Leaders of Asian Club Chess Champions League are on the same positions in the penultimate round of the tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk.
Chief Arbiter IA Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh of Iran (seated, center), Appeals Committee Chair Khusan Turdialiev (seated, right) and Arbiters in the Asian Club Champions League.
The Asian Club Champions League final in Khanty-Mansiysk is approaching. The second to last round gave strength to the visitors and surprised the competition leaders.
The KPRF team is firmly leading in the tournament, and all surprises seemed to be left behind. Although, today’s meeting of Muscovites and Kazakh players turned out to be tense. Daniil Dubov played a draw game with young player Satbek Akhmedinov, same result was obtained between Maxim Matlakov and Aslan Aitbayev. Vladimir Malakhov and Pavel Ponkratov ensured victories to the team. The latter noted, that his opponent has demonstrated a decent game despite significant difference in rating.
“My opponent plays interesting chess. He surprised me today with his choice of opening. I deliberately chose a relatively passive opening option, which doesn’t give much advantage, but helps to avoid risky situations. The game was tense; there were many interesting moments and tactical opportunities. My opponent made a mistake by placing his queen poorly, which made my position much more comfortable. I managed to take advantage and create comfortable conditions for further actions. Tomorrow there will be final decisive games, traditionally accompanied by increased tension. Our next opponent is a team from Mongolia, although they occupy the last line of the table, there are known cases when outsiders suddenly ‘slam the door loudly’. So, tomorrow rounds are going to be stressful, everyone will be nervous», shared Pavel Ponkratov, member of the KPRF team.
Incidentally, today Ugra faced Mongolia’s Zandanshatar Chess Club in a match where opponents’ ratings were nearly identical.
“My opponent pleasantly surprised me with an unused opening – something I hadn’t seen from him before. The position developed favorably for me, allowing a successful tactical maneuver. Though Mongolia currently sits last in the standings, they remain dangerous opponents – ravenous for victories”, noted Olga Girya, Team Captain of Ugra, about her match.
During Olga Girya’s victorious game, Ugra’s team position became critical: Alexei Pridorozhni had fallen to his opponent, while Dinis Sattarov settled for a draw. The fate of both team points hinged entirely on Nikolai Kabanov’s match outcome. For the second consecutive day, Nikolai endured a grueling battle – yesterday’s five-hour marathon against China’s Mingren Hong ended in a draw. Today, however, he clinched victory against his opponent Enkhrii Enkh-Amgalan.
The Indian club, which currently firmly holds third place in the tournament standings, battled it out against the Chinese team and secured a decisive team victory, further strengthening its position
“Actually, we expected more resistance, but we managed to secure three consecutive victories. The result is impressive‐three wins and one draw-an excellent outcome! As for further performance, second place seems unlikely, considering the two earlier losses. So, our goal is to hold onto third place and confidently secure the tournament’s bronze. Nevertheless, the next match won’t be easy—we’re up against the Ugra team, which has a comparable rating (around 2400). Their skill level is high, and we hope to perform at our best”, commented Harikrishnan Amirthavalli Rengarajan on the match results.
Another confident team victory came from the Ugra Chess Academy. The young Russian athletes played against a club from Uzbekistan. Three games were won by Ugra Chess Academy, and one ended in a draw. The young chess player from Khanty-Mansiysk, Bogdan Perchinsky, managed to defeat his opponent, though he admitted that despite a strong start, he made a mistake in the middle game that could have cost him the win. Nevertheless, the Ugra player handled the situation well and earned extra points for his team.
On June 24, the grandmasters will play their final matches. The tournament leaders—KPRF team—will face the Mongolian club Zandanshatar Chess Club. The Indian team will play against Ugra team, the youth squad Ugra Chess Academy will compete against the Kazakh club, and the Chinese grandmasters have one last match against Uzbekistan.
Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings. Follow live broadcast on Lichess.
You can follow the tournament in the official community of the Ugra Chess Academy on the social network ‘VKontakte’ (https://vk.com/chessugra). The tournament is being commented on by international grandmaster Sergey Shipov.
Source: Ugra Chess Academy
Media Contact: 8 967 886 0287 Vladimir Gilev