Report
Four players maintained a perfect score after Round 4 of the Rodos Palace International Open. GM Zeng Chongsheng leads on tiebreaks with 4/4, followed by FM Rodolfos Stamatiou, Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki and GM Wan Yunguo.
Gkoutzouki produced one of the round's biggest results by defeating WIM Yunqing Zhao with White. The game remained balanced until the final phase. Gkoutzouki took advantage of 43...h5?, built a powerful attack with her queen and two bishops and survived a series of checks before securing her fourth win.
Stamatiou defeated FM Milan Kolesar with Black. In the Queen's Gambit Declined, he gained space with his f- and g-pawns, brought his knight to the key c4 and d2 squares and won the exchange with 28...Nxf1. Pressure on the g-file completed a very clean victory.
On the top board, Zeng defeated Kagan Torun. Torun had a chance to equalise after 29...f4?, but 31.fxe4? allowed 31...Nxe1 and left Black with a decisive material advantage. Zeng converted it and remained first on tiebreaks.
Yuxin Du and Yassine Rafik follow on 3.5 points. Round 5 pits the four players with perfect scores against one another: GM Zeng Chongsheng faces FM Rodolfos Stamatiou, while GM Wan Yunguo meets Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki. Yuxin Du and Yassine Rafik will play on board three.
Gkoutzouki Aikaterini Argyro Zhao Yunqing 1-0
The game began as a Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense and remained balanced for 37 moves. After 38.Bxe6, Zhao could have continued with 38...Be5. The move 38...Kh8? allowed Gkoutzouki to take the f4-pawn and create serious threats.
The move 40.Rxd4? gave Black the chance to equalise again with 40...Qxd4+. The position became finely balanced for a second time, until the decisive 43...h5?. The move 43...Kh7 would have maintained the balance. After 44.Bf7, Gkoutzouki coordinated her queen and bishops against the black king:
44...Kh7 45.Qe8
Zhao looked for a way out with the checks 45...Qd4+, 46...Nf1+, 47...Bxg2+ and 48...Ne3+. White's queen and two bishops still dominated the area around the king. Gkoutzouki escaped the final threats and Black resigned after 49.Kh1.
Kolesar Milan Stamatiou Rodolfos 0-1
Stamatiou met the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined with active play. The moves 17...f5 and 18...g5 gave him space on the kingside, while his knight gained strong central squares.
The critical moment came with 24.Rb1?. Stamatiou immediately played 24...Nc4, followed by 26...Nd2. After 28.Rb6, the move 28...Nxf1 won the exchange and left Black with a clear material advantage.
Kolesar tried to organise a defence, but 30.h3? allowed the position to open with 30...f4. The black rooks reached the g-file and, after 35...Rfg6, the threats around the white king could no longer be met.
The knight's route from c4 to d2 and f1 decided the game. Stamatiou turned his material advantage into a direct attack and moved to 4/4.
Other games that stood out
- Torun Kagan - Zeng Chongsheng 0-1: After a hard fight on the top board,
31.fxe4?allowed Zeng to win the exchange with31...Nxe1. The GM converted his advantage and continued his perfect run. - Nikitakis Ioannis - Yarur Elsaca Daniel 1-0: Nikitakis created a strong passed d-pawn, advanced it to the seventh rank and led the game into a rook exchange. In the ending, he also advanced his f-pawn all the way to
39.f8=Q. - Athanasiou Soumela - Katsiolis Orestis 1-0: In a Benko Gambit, Athanasiou reached a winning ending and created a distant passed pawn. Her h-pawn reached the seventh rank and Black resigned after
47.h7. - Georgiopoulos Har. - Gurel Ahmet Unal 1/2-1/2: Facing an opponent rated almost 400 points higher, Georgiopoulos held his ground in a complex Sicilian Defense and secured the draw after 38 moves.