Bu Xiangzhi edged out Li Chao on tiebreak to win what was advertised as the first 'Super GM' event in Danzhou, China. In a tournament that saw lots of spectacular games, Ni Hua finished on a disastrous 2/9.

Bu Xiangzhi holding the cup in Danzhou | Photo © Official site

The first 'Hainan Danzhou Super Grand Master Chess Tournament' took place June 11-20 in Danzhou City, Hainan province, China. The time control was 90 minutes, with 30 seconds increment from move 1. The average rating was 2622 and the prize fund 300,000 yuans (35,775 Euros).

Except for Wang Yue, who plays in Bazna, the full Chinese top was present: Wang Hao (2722), Bu Xiangzhi (2681), Ni Hua (2667), Zhou Jianchao (2652), Li Chao (2619), Hou Yifan (2589), Zhou Weiqi (2585), Yu Yangyi (2585), Zhao Jun (2574) and Ding Liren 2547).

In this 10-player round robin Bu Xiangzhi and Li Chao ended shared first, with only six points. It was Bu who had the better tiebreak. Ni Hua, last year still a 2700 player, finished on a disastrous 2/9 and dropped another bucket full of rating points.

The tournament didn't get much attention in the English media press, but perhaps unjustly so. While making a selection for replay in the game viewer, we came across lots of spectacular games:

Game viewer

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN via TWIC