Report
GM Wan Yunguo won the Rodos Palace International Open, completed on Wednesday 2 September at the Rodos Palace, with 8.5 points from 9 rounds. He defeated Yuxin Du with White in the final round and finished level on points with GM Zeng Chongsheng.
First place was decided by Buchholz Cut 1 after their direct encounter in Round 6 ended in a draw. Wan scored 51.5 to Zeng's 50.5 on that tiebreak. The two GMs finished 1.5 points ahead of Ahmet Unal Gurel.
Gurel defeated WIM Kesaria Mgeladze to take third place on 7/9. FM Rodolfos Stamatiou finished fourth and was the highest-placed Greek player on 6.5 points after an 88-move draw with Kagan Torun. Torun, FM Milan Kolesar and WIM Yunqing Zhao also finished on 6.5, taking fifth through seventh place respectively.
In Group B, Soumela Athanasiou took first place on tiebreaks with 6 points. Ioannis Nikitakis, Myrto Korinioti and Polychronis Perrakis also finished on 6, filling the next three places in the group.
The tournament concluded after nine rounds with 90 entries. The 15 games completed on the live broadcast in the final round produced five wins for White, five wins for Black and five draws.
Wan Yunguo Yuxin Du 1-0
The game began as a Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Short Variation and remained close to balanced until 24...Re8. Wan responded with 25.Ng4 and created an advanced f-pawn:
25...Qe7 26.Nf6+ gxf6 27.exf6 Qf8
The move 28.Ne5 gave Du a chance to equalise, but with less than three minutes on her clock she chose 28...Nd5. The game was decided after 29.Rfe1 Nxf6 30.Qxf6, when White's queen took control around Black's king.
Wan continued with 33.Rxc5 Nd7 34.Nc6 Nxc5 35.Nxd8. Du resigned after 35...e5 36.Qf5, securing first place for Wan.
Stamatiou Rodolfos Torun Kagan 1/2-1/2
The Indian Defense: Knights Variation led to a balanced fight until 35...Nxf3. Under time pressure, Stamatiou replied 36.exf3, while 36.Qxf3 maintained the balance. The move 36...Bd4 gave Torun a decisive advantage.
Torun won the queen for a rook and bishop and advanced his passed pawn to 56...a2. Black remained winning, but on move 68, with 42 seconds on the clock, 68...Qd3+ allowed the white king to escape. The move 68...Qa3 maintained the win.
Play continued 69.Kb2 Qd2+ 70.Kb3 Kd3 71.Rxa2 and the advanced pawn was lost. The game ended in a draw after 88 moves, leaving Stamatiou fourth overall and the highest-placed Greek player.
Gurel Ahmet Unal Mgeladze Kesaria 1-0
In the Indian Defense: London System, Gurel steadily increased the pressure after 13...Be7 and 14...f6. The move 17...Rfd8 allowed him to open the black king's position with an immediate sacrifice:
18.Bxh7+ Kh8 19.Qe4 f5 20.Bxf5 Bxf5 21.Qxf5
The white queen and rooks quickly joined the attack. After 26...Kf8, Gurel found the decisive sequence 27.Nxe5 Rf4 28.Rd7 Qc5 29.Qxe7+ and Mgeladze resigned.
The victory moved Gurel to 7 points and secured third place.
Other games that stood out
- Yassine Rafik - Zhao Yunqing 0-1: The move
21.Qxa7allowed Zhao to take control with21...Bd3and22...Be2. The pressure continued with25...Qe1+and26...Nd2before Rafik resigned. Zhao completed the tournament in seventh place on 6.5/9. - Papadopoulos Antonios P. - Nikitakis Ioannis 0-1: Nikitakis took control after
28.Nh6+ gxh6. The sequence29.Rf4 Rxg3+ 30.Kxg3 Qxf4+gave him a clear advantage and his passed b-pawn reached the third rank. The victory secured second place in Group B on 6/9. - Korinioti Myrto - Tugay Dogan 1-0: Korinioti opened the kingside with
21.hxg6,22.Bh6and the advance of her f- and g-pawns. The final sequence began with36.Qf8+and the game ended after40...Kxh7. The win moved her into third place in Group B on 6 points.