Report by Bram Klapwijk
The FIDE World Youth Olympiad! A tournament that often gets overshadowed by the World Cup but is actually one of the bigger tournaments at the youth level. This year, it’s being hosted in the Netherlands, precisely in Eindhoven. A significant number of teams (63) from all around the world are competing in teams of 4 young players to determine the strongest team. Not only are all the players in the U16 category (born in 2007) or younger, but all teams are mixed with at least one boy and one girl per team. In practice, this means that many teams consist of 3 boys and 1 girl. The host country, the Netherlands, is participating with 4 teams, while many other countries have 1 or more teams. The first round was played today, August 13th. The following days will have 1 or 2 games per day, leading up to the final 9th round on Friday, August 18th.
This report focuses on the top teams and also touches on the 4 Dutch teams. The top teams for this tournament are yet to be determined. The initial pairing is based on rapid ratings. However, many of the players with strong rapid ratings also have high FIDE ratings. Surprises on the top boards were not lacking!
Part of the Dutch delegation during the opening ceremony. Photo: Frans Peeters
Top team Kazakhstan 1 had a significant challenge against Australia 1. Boards 1-3 ended in draws, with only the game between WCM Cheng (Australia) and WIM Nurmanova (Kazakhstan) ending in favor of the favorite. After an inaccuracy in black’s opening, white seized control of the dark squares. This became evident when the white knight landed on d6 on move 12. With control over these dark squares, the white player didn’t let go of the advantage. With a devastating king’s attack and a beautiful final combination, white decided the game.
The second team in the starting list, China, had less trouble against the 4th team from the Netherlands. Boards 1-3 saw intense battles, with the advantage often leaning towards China during the games. Sascha Kurt saved the honor for the Dutch team by holding his opponent to a draw. On board 4, WIM Lu launched a strong attack against Boyd Leenen. Provided with some commentary below. The attack was a great example of aggressively breaking through a position. A visual delight with piece sacrifices, perhaps not as much for Boyd Leenen.
And now, on to the first surprise between Georgia and Turkey. According to the ratings, Turkey was the favorite, although the rapid ratings seemed to be somewhat misleading. On board 1, IM Gurel (Turkey) had a chance to clinch a win against FM Kiladze (Georgia), who agreed to a draw in a better position due to severe time pressure. Board 4 also seemed in favor of Georgia for a long time, but unfortunately, Kesaria Mgeladze couldn’t convert her advantage into a win against WCM Akat. Two decisions were made on the boards in between, with special attention to board 3, where IM Erdogmus demonstrated how to seize and maintain control. As often happens in these openings, it’s a risk for black to exchange on d4 and thus give up the center. Nevertheless, black did this, giving white a pleasant spatial advantage. When the black knight was banished to b7 on move 20, black had to admit that there were many weak spots in the position. It became a long ordeal where Erdogmus showed that there’s no need to rush to exploit weaknesses. Despite Erdogmus’s win, the score ended in a 2-2 draw, as the Georgian WFM Kirtadze proved stronger than FM Kilic.
Moving on to the host country, the Netherlands, which stands in 4th place with their first team and surely aims to contend for the podium. On board 1, FM Yichen Han seemed to struggle to achieve much with his London System. However, his opponent from Kazakhstan 5(!) was a bit too greedy by capturing the h-pawn. Rooks love open lines, so Han probably welcomed this move. Not much later, Bogdanov made an even bigger blunder. A rough start for the black player. For Kazakhstan 5, Mariya Kholyavo upheld the honor by defeating Dana Verheij in an exciting game. In a tactical feast from the Sicilian Defense, Kholyavo showed better calculation. Take a look at the various tactics in this game. FM Arthur de Winter (board 2) and Prajit Kumar (board 3) engaged in battles where they proved superior to their opponents.
Prajit Kumar, with Arthur de Winter behind him, in the endgame. Photo: Lennart Ootes
The other Dutch teams enjoyed success. Team 4 lost to China. Teams 2 and 3 won! Team 2, consisting of Kobe Smeets, Roger Labruyere, Rhys Arnold, and Isafara Gergin, faced off against Thailand 2. The result was 3-1, with Isafara unfortunately losing to an opponent who played extremely precisely. The remaining games were far from smooth, but determination and sharpness were on the Dutch side. Team 3, with Noah Ritzerveld, Wouter Terlouw, Oscar Zecha, and Fleur Westerhof, proved to be too much for Uganda 3. Quite a young team, with Fleur Westerhof from 2009 as the “oldest” player on the team.
The Dutch delegation. Photo: Frans Peeters
