The first round of the team championship of Asian cities took place at the Ugra Chess Academy.
The symbolic first move in the game I. Bocharov – G. Tilakaratne (Colombo – Surgut match) was made by young Elizaveta Mamaeva from Pyt-Yakh. The organizers fulfilled the dream that she voiced at the “Wish Tree”.
The beginning of the tour was attended by Deputy Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra Elena Shumakova, Executive Director of the Chess Federation Alexander Tkachev, Director of the Department of Sports of Ugra Sofya Konukh and President of the Ugra Chess Federation Vasily Filipenko.
In general, there were no surprises in the first round: most of the rating favorites won their matches. The men’s team of Tehran (Iran) defeated Penang (Malaysia) with a score of 4:0, and Tula beat Muscat (Oman) with a clean score.
Maxim Novikov from Tula is the second championship participant to win the opening match (the first was Asman Bayantas from Pavlodar). The Russian noted that the fight was “intense and exciting, as is usually the case in the first round.”
“I didn’t expect this opening from my opponent a little, so I had to remember it at the board. I didn’t remember, but then, thanks to my skills, I beat him,” the Tula athlete shared his impressions.
Maxim also said that he worries not only for himself, but also for the team. Moreover, Daniil Manelyuk, who plays on the first board, is one of his students.
13-year-old FIDE Master Mohaved Sina, playing on the second board for Tehran, also spoke about his game:
“I think I got a very good position after the opening, then I began to improve it and gradually got a win, around move 22. Next It was already a one-goal game,” this is how the Iranian chess player described the game.
He also said that he really wants to perform well in order to benefit his team, and that at the Candidates Tournament he is rooting for Hikaru Nakamura. For Mohaved, this is his first visit not only to Khanty-Mansiysk, but also to Russia, and he really likes everything. Interestingly, Sena has already beaten many chess stars: both online and over the board.
The first starting number of the tournament, the Surgut team, won against Colombo (Sri Lanka) with a score of 3.5:0.5. Representatives of Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) defeated El-Mahra (Yemen) with the same result.
The youth team of Khanty-Mansiysk resisted the chess players from Baghdad (Iraq), but lost with a minimal score. On the first board, Bogdan Perchinsky defeated international master Hussein Ali Hussein Al-Ali, and Dinis Sattarov drew with FIDE master Ali Lais Ahmed Alosman.
Iranian chess players from Tehran (Iran) played a draw with their inferior opponents from Sukhbaatar (Mongolia). The defeat of Anahita Zahedifar was balanced by the victory of Melika Mohammadi.
In the longest match of the day, the Moscow team defeated Al-Quds (Palestine) 3:1. The game between Misvad and Gilfanov lasted 138 moves (more than 5.5 hours) and ended in a strong-willed victory for the young Russian.
The team from Kathmandu (Nepal) was free from the game in the first round.
Pairs of the 2nd round:
Surgut – Moscow
Baghdad – Tehran (men)
Tula – Pavlodar
Tehran (women) – Kathmandu
Penang – Sukhbaatar
Al-Quds – Colombo
El Mahra – Muscat
Day off – Khanty-Mansiysk.