Four rounds were played in Khanty-Mansiysk.
The fourth round of the team championship of Asian cities took place at the Ugra Chess Academy. Before the start of the game, the captain of the Nepalese team took the floor and asked the participants to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the earthquake that happened these days nine years ago in Nepal and claimed more than eight thousand lives.
The Tula team could not stop the leader of the race – the Surgut squad. The home team won with a score of 4:0 and strengthened their leadership position.
The Tehran men’s team also defeated Colombo (Sri Lanka) with a clean sheet. On the first board, the tournament’s rating favorite, Bardia Daneshvar, plays for the capital of Iran. After defeating the chess player under the name Amaratunga Kosala Sandeep Chamkar, the Iranian grandmaster briefly commented on the progress of the fight:
“I think that in the middlegame I had a better position, but then the game turned into an equal ending. There I gradually increased the pressure and eventually he blundered,” Daneshvar said.
The Muscovites beat Baghdad (Iraq) with a score of 2.5:1.5. Dmitry Kirillov and Marat Gilfanov distinguished themselves.
The women’s team of Tehran defeated the young representatives of Khanty-Mansiysk with a score of 3:1. Behzad Nazif Parva and Mitra Asgharzadeh brought success to their team.
Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) defeated Kathmandu (Nepal) with a minimal score. The victory took place thanks to the winnings of Arystan Dosmukhambetov and Christina Kim.
Arystan Dosmukhambetov comments: “My opponent played the same as in the second round, so he didn’t really surprise me, and at first everything went according to preparation. There was an equal fight, and at some point I set a trap, he fell into it and missed the piece. Then, with a piece for two pawns, I transferred the rook to the g-file and already “finished off” on the king’s side.”
The Penang team (Malaysia) beat El Mahra (Yemen) with a score of 3.5:0.5. The Muscat team (Oman) lost to Al-Quds (Palestine) with a score of 1.5:2.5.
The Sukhbaatar team was free from the game.
Surgut is in the lead with 8 match points. The men’s team of Tehran (13 individual points), the women’s team of Tehran (11) and Moscow (10) scored 6 points each.
Pairs of the 5th round:
Tehran (women) – Surgut
Tehran (men) – Moscow
Tula – Baghdad
Pavlodar – Colombo
Al-Quds – Penang
Khanty-Mansiysk – Kathmandu
El Mahra – Sukhbaatar
Day off – Muscat.