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GM Zeng Chongsheng and GM Wan Yunguo are alone at the top of the Rodos Palace International Open after Round 5. Each earned a fifth consecutive victory, with Zeng leading on tiebreaks.
On the top board, Zeng defeated FM Rodolfos Stamatiou with White. In a Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation, he won the d6-pawn and kept up the pressure. After 26...Rf8?, the moves 27.Qxb7 and the advance of the passed c-pawn decided the game.
Wan defeated Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki in a rook ending that lasted 61 moves. Gkoutzouki defended a difficult position, but after one pair of rooks was exchanged the white king crossed over to the kingside. Passed pawns on the c- and h-files gave Wan the win.
Yuxin Du and Yassine Rafik drew on board three and moved to 4 points. Ten players now follow the two leaders on 4/5, including Stamatiou, Gkoutzouki and Ioannis Nikitakis.
Round 6 brings the two players with perfect scores together, with Wan playing White against Zeng. Stamatiou will face Yuxin Du, WIM Kesaria Mgeladze will meet Gkoutzouki and FM Milan Kolesar will play Nikitakis.
Zeng Chongsheng Stamatiou Rodolfos 1-0
The game began as a Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation. After 10...Nd7? and 12...Rfd8?!, Zeng took the d6-pawn with 13.Qxd6 and gained a lasting advantage. Stamatiou looked for counterplay against the white king and his queen entered the position through e2 and g2.
The critical moment came with 26...Rf8?. Zeng replied with 27.Qxb7, then immediately pushed his passed pawn with 28.c6. The pawn reached c7 and the white rook entered the eighth rank:
31.c7 a5 32.Rd8
Black tried to find perpetual check with the queen. The white king escaped and 36.Qb4 stopped the checks, leaving the pawn's promotion unavoidable. Black resigned and Zeng moved to 5/5.
Wan Yunguo Gkoutzouki Aikaterini Argyro 1-0
In a Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation, Gkoutzouki was left with doubled f-pawns after 13...gxf6 and kept the position complex. The move 23...Qg5? allowed Wan to gain time with 24.f4 and organise his rooks on the d-file.
After 28.Rxd6 Qe3+ 29.Qxe3+ fxe3, Gkoutzouki obtained a dangerous passed pawn on e3. Wan stopped it with 32.Rdxe3. The sequence 32...Rxe3 33.Rxe3+ exchanged one pair of rooks and left White a pawn up with the more active king.
The white king became the key attacking piece, moving through g4, f5 and h5, while the c-pawn advanced as far as c6. Wan then created a second passed pawn on the h-file:
43.Kh5 Re1 44.Kh6 Re7 45.c6+ Kc7 46.h4 Re4 47.h5
Gkoutzouki tried to keep her rook active, but the white pawn reached h7. The game ended after 61...Kd5 and Wan remained level at the top on 5/5.
Other games that stood out
- Zhao Yunqing - Kasiotis Emmanouil 1-0: Zhao created a strong passed e-pawn. After the queens were exchanged, she promoted it with
25.exd8=Qand reached a winning ending. - Perrakis Polychronis - Mgeladze Kesaria 0-1: Mgeladze took advantage of
20.Nc5?with20...Qc6and invaded the second rank with22...Ra2. The sequence23.Rb2 Bxb2won the exchange and moved her to 4 points. - Revelioti Eleni Nefeli - Nikitakis Ioannis 0-1: Nikitakis took control after
29...cxb5and reached a winning ending. The black king entered through e6, d5 and c4, taking Nikitakis to 4/5. - Tugay Dogan - Torun Kagan 0-1: In a French Defense: Tarrasch Variation,
28.Bd4?allowed Black to open the position with28...Bg5. The sequence29...Rxd4 30.Rxd4 Be3+won decisive material and also moved Torun to 4 points.