The World Cup in Baku produced some exciting games and surprising results. But also a number of remarkable engames which it is well to study. What better way than to receive the assistance of a great trainer who shows us were some of the players went wrong, and what was needed to get a positive result. Learn more about the endgame from the instructive commentary provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas. Enjoy and learn.
In the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia we saw a true masterpiece by Magnus Carlsen. The former World Champion played super accurate moves, while his Polish opponent showed poor understanding and a lack of knowledge of classical games of the Catalan. Learn more about this opening and the strategy behind it from chess trainer GM Efstratios Grivas.
It was just a question of how big Vietnam's win would be, and the final tally of 92 gold, 37 silver and 49 bronze spoke for itself! When second placed Philippines 'only' had 15 gold, 38 silver and 8 bronze, followed by India with 3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze, the extent of their dominance becomes even more apparent. New Zealand were a surprise fourth on the senior medal tally, Myanmar fifth, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China and Malaysia with medals. Read the ASEAN+ Age Group Championships 2023 final report by Peter Long directly from the venue in Bangkok, Thailand. | Photos: Peter Long
In the first events - standard chess (individual and team) - Vietnam won a massive 30 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 19 bronze medals, with second-placed Philippines trailing far behind with just 5 gold medals and 12 silver medals! No fewer than 10 countries won medals, with Myanmar in third place, followed by New Zealand, hosts Thailand, India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Singapore. In the individual competition, most eyes were on the U-20 event, in which a GM norm and an IM title were achieved, and in the Open, IMs Daniel Quizon and Michael Concio Jr. of the Philippines took gold and silver ahead of Vietnam's Duc Tri Ngo, Malaysia's Jun Ying Tan and Thailand's Pin Laohawirapap, who all shared bronze. | Photos: Peter Long
Regional powerhouse Vietnam continues to dominate in standard chess after six rounds of play. Vietnamese players occupy the top three positions in the Open U-8, Open U-10, Open U-12, Open U-14, Open U-16 and Open U-18 categories, and it is a similar story in the Girls U-8 & U-10 Combined and Girls U-18 categories. | Photos: Peter Long