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Updated 14 December |
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If you have a Java-enabled browser, click here to play through the game and notes. Click here for up-to-date HTML coverage. Moves so far:
Former Women's World Champion Ye LIN takes a close look at: The critical moment of the game: 23. Rg6 Besides this, Red had another interesting move: 23. Ca2. There could follow: 23... Rg3 24. Rxf5 Rxf5 25. Rxc8 Ege8 (If Black tries to strike at the elephant on g1, as in the game, Red would gain the advantage: 25...Rfxg5, 26. Exg5 Rxg1 27. Aef3, and Red has an extra piece.) 26. Hxe7 Rf7 27. Hed5, and Red has the advantage. 23...Ei8 24. Rh6 Hxe3 25. Cxe3 Rxg1 26. Rxh1 If 26. Cf3?? Cxf1!! and Red is in big trouble. 26...Rxh1 27. Pb7 Red has the advantage. His pieces are very active. He has a passed pawn, and seriously threatens the central black pawn with his cannon. 27...Rh5 28. Pb6 Rxg5 29. Pxc6 The game can be considered almost finished. Black cannot defend the central pawn, and his king will be mortally threatened within a few moves. Ye Lin on the theoretical debate: According to Ye Lin, the game followed opening theory for about 22 moves! Then, almost immediately, the board erupted with sacrifices. The game has continued to follow a known path through move 22. In a few moves, we will leave theory, and enter middle-game territory. The move 16. Hd5 is correct. At present, Red has some advantage due to the greater activity of his pieces. It would not be good to exchange pieces, starting with 16. Rxf8. Red would not obtain anything serious, and the simplification would help Black. After 16...Cxf8 17.Rxc7 Ee8, Black would have active pieces and a good position. Black's 16...Ca8 is reasonable. The continuation, 16...Cxa4 has also been tried, but after 17.Cxa7 Rxf6 18.Hxf6 Ca8 19.Rxb10 Hxb10 20.Cxe7+ Ce8 21.Ce5, Red has a better position. He has a material advantage consisting of an extra central pawn, and will have better chances in the endgame. Black's 17...Rb3! and Red's 18.Pc6! are good, sharp moves. Black's move looks like a mistake that would lose a piece to 18.Rxf8. But after 18...Cxf8 19.Rxc8 (seemingly winning a horse) Ece8 20.Rc7 Cf7 21.Rc9 (notice that the chariot has only three squares) Rf3 and red is in great danger. As David Woo confirmed, the stem game for this variation was played in 1982, between the GMs Da Hua Liu and Guan Lin Yang (a veteran attacking genius). When Red played 11.Hge2, weakening the squares near his king, Black's pieces seemed remote, and not dangerous. Yet this variation shows how Black can strike at these very weaknesses. GM Liu declined Yang's sacrifice with the equally aggressive 18.Pc6, followed by 19.Pd6, and the game was eventually drawn. I don't know whether 19.Pb6 is an invention of Qin Lu, but I can tell you that it has been well-known by masters for at least 10 years. Both 19.Pd6 and 19.Pb6 are based on a simple idea: Red's need to control the c-file with chariot. This is because Red must lift the horse that is disrupting his defense onto this file. Therefore the pawn must move away. With 19...Rf3, Black closed in on the Red king, threatening attacks similar to the horse sacrifice mentioned above. In xiangqi, three pieces are often enough for a mating attack. In this game, Black has chariot, horse, and cannon all poised to strike. Red's response was to pull his position together with a prepared maneuver: 20.Hec3, which hits the chariot with the cannon. This forced the chariot to move again, giving Red time to connect his guards and elephants. What does opening theory and master-level experience say about the position after 22 Ece3? It is considered to be very complicated, with chances for both sides. I would choose the Red position, because his pieces are more active, and I can't see serious problems for his defence. Ye Lin on the early opening: Many players might be surprised by Red's eleventh move, H3-5 (Hge2). Usually a horse in the centre of the castle is not good at all, because it makes the king very weak. It paralyzes the entire castle. The assistants and the king cannot move at all. Notwithstanding this general consideration, the move played by the new Chinese champion (Qin LU) is correct, and can be considered a standard opening. So in this sense, Peter Sung is right. There are also other moves that can be played here, as Bill Brydon said. Which one to choose depends on the player's style and feeling at the time. As for me, I would not like to play the move chosen by the three time world champion (three World Cups). But as I say, it's just a matter of style and plan. To the best of my knowledge, this move was played by grandmasters for the first time in 1982. As for Black's 12th move, C7+5 (Cxg4), Peter Sung is not completely right. As far as I know, this move is preferred by GM GuanLin YANG, and by GM Qin LU himself. The popular alternative is 12...P7+1. I also prefer this move, since it maintains the cannon's pressure on the elephant (so in this sense, Sung is right), and does not allow the Red horse to return to his natural house (g3). Finally, I can tell you that the game continues to follow a standard opening. In fact, until the move 15.C3+2, the game is following the moves from GuanLin YANG - DaHua LIU in 1982 Chinese national individual championship. - Ye LIN  Ye LIN WON THE WORLD WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1997, representing Italy. She was formerly the top female player in China's Sichuan province. Her prizes include the Chinese women's championship in 1981, and second place in the 1995 European championship.
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Choose the next move: Lu is back - after winning the Chinese championship with 8/11!
Grandmaster Qin LU is taking on the rest of the world in a xiangqi challenge similar to the one held by chess champion Garry Kasparov. Lu is the reigning Qi Wang - effectively the world champion - so this rematch generates lot of excitement in the Chinese chess community. The match began on 6 November. The rate of play is one move per day. The official site of this
match is: http://chess.online.tj.cn The same team are helping the MSO cover the
match: Bill Brydon and Peter Sung of
the Toronto Xiangqi Association, top Finnish player
Jouni Tolonen and David Woo of the Xiangqi
Review.
For the first
game, click here. |
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The starting position of
Xiangqi: In Chinese notation, the files are numbered one to nine, from right to left, movement along ranks given as number of points moved, from the viewpoint of each player. The system we are using here is based on David Woo's from the Xiangqi Review. An alternative notation is: |
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Ye LIN Analyzes: 
Algebraic
Xiangqi Notation