Jesús Lozano, CEO of the national and international freight transport company Lotrans, has visited the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament and has honored us by ringing the bell that starts the round of play. Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar (@Patriciaajedrez).
The beginning of the eighth round of the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament has been preceded by the ringing of the bell which, being a novelty in this edition, has become the icon of our tournament. On this occasion it was the turn of Jesús Lozano, CEO of the logistics company Lotrans, to whom we are very grateful for his visit.
On the sporting side, Narayanan and Fedoseev’s victories in the first two boards leave them with excellent chances of victory in view of the final round. Tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m. (the last round is played in the morning, leaving room in the afternoon for fast-paced tiebreaks) will compete for the title on the first table, with the Russian-born Slovenian having the advantage of playing with the white pieces; in turn, the Indian will have two results: he will prevail in the final standings whether he wins the game or draws.
It was striking that, in a tournament that predisposes so much to combativeness due to the amount of the economic prizes in dispute, all the games between tables 3 and 12 have ended in draws. To the delight of the fans, this means that after the leader Narayanan (7 p.) and his immediate follower Fedoseev (6.5 p.), there is a large group of 9 very strong players with 6 points, with their knives between their teeth to turn the standings upside down in the last round. The tiebreakers, in this situation, promise to be epic.
The young talent sponsored by El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament Álex Villa Tornero, concentrated. Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar (@Patriciaajedrez).
THE CHAIR: APPROACH
We propose you to join us with the following exercise, extracted from the game played by local players FM Álex Villa Tornero and MC Martín Horcajuelo Rocamora. It is White’s turn. What would you do? Why? At the end of this chronicle you will have the solution.
Villa, Á. – Horcajuelo, M.
Among the many pleasant surprises that the IV El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament is bringing us, we have discovered an artistic facet of the GM of Russian origin nationalized Spanish Daniil Yuffa. We were unaware of his facet as a musician and, in the words of people who know him very well “(…) Daniil is a high-class pianist. He could have dedicated himself professionally to music”. And, recalling some words that the president of FEDA, Javier Ochoa, shared with us a few days ago, this Chopin lover “gladdens our hearts when, in a hotel, he sits in front of a piano. It is a delight to listen to him”.
THE CHAIR: SOLUTION
In the words of the young talent sponsored by El Llobregat Open Chess, FM Álex Villa: “I played Bxf7+. It was out of my hands to exchange the bishop for the knight, keeping a comfortable position, but the delivery seemed to me much finer. With Bxf7+ I open lines on the black king, which is heading for a mate net. My pieces are going to be very active and coordinated: the knight has taken the decisive e6 square (which will be a base of operations), the rook puts pressure on the d-file (which is open) and the queen has a nice path (e3-b3-e6) that will culminate in hunting down the king”.
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.
