Canada vs. Hungary:

Today Canada faced the hosts, and it was a banner day for the white pieces.

Yunshan and Svitlana both found themselves in serious trouble with Black, from the early middlegame. GM Hoàng Thanh Trang has played for Hungary since 2006, and has been a grandmaster roughly as long as some of our players have been alive. Today she played conservatively in a Colle System, gradually coordinating her pieces in a closed position, while Yunshan’s own maneuverings wound up landing her pieces on awkward squares, without a clear plan. Trang broke through with a well-timed f5 push for which the Black defenses had no answer, and she took home the full point 10 moves later, on move 34. Svitlana meanwhile had to sacrifice a pawn for active defense in a tricky King’s Indian position, and a tactical sequence beginning on move 26 led to a flurry of exchanges and a two-pawn-down bishop rook and bishop endgame that Black had no real chances to hold.

Maili-Jade and Bich Ngoc played the longest two games of the round, on Boards 1 and 3, with White. Bich Ngoc’s game was a bit of a slugfest, with great ideas and resources on both sides, and either player could have landed a knockout blow at different points. Finally attrition carried them to a pawnless pure endgame, where Bich Ngoc had rook and bishop vs. knight and rook. Full credit to her for doggedness, as she played it out to the end, searching for tricks for the full 50-move allotment until the draw was declared on move 111. Had she managed to find something, the extra point would have made the difference between a loss and a draw in the team match overall, because…

I’ve saved the best (from our side’s point of view) for last, as Maili-Jade continued her excellent run of form with a dominant win on the first board. Her opponent played a Nimzo-Indian Defense that turned into a Benoni-type structure, except with the dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain. Maili-Jade is nearly always up for a fight, and today was no exception. She castled queenside, tucked her king on b1, and promptly began moving all her forces towards the enemy king on the far side of the board.

Current record: 5-1-3 (20.5/32), 38th. Next opponent: Colombia.

The Open team drew their match with Turkmenistan today, with wins from Raja and Shiyam. At 4-3-2, they have the same number of points as the women’s team.

Maili-Jade’s blistering attack on Board 1