The president of the FEDA (Spanish Chess Federation), Francisco Javier Ochoa de Echagüen, is cordially received at the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament.
In the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament we are pleased to welcome distinguished guests, who ring the bell to start the games. Today we have been honored with the presence of the president of the FEDA (Federación Española De Ajedrez), Francisco Javier Ochoa de Echagüen, and the president of the FCE (Federació Catalana d’Escacs), Pepo Viñas Racionero.
In the sporting field, there have been three draws in the first three tables and, as for the most remarkable results, the victory of the Indian Abhimanyu Puranik over his compatriot Aditya Mittal and the also Indian Anand Pranav over the Spaniard Paco Vallejo condition very much this final phase of the tournament. How can anyone say that chess is boring if it gives us situations like the present one, in which the leader of the tournament, with two rounds to play, has 11! very strong rivals only half a point away? India’s unbeaten Narayanan is having a fantastic tournament, but despite this, there is no guarantee that he will not drop to the middle of the final rankings.
THE CHAIR: APPROACH
We propose you to join us with the following exercise, extracted from the game played by IM Antonio Gual Pascual and aspiring master Edgar Roca Planas. It is White’s turn. What would you do? Why? At the end of this chronicle you will have the solution.
Gual, A. – Roca, E.
We had the pleasure of having a coffee with the president of FEDA, Javier Ochoa. You have been very kind in answering our questions:
– What do you think about the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament?
– A great tournament, the No. 1 in Spain, undoubtedly. He has received recognition from FIDE, because he is the only one in Spain to be included in a series of tournaments around the world that award points to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.
– He has also come to visit some members of the Spanish national team. What are our prospects with the new additions?
– They are very strong players, both those who make it directly to the national team and those who could make it later on. Here there are two very clear ones: Alan Pichot and Sara Khadem, who is a huge reinforcement because, with her almost 2500 Elo points, she has 100 more than the next player. This will put us in a position to fight for very good positions in the next Olympics.
– With a view to the popularization of chess in Spain, do you think that being able to obtain a tremendously brilliant result would have much impact?
– Yes, of course, most sports get a boost from the emergence of major world figures. Sara, for example, could fight for the women’s world title. She is a very young player and is ranked No. 15 in the world. Its future prospects are very good.
THE CHAIR: SOLUTION
In the words of IM Antonio Gual: “I played a4, directly attacking the castling, so that my opponent was forced to take the rook to defense (Td5), because my pawn was going to harass his bishop by advancing to a5. However, although I ended up winning, it was better to play e4. What is the idea? Well, with this prophylactic move (e4 before a4), I control the square d5 and his rook cannot go to defense. Then, the advance a4 would have been more effective. I regretted it, before making a move that is too ambitious, it is better to keep in mind the less compromising moves.
Our kind sponsors show their logos at the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament. Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar (@Patriciaajedrez).
By Jorge I. Aguadero Casado, editor-in-chief of Peón de Rey.
