Ireland’s annual Bunratty tournament is only a weekender but it has built an international reputation due to its ability to attract big names and its convivial ambience.
Bunratty 2015 last weekend even boasted a world top-10 grandmaster. America’s Wesley So, 21, has shot up the ratings and performed well at Wijk last month. Bunratty invited So two years ago when he was still little known and he honoured his commitment although his natural arena now is elite all-play-alls.
So was the top seed by a wide margin but still faced tough fights and had a close shave against David Norwood, a GM in his youth who abandoned serious chess to make his fortune in the City. Norwood’s remedy for his ignorance of current opening theory is simple. He opens 1 g3 as White and 1...g6 as Black, and the policy paid off when So tried to power his way to the black king via the g file, then found Black’s pieces suddenly active. So was in danger but found a resourceful way to reach a bishops of opposite colour ending which was drawn despite Norwood’s two extra pawns.
In another shock Peter Wells, who is a GM better known as an openings expert and as England team captain, demolished Nigel Short’s Modern Benoni.
White’s rare 7 h3 could be met by 7...Bg7 8 e4 0-0 9 Bd3 b5! and Wells could have exploited Short’s more routine plan by 13 Nd2! Short then went badly wrong by 18...Rb8 (Nfd7!), allowing the thematic central break 19 e5! Here 19...dxe5 20 Nxe5 Bd7 21 Qf4 Rbc8 22 Nxc4 is a safe extra pawn, while Short’s bluff 19..Bxg4 was easily refuted. At the end if Bxg5 28 Qxf7+ or Qb6 28 Nb5! wins.
Peter Wells v Nigel Short
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 d6 5 Nc3 exd5 6 cxd5 g6 7 h3 a6?! 8 a4 Bg7 9 e4 O-O 10 Bd3 Nh5 11 Bg5 Qc7 12 g4 Nf6 13 Qd2?! Re8 14 Kf1 Nbd7 15 Bh6 Bh8 16 Kg2 c4 17 Bc2 Nc5 18 Rhe1 Rb8? 19 e5! Bxg4 20 exf6 Bxf3+ 21 Kxf3 Bxf6 22 Kg2 Rec8 23 Bg5 Qd8 24 h4 b5 25 axb5 axb5 26 Ra7 b4 27 Qf4 1-0
Top GMs are resilient. Both Short and So recovered from their setbacks in the remaining rounds, leaving So the overall Bunratty winner on 5/6 while Short, Wells and others tied second on 4.5.
England’s team, fielding four GMs, are top seeded at the world over-50 senior championship now under way in Dresden. The squad of Nigel Short (50 this year), John Nunn, the European champion Keith Arkell, Jonathan Speelman and Terry Chapman is rated 90 points ahead of the No2 seeds, Germany. Scotland, seeded No4, are also a medal contender.
3379 1 b8B! White captures Black’s a pawn, then drives the BK to g8/h8 behind the remaining pawns. Eventually White reaches Kf6, Bs a7/d6, Ph6 v BK g8, Ph7, and finishes by Bd4 Kh8 Kf7 mate. Instead 1 b8Q? and 1 b8R? draw by stalemate, while 1 b8N+? Kb7 2 Nd7 Kc8 3 Nf6 Kxd8 4 Nxh7 Ke7 5 Ng5 Kf6 6 Kb2 Kg6 7 h7 Kg7 draws as White cannot make progress.
