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World's Youngest
Grandmaster record beaten again
13-year-old Bu Xiangzhi of China is reported to have scored his third and final GM-norm at the
Quingdao Daily Cup, which finished October 23rd in Quingdao. This will make him the youngest Grandmaster in the history of the game, if his title is approved by FIDE.
The current record holder, Ruslan Ponomariov of the Ukraine, was 14 years and 17 days old when he was awarded the title in October 1997. Bu, born in 1985 on December 10, needs to have his title approved within the next two months to break Ponomariov's record.
At first it seemed highly unlikely that the Chinese wunderkind would score his final norm - he started out by losing his first two games. Bu, however, managed to put together a blistering finish with fives wins and two draws, bringing him up to the six point target.
Final standings:
1-4.Dao Thien Hai, Vietnam, Peng Xiaomin, China, Bu Xiangzhi, China and Wu Wenjin, China
6 pts
5.Saidali Iuldachev, Uzbekistan 5.5 pts
6.Ye Jiangchuan, China 5 pts
7.Jamshed Isaev, Tajikistan 4.5 pts
8.Anvar Nazarov, Tajikistan 3.5 pts
9.Shuo Wang, China 1.5 pts
10.Shuai Liang, China 1 pt.
There should be no doubt concerning Bu's talent, but sceptics might find it a bit strange how two of his opponents "lost their marbles" at the most critical stage of the game.
Players cracking under pressure is certainly not uncommon, but it
always raises a few eyebrows when someone in desperate need of points turns out to be the beneficiary.
Here are the two games in question:
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(1) Wang Shuo (2411) - Bu Xiangzhi (2465) [B58]
Qingdao Daily Cup Qingdao CHN (7), 21.10.1999
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 h6 8.0-0 Be6 9.Nd2 Be7 10.Bc4 0-0 11.Nd5 Bxd5 12.Bxd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nb4 14.Ne4 f5 15.Ng3 a5 16.a3 Na6 17.c4 Nc5 18.Bd2? [18.Be3 was clearly stronger, intending to meet 18...f4 with 19.Bxc5 . Black now gets a dangerous attack.] 18...f4 19.Ne2 f3! 20.gxf3 Rxf3 21.Ng3 Qf8 22.Be3 Nd7 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 Rxa1 25.Qxa1 Qc8 26.Qc1 Nf6 27.Qd1 e4?! This seems a bit optimistic. 28.Qe2? White is probably OK after [28.Nxe4 Qh3 29.Nd2 Rf5 30.f3] 28...Qh3 and white resigned. Black wins easily after 29.Ra1 Ng4 30.Nf1 Bh4 giving him a decisive attack. 0-1
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(2) Bu Xiangzhi (2465) - Ye Jiangchuan (2593) [D58]
Qingdao Daily Cup Qingdao CHN (4), 19.10.1999
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.f4 c5 12.0-0 a6 13.Qf3 cxd4 14.exd4 b5 15.a3 Nb6 16.Rae1 Rc8 17.g4!? The scene is set: White will unleash the dogs on the King's-side, while Black will try to inflict as much damage as possible on the other side of the board. 17...Rxc3! This sacrifice weakens White's Queen's-side, and also enables Black to block in the centre. 18.bxc3 Ne4 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.f5 Qxa3 White needs to do something, and fast! 21.f6!? Probably the best try. 21...Nxf6 22.Qh3 Threatening to shatter Black's defences with Rxf6! 22...Ne4 23.Bxe4 dxe4 24.g5 hxg5 25.Re3 Nd5? White's attack comes to a grinding halt after [25...Bc8!] 26.Ng6! and Black resigned. A bit premature, since he could have fought on with 26...f5 [26...fxg6 27.Qe6+ Kh8 28.Rh3#] 27.Rxe4 Nf4 . OK, White should probably win the ending after 28.Rexf4 gxf4 29.Qh8+ Kf7 30.Qxf8+ Qxf8 31.Nxf8 Kxf8 32.Rxf4 , but it's not 100 % clear. 1-0
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Further coverage at http://www.64.net.cn/dss/e-index.htm
Game viewer generated with ChessBase 7.0
Game available for download as PGN by right-clicking here
- Einar Gausel
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World's
youngest GM?
