Report
GM Zeng Chongsheng and GM Wan Yunguo moved to 6.5 points after Round 7 of the Rodos Palace International Open, completed on Monday 31 August. The two leaders won on the top boards, with Zeng holding first place on tiebreaks.
Zeng defeated WIM Kesaria Mgeladze in a complex Sicilian Najdorf. The position remained unclear until 30...Qb3, which allowed White's passed pawn to advance with 31.d6 and 32.d7. Wan won with Black against FM Rodolfos Stamatiou. Although Stamatiou captured the rook on a8, Wan kept his queen active, gained time against the white king and reached a winning ending.
Kagan Torun is half a point behind. His victory over FM Milan Kolesar moved him to 6/7 and left him alone in third place. Ahmet Unal Gurel and WIM Zhao Yunqing follow on 5.5 points.
FM Rodolfos Stamatiou is sixth in the standings on 5/7. Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki, Ioannis Nikitakis and Panagiotis Kyrmizoglou also moved to 5 points. Kyrmizoglou, unrated and seeded 78th, defeated Dogan Tugay and climbed to 16th place.
Round 8 will be played on Tuesday 1 September at 16:00. Torun will have White against Wan on the top board, while Zhao faces Zeng with White on Board 2. Janis Lutz will play Stamatiou on Board 4, with Gkoutzouki facing Kyrmizoglou on Board 8.
Zeng Chongsheng Mgeladze Kesaria 1-0
The game began as a Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation with opposite-side castling and attacks on both wings. Zeng gained the initiative after 21...Nb6, but 26.Bxb6 allowed Mgeladze to bring the position back close to equality.
The critical moment came after 29...Rxd5 30.exd5. The move 30...Qb3 allowed the white d-pawn to advance:
31.d6 Qxc3 32.d7 Qa5 33.Qxf3
The pawn reached one step from promotion and tied the black rook to its defence. After 33...Qxg5 34.Qg3, the white queen took an active position and the rook prepared to support the pawn from the e-file.
The continuation 35.Ka2 Rd8 36.Qc7 Qf6 37.Re4 left Black unable to stop the pawn without decisive losses. Mgeladze resigned and Zeng moved to 6.5/7.
Stamatiou Rodolfos Wan Yunguo 0-1
In a sharp Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Stamatiou entered a forced tactical sequence with 10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Bxc6+ bxc6 12.Qxc6+ Ke7 13.Qxa8. White captured the rook on a8, but the queen moved far from the defence and the remaining pieces had not completed their development.
Wan kept the pressure after 14.O-O Qxd2. On move 18, Stamatiou could have reduced the danger by exchanging queens with 18.Qxb8. He chose 18.Qd4 and the game continued:
18...Ba6 19.Qxg7 Qe5 20.Qxh7 Qxe2
The black queen entered the second rank and the white king never found safety. After the queens came off, 29...c3 created a dangerous passed pawn. The sequence 31.Rxd5 Rxd5 left Black with an extra bishop and an active rook.
Wan brought the rook to the second rank and finished the game with 36...Rh1. The victory kept him level with Zeng at the top.
Kyrmizoglou Panagiotis Tugay Dogan 1-0
Panagiotis Kyrmizoglou, seeded 78th and without a published rating, faced Dogan Tugay on Board 12. The English Opening: King's English Variation led to an open game with several changes of direction.
Tugay held the advantage during the first half of the game. The move 25...Qd8, however, allowed Kyrmizoglou to open the kingside with 26.g5. After 27...Rd7 28.Rg2, White turned the queen, rook and bishop towards the black king.
The position changed again during the tactical fight. The final turn came with 32...Nxg4, which allowed 33.Qxg4. The white queen immediately joined the attack, while the pawn on g6 restricted Black's defence.
Kyrmizoglou continued with:
34.Be5 Re7 35.Qh5 Rxe5 36.dxe5 Qe7 37.Rf1
Black resigned in a lost position. The victory moved Kyrmizoglou to 5/7 and into the top 16 of the overall standings.
Other games that stood out
- Torun Kagan - Kolesar Milan 1-0: Torun gained an advantage after
26...Nd4, but Kolesar fought his way back towards equality. The move36...g5finally decided the ending, as37.Bxe6 Kxe6 38.hxg5 fxg5 39.Bxg5left White with a winning position. Torun moved to 6/7. - Zhao Yunqing - Badrakova Kseniya 1-0: The longest game of the round lasted 94 moves. After an equal rook ending,
89...b3allowed90.Re7+and Zhao activated her rook. The move94.f6created an unstoppable passed pawn and moved her to 5.5/7. - Gurel Ahmet Unal - Athanasiou Soumela 1-0: Athanasiou had held the position and gained activity on the b-file. The move
27...Rc8, however, allowed28.Rc4, skewering the queen against the rook on the c-file. Black resigned and Gurel also moved to 5.5/7. - Gkoutzouki Aikaterini Argyro - Chasapis Christos 1-0: Gkoutzouki created a strong passed pawn with
26.cxd6 bxa4 27.dxe7. After33...Qxd2, she began the final attack with34.Qf5+and the game ended with37.Rh8+. Gkoutzouki moved to 5/7.