Baku win silver of World Cities Chess Team championship - UPDATE

  According to fide.com, the City of Hoogeveen, Netherlands became World Cities Chess Champion after beating Baku, Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5 in the finals of the knockout tournament 21-28 December 2012 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen again proved the hero for the Dutch team as he squeezed out a victory in an opposite colored Bishop endgame in a marathon 89 moves.

The match was difficult from the start as Anish Giri, playing white on top board for Hoogeveen, and Eltaj Safarli had a complicated duel. Giri essayed the English Opening as white and accepted the early exchange of Queens on the 14th move. Both sides penetrated with their Rooks on the opponent`s second rank. Safarli was first to unleash an attack. Giri was poised to counter with three pieces weaving threatening nets on the Black King when Safarli decided to repeat position and force a draw on the 31st move.

The Ruy Lopez game between Rauf Mamedov of Baku with white and Ivan Sokolov of Hoogeveen on board two was next to draw. After an exchange of Queens on the 19th move, Mamedov won a pawn. Sokolov controlled the open file with his Rook and forced perpetual check to draw in 35 moves.

The lower boards were left. Vasif Durarbayli had white for Baku on board 4 against Jan Smeets who used the Petroff Defense. Smeets was a pawn up in their Rook and Pawn endgame. Both sides had a passed pawn in a clearly drawn position when they agreed to halve the point in 57 moves.

It looked as if the game on board three between Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen and Nidjat Mamedov of Baku would also end in a draw. Tiviakov used the Alapin variation of the Sicilian defense and exchanged Queens on the 25th move. This led to an endgame with Rook and Bishops of opposite colors.

The Hoogeveen team won $21,000 out of the $150,000 prize fund. "We purposely had only four players to have fewer people to share the prize," Hoogeveen captain Ivan Sokolov said.

Nidjat Mamedov resigned on the 89th move after almost six hours of play. Tiviakov uncorked a check that would win material and forced resignation on the 89th move after five and a half hours of play. A large crowd following the game on monitors burst into applause.


*****

Top seeds Baku and Hoogeveen will face each other in final of the World Cities Chess Team Championship, while Novi Sad and Tashkent battle for third place in the exciting climax of the week long tournament in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates.

Baku outclassed Novi Sad 3.5-0.5 to advance to the final match while Hoogeveen drubbed Tashkent 3:1 to climb to the last rung of the knockout.

Azerbaijani chess player Eltaj Safarli, playing black on top board for Baku, played the Sicilian defense against Ivan Ivanisevic of Novi Sad. In the Closed variation, Safarli allowed an exchange of his Queen for Rook and two pieces. Safarli advanced his rook pawn and faced with a promotion, Ivanisevic resigned on the 38th move.

With the match already won, Gadir Huseynov embarked on a kingside pawn storm against the Philidor defense of Robert Markus of Novi Sad. Huseynov penetrated with his Queen and weaved a mating net with the help of his Knight and center pawn to force resignation on the 37th move.

On board three, Milos Perunovic of Novi Sad attacked the closed Sicilian defense of Rauf Mammadov and won the Black Queen in exchange for Rook and Knight. The Bishop pair of Mammadov allowed for a perpetual check for a draw on the 33rd move.

In the Al Ain Classic, seven players share the lead after 7 rounds. With 5.5 points each are GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Edouard Romain of France, Mircea Emilian Parligras of Romania, Wang Yue of China and Jaan Ehlvest of the USA, all who had carried points over from the World Cities.


/AzerTAc/