worm.” Some players had to dig deep to find their top form shortly after breakfast. No doubt, for some of us chess is not a morning sport. Among the wide-awake, however, were tournament favorites GM Nigel Short, title defender GM Jan Gustafsson, Indian IM M.R. Venkatesh, and former champion GM Xiu Deshun all of whom took advantage of middle- and endgame inaccuracies by their opponents to squeeze out full points. Rather unexpectedly, GM Hou Yifan and GM Farrukh Amonatov both dropped half a point. The surprise leader after four rounds was IM Venkatesh from India, remaining the only player with a clean sheet. He was followed by a pack of eleven players with 3½ points.
The results of the top boards from round 4:
GM Hou Yifan (CHN) ½ -½ IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (VIE)
IM Liu Qingnan (CHN) ½-½ GM Amonatov (TJK)
IM Venkatesh M. R. (IND) 1-0 IM Wynn Zaw Htun (MYA)
GM Short (ENG) 1-0 FM Voigt (GER)
Severino (PHI) 0-1 GM Gustafsson Jan (GER)
IM Contin (ITA) 0- 1 GM Xiu Deshun (CHN)
With players from 34 nations the BCC Open 2012 is as internationally diverse as ever. IM Venkatesh is one of 33 tournament participants from India, making this the best-represented nation and proving the tournament’s lasting popularity with Thailand’s big neighbor to the West. While there are also numerous players from China and the Southeast Asian countries, players travelled from as far away as Europe, the USA, and Australia to be part of one of Asia’s foremost chess events, hosted by the outstanding Dusit Thani Hotel which offers terrific playing conditions and accommodation. Many players have stated this time and in previous years that they appreciate the BCC Open because it allows them to combine their love for the game with a vacation in the “Land of Smiles.”
Here are the round 5 results of the first six boards:
GM Gustafsson (GER) 0-1 IM Venkatesh M. R. (IND)
IM Liu Qingnan (CHN) 0-1 GM Short (ENG)
Wan Yunguo (CHN) ½ -½ GM Hou Yifan (CHN)
GM Amonatov (TJK) ½ -½ GM Sriram Jha (IND)
GM Xiu Deshun (CHN) ½ -½ Stany G. A. (IND)
IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (VIE) ½ -½ IM Nguyen Van Huy (VIE)
After five rounds IM Venkatesh is the sole leader with 5 points, followed by GM Nigel Short (4.5) and 16 others (4). Full results and latest standings at chess-results.com
