Report
GM Wan Yunguo and GM Zeng Chongsheng moved to 7.5 points after Round 8 of the Rodos Palace International Open, completed on Tuesday 1 September. The two Chinese GMs won with Black on the top two boards and the title will be decided between them in the final round. Wan leads on tiebreaks.
Before play began, we had the honour of welcoming Türkiye’s Consul General in Rhodes, Mebşure Taşkın. She made the ceremonial first move on Board 1 on behalf of Kagan Torun, who had White against GM Wan Yunguo.
In the games, Wan defeated Torun in an ending where Black's passed d-pawn proved decisive. On Board 2, Zeng beat WIM Zhao Yunqing after a complex fight that was decided under severe time pressure.
FM Rodolfos Stamatiou, Kagan Torun, WIM Kesaria Mgeladze, Aikaterini Argyro Gkoutzouki, Ahmet Unal Gurel and Yuxin Du follow on 6 points. Stamatiou is third on tiebreaks, while Gkoutzouki is sixth after defeating Panagiotis Kyrmizoglou.
The ninth and final round will be played on Wednesday 2 September at 15:00. Zeng has White against Gkoutzouki on Board 1 and Wan has White against Yuxin Du on Board 2. Stamatiou faces Torun on Board 3, while Gurel plays Mgeladze on Board 4.
Torun Kagan Wan Yunguo 0-1
The game began as a King's Indian Attack: Double Fianchetto and remained balanced for most of the afternoon. Wan gained an advantage after 25.Bf4, but 26...Ra8 allowed Torun to bring the position back close to equality.
The final turn came under time pressure. With just over one minute on his clock, Torun played 31.Bd6, allowing Black's passed pawn to advance:
31...d3 32.Rc8+ Kh7 33.e3 d2 34.Ke2 Rd3
The pawn reached the second rank and both black rooks surrounded the white king. After 34...Rd3, mate could no longer be prevented and Torun resigned. Wan moved to 7.5/8 and retained first place on tiebreaks.
Zhao Yunqing Zeng Chongsheng 0-1
In a Réti Opening: Advance Variation, Michel Gambit, Zeng began to apply pressure after 23.b6 Qxb6. He continued with 25...f5 and 26...e4, gaining space and restricting the white pieces.
Zhao came under severe time pressure and the position became unclear again. The move 33.Ra7, however, allowed 33...Qb8, and after 34.Qxa5 Re2 Black's pieces entered the second rank.
The decisive sequence was:
37.Re1 Rg2+ 38.Kh1 Qxe1+ 39.Qxe1 Rxa8
The exchanges left Zeng with a decisive advantage. Zhao resigned after 40...Ra1+ 41.Nb1 Re2, leaving Zeng level at the top.
Gkoutzouki Aikaterini Argyro Kyrmizoglou Panagiotis 1-0
In the Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Gkoutzouki won Black's queen for a rook with 14...Nxe5 15.Rxd8+ Rxd8. She kept the more active pieces and gradually increased the pressure.
After 23...b5 24.Rc1 Rc6 25.Rxc6 Bxc6, White simplified while keeping the advantage. The move 28...Bd7 allowed 29.Qc3 and the white queen began to penetrate Black's position.
The sequence 32.Qc8 a5 33.bxa5 Bxa3 34.Bc6 gave White a powerful combination of queen, bishop and passed pawn. Gkoutzouki advanced the pawn with 37.a6, and Kyrmizoglou resigned after 41.Qc7. The victory moved her to 6 points and sixth place.
Other games that stood out
- Lutz Janis - Stamatiou Rodolfos 0-1: The move
14.Bxb5allowed14...axb5 15.Nxb5 Qc4. After the queens came off, Stamatiou kept his material advantage and finished the game with37...Ra1#. The win moved him into third place on 6/8. - Nikitakis Ioannis - Du Yuxin 0-1: Du took control after
27.a4 Qxb4. She later created a strong passed d-pawn and completed the win with an attack against the white king, also reaching 6 points. - Athanasiou Soumela - Spyrou Antonios 1-0: After Black castled long, Athanasiou opened the queenside with
21.b5and22.c4. Her rook reached the seventh rank and the victory moved her to 5.5 points.