You're reading: Lviv’s Volokytin in front midway through national chess championship

Twenty six year-old grandmaster Andriy Volokytin has retained the lead by a half a point after the sixth round in the 11-round Ukrainian chess championship.

Rated 2704, Volokytin beat 2693-rated Pavlo
Eljanov of Kharkiv with the white pieces in a sharply played Sicilian Defense.
Eljanov sacrificed the exchange twice in the game that left him with a knight,
bishop and more pawns against Volokytin’s two rooks in the end game. Volokytin
coordinated his rooks well to stop Eljanov’s initial momentum eventually
equalizing on the pawn count and achieving a superior endgame that ended with
black’s resignation on move 50.

This was the most exciting round of the event
so far, taking place at Kyiv’s President Hotel. Only one game ended in a draw.

Former world and defending Ukrainian chess
champion Ruslan Ponomariov drew with Oleksandr Areshchenko leaving the former
in fifth place with three points, and the latter tied for third place with
Eljanov with 3.5 points each.

Another Lviv grandmaster, 2584-rated Yuriy Vovk
slayed Yevhen Miroshnychenko’s Dragon Sicilian defense by the 60th
move.

 Mukachevo’s (Zakarpattya Oblast) Zakhar
Efimenko won his first match of the tournament against Kharkiv’s Oleksandr
Moisenko, who is rated 12 points higher than him.

 And 
Kharkiv’s Anton Korobov bested Mykolayiv’s Oleksandr Zubov with the
black pieces, while Vinnytsia’s Serhiy Fedorchuk made Yuriy Kuzubov – the
tournament’s youngest participant at 22 years of age – resign by the 34th
move.

The 81st Ukrainian chess championship is a
single-round robin event with a 90-minute time control (plus 30 seconds per
move) and a 30-minute sudden death after 40 moves.

The total prize fund is $75,000, with $20,000
going to the winner.

Matches start daily at 3 p.m., except for
Aug. 7, which starts at 12 p.m. with a rest day on Aug. 2.  

Standings after round 6

PlaceNamePoints
1Andriy Volokityn (2704)5
2Anton Korobov (2683)4.5
3Oleksandr Areshchenko
(2691)
3.5
4Pavlo Eljanov (2693)3.5
5Ruslan Ponomariov (2726)3
6Zakhar Efimenko (2694)3
7Oleksandr Zubov (2621)2.5
8Serhiy Fedorchuk (2630)2.5
9Yuriy Vovk (2584)2.5
10Oleksandr Moiseenko
(2706)
2.5
11Yuriy Kuzubov (2629)2

Round 7, Aug. 3, 3 p.m., President Hotel

Anton Korobov vs. Serhiy Fedorchuk

Yevhen Miroshnychenko vs. Oleksandr Zubov

Ruslan Ponomariov vs. Yuriy Vovk

Pavlo Eljanov vs. Oleksandr Areshchenko

Oleksandr Moiseenko vs. Andriy Volokytin

Yuriy Kuzubov vs. Zakhar Efimenko

 

Kyiv Post’s game of the day

Andriy Volokytin (2704) – Pavlo Eljanov
(2693)

Aug. 1, Round 6, Ukrainian Chess Championship

Kyiv, Ukraine, President Hotel

1) e4 c5 (2.) Nf3 Nc6 (3.) d4 cxdd4 (4.) Nxd4 Nf6
(5.) Nc3 e5 Eljanov kicks the knight from the center, but concedes the black
squares temporarily. 6.) Ndb5 d6 (7.) Bg5 Volokytin starts playing sharp as
this variation of the Sicilian Defense demands …a6 8.) Na3 b5 (9.) Bxf6 gxf6
(10.) Nd5 f5 (11.) c4 Qa5+ The middlegame is in full action, with many candidate
variations in play. 12.) Qd2 Qxd2+ (13.) Kxd2 Bh6+ (14.) Kd1 Even though he won’t
be able to castle now, white should be able to easily maneuver since both
queens are off the board. …O-O 15.) exf5 Bxf5 (16.) cxb5 axb5 (17.) Bxb5
Winning a pawn …Nd4 (18.) Ne7+ Kg7 (19.) Nxf5 Nxfg5 (20.) Bd3 Ne7 (21.) Nb5 d5
(22.) Ke2 e4 (23.) Bc2 Rab8 (24.) a4 f5 (25.) Rhd1 Kf6 (26.) g3 to prevent from
advancing further with his pawn …Rfc8 (27.) Bb3 Rc5 (28.) f4 Bg7 (29.) Rcd1
Rcxb5 black exchanges his rook for white’s knight after which he snatches up a
few pawns for compensation. (30.) axb5 Rxb5 (31.) Ra6+ Kf7 (32.) Ba2 Rxb2+
(33.) Kd1 Rxh2 (34.) Rc7 Rxa2?!? the second exchange black gives up that leads
to an inferior endgame, but this move was almost forced as white was threatening
to win a pawn with check, and maybe even more after that. (35.) Rxa2 Bf6 (36.)
Ra5 Ke6 (37.) Ra6+ Kf7 (38.) Ra5 Ke6 (39.) Ra6+ Kf7 (40.) Rd7 both sides made
the time control to extend the game by 30 minutes, which would explain the repetition
of moves …h5 (41.) Rdd6 Bg7 (42.) Ra7 d4 (43.) Rd5 Bf6 (44.) Rf5 Kg6 (45.) Rb5 Nf5 (46.) Ra6 Ne3+ (47.) Ke2 Ng4 (48.) Re5 e3 (49.) Rg5+ Kf7 (50.) Rxh5 1-0